Even if the faucet’s been turned off, the sink is still overflowing. That’s what one real-estate consultant says about the Philippine Offshore Gambling Operators (POGOs), which she expects to continue driving office space demand in the bustling business district of Makati.

“Despite limited office supply next year accepting POGOs, the offshore gaming sector is still expected to drive office demand but on a slower phase compared to 2019,” said Monique Cornelio-Pronove, chief executive officer of Pronove Tai International Property Consultants in an interview with Business World.

In the interview, Cornelio-Pronove listed all the factors that could potentially slow down the growth of the POGO industry. What’s telling is that a temporary restriction on new licenses didn’t rank top of the list. “The main factor of POGOs growth in the office market will always be grounded in the ‘office supply.’ POGO sector is expected to slow down next year because of the limited available supply in the Bay Area,” she said, referring to the area around Entertainment City.

She did note however that many other factors could affect the size of the industry, including Chinese government influence, potentially higher tax rates, and scrutiny over POGO related criminality.

One of the staple news items when covering the Macau gaming news beat is the seasonal bonuses the concessionaires give out to keep their employees happy. At least a few hundred employees don’t think that’s enough, as a protest organized by the New Macau Gaming Staff Rights Association is demanding more.

As reported first by the Macau Daily Times, Cloee Chao led the protest, which seeks to win its members better pay and more favorable labor conditions. While the group self-reported 500 protestors made it to the rally, the police said the number was more like 300.

Chao noted that workers have received annual raises of approximately 2.5%, while the concessionaires have seen their revenues climb much higher than that. To make things right, she wants a guaranteed 5% annual increase, which would help laborers stay ahead of the expected 3% yearly inflation.

Other than pay, she also demanded many of the benefits currently enjoyed by government civil servants. As the casinos are concessionaires, recent court rulings have suggested they are basically arms of the government themselves, so it only makes sense that they should offer the same benefits.

China’s lottery sales enjoyed a month-to-month improvement in November but still recorded the market’s 10th straight month of year-on-year declines.

Figures released this week by China’s Ministry of Finance show overall lottery sales of RMB37.8b (US$5.42b) in the month of November, a 12% decline from the same month last year but a significant improvement over October’s RMB27.5b.

October’s sales were dampened thanks to a nationwide ban on most lottery products to mark the annual National Day holiday. Even with that bit of pesky patriotism aside, November’s sports lottery sales still fell 8% year-on-year to RMB21.1b, while welfare lottery sales slid 15% to RMB16.7b.

Total sales over the first 11 months of 2019 are down 11.6% to RMB377.65b ($54.2b), with sports lotteries down 8.4% to RMB210.65b and welfare lotteries falling 15.3% to RMB167b. Among China’s regional lottery administrators, only Sichuan province reported a year-on-year improvement in 2019 to date (and that gain was extremely modest).

China’s lottery sales enjoyed a month-to-month improvement in November but still recorded the market’s 10th straight month of year-on-year declines.

Figures released this week by China’s Ministry of Finance show overall lottery sales of RMB37.8b (US$5.42b) in the month of November, a 12% decline from the same month last year but a significant improvement over October’s RMB27.5b.

October’s sales were dampened thanks to a nationwide ban on most lottery products to mark the annual National Day holiday. Even with that bit of pesky patriotism aside, November’s sports lottery sales still fell 8% year-on-year to RMB21.1b, while welfare lottery sales slid 15% to RMB16.7b.

Total sales over the first 11 months of 2019 are down 11.6% to RMB377.65b ($54.2b), with sports lotteries down 8.4% to RMB210.65b and welfare lotteries falling 15.3% to RMB167b. Among China’s regional lottery administrators, only Sichuan province reported a year-on-year improvement in 2019 to date (and that gain was extremely modest).

Connecticut’s two tribal casino operators reported annual revenue declines in 2019, with new regional competition fingered as the likely culprit.

On New Year’s Eve, The Day reported viewing annual reports filed by the companies behind Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun Casino, which together hold a monopoly on casino operations in Connecticut. Both casinos reported negative net revenue growth in the 12 months ending September 30, 2019, although the pace of decline slowed from the previous fiscal year.

Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment (MGE) reported overall revenue of $1.39b, a 2.4% improvement over 2018’s result. But its Mohegan Sun venue in Connecticut reported revenue falling 7.2% to $992m, and the parent company’s overall gains were largely due to its mid-year signing of a deal to manage casino operations in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

Foxwoods, which is operated by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, reported only slightly better results, with revenue falling 5% to $787.8m. Both Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun blamed falling gaming revenue for the overall net revenue slide and pointed an accusatory finger at their new regional casino rivals.

The year is only two days old but UK gambling operators are already facing their first public relations crisis over VIP customer activity.

On Thursday, the Guardian newspaper reported obtaining a ‘secret’ UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) report regarding online licensees’ VIP gambling programs. The report, which the Guardian obtained via a freedom of information request, crunched data from nine unidentified betting operators who apparently offer both retail and online betting.

The report has yet to surface publicly but the Guardian chose to focus on two aspects: VIPs accounting for a disproportionate amount of gambling account deposits and VIPs being overrepresented in the ranks of the UK’s problem gamblers.

One operator reportedly garnered 83% of all account deposits from just 2% of its overall customer base, while a rival operator derived 58% of deposits from 5% of its customers, and a third operator claimed that 3% of its customers were responsible for 48% of deposits.

The year is only two days old but UK gambling operators are already facing their first public relations crisis over VIP customer activity.

On Thursday, the Guardian newspaper reported obtaining a ‘secret’ UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) report regarding online licensees’ VIP gambling programs. The report, which the Guardian obtained via a freedom of information request, crunched data from nine unidentified betting operators who apparently offer both retail and online betting.

The report has yet to surface publicly but the Guardian chose to focus on two aspects: VIPs accounting for a disproportionate amount of gambling account deposits and VIPs being overrepresented in the ranks of the UK’s problem gamblers.

One operator reportedly garnered 83% of all account deposits from just 2% of its overall customer base, while a rival operator derived 58% of deposits from 5% of its customers, and a third operator claimed that 3% of its customers were responsible for 48% of deposits.

Australian tennis player and all-round banter legend Nick Kyrgios has pushed for a tennis drive to contribute money to the victims of the recent bushfires in his homeland.

After tweeting his intention to do something for those hit by the recent tragic bushfires that have swept across Australia, Kyrgios was hit by a wave of support from his fellow professionals and eventually, the Tennis Australia account too.

Here was how Kyrgios kicked off the charity drive:

I’m kicking off the support for those affected by the fires. I’ll be donating $200 per ace that I hit across all the events I play this summer. #MoreToCome #StayTuned