GGRAsia – APAC casino industry performance to be robust in 2025: Fitch

The casino industry in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to “perform robustly” next year, “particularly in Singapore and Malaysia, due to tourism recovery and property investments.” That is according to the “Global Gaming Outlook 2025″ report by Fitch Ratings Inc, published on Friday.

Fitch projects full-year 2024 gaming revenue in Singapore to rise by 5 percent, “surpassing pre-pandemic levels,” with growth expected to “moderate to around 3 percent in 2025”.

“We estimate higher gaming revenue compared to pre-Covid-19 levels, driven by significant growth in the premium mass and VIP gaming segments over the last year,” wrote the rating agency.

It added: “Robust performance at the Singapore casino operators Genting Singapore Ltd and Marina Bay Sands Pte Ltd is supported by the continual recovery of Singapore’s tourism sector.”

Fitch further noted that the two casino operators’ ongoing investments in property enhancements would help sustain traffic and revenue growth. “However, growth is likely to be capped by a mature tourism market and increasing cost of travel in Singapore,” said the team of analysts.

The operators of Singapore’s two integrated resorts committed in 2019 to multi-billion-U.S.-dollar investments to expand their properties, as part of agreements with the local government to extend their duopoly on casino gambling in the city-state until 2030. The majority of these investments are only now underway, having been delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic and other factors.

In Malaysia, Fitch expects gaming revenue to grow by around 7 percent in 2025, following an estimated 11-percent increase for full-year 2024, exceeding pre-Covid-19 levels.

“We estimate higher revenue due to a domestic traffic rebound, helped by the completion of repairs to an access road connecting Batang Kali to Genting Highlands in July 2024, and an increase in international tourists as regional travel continues to recover,” Fitch stated.

The institution added: “We expect an increase in Chinese tourists as well as Indian tourists benefiting from visa-free arrangements to boost overall tourist arrivals from the second half of 2024.”

Genting Malaysia Bhd operates Resorts World Genting, Malaysia’s only licensed casino property, in Genting Highlands. The property generated third-quarter revenue of MYR1.68 billion (US$376.6 million), which “improved marginally” compared to the same period a year earlier, according to a filing by Genting Malaysia last month.

Fitch’s “Global Gaming Outlook 2025” did not provide specific estimates for the Macau market. The rating agency maintained a “neutral” outlook for global gaming in 2025, citing varied regional dynamics: “ebbing demand in North America, robust performance in the Asia-Pacific region, and temporary regulatory stability” in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa market.