Thailand’s golden opportunity

March 16, 2022 Thailand Emerging Markets

When Las Vegas Sands CEO Rob Goldstein said that the company may have an interesting opportunity in a top-tier Asian country, it didn’t take long for industry observers to begin pointing to Thailand.

Bernstein Research was quick to put out a note saying it believed that the Kingdom was the most likely candidate given the government has recently been studying potential regulation.

The country has long-been viewed as one of the most promising destinations for an integrated resort due to its well established tourist industry and infrastructure. It also has a large domestic market of nearly 70 million people, many of whom have shown a propensity to gamble.

According to the World Bank, Thailand became an upper middle income country in 2011.

“Thailand is the elephant in the room,” said Ben Lee, managing partner of IGamiX Management & Consulting. “You can forget all the others.”

Lee takes us through some of the numbers as to why the potential opening of Thailand has foreign casino operators salivating.

Firstly, there is the potential for the country’s domestic market. At present, Thais need to go overseas to gamble and there are about 20 to 30 casinos dotted around its three northern land borders, which cater specifically for the Thai market.

Lee estimates that prior to Covid the casinos were generating gross gambling revenue of between $3-5 billion, which he said is quite extraordinary when you consider the difficulties in reaching the properties, requiring a drive of at least three hours from the capital Bangkok to the Cambodian border.

He also points out that the Thais frequenting these casinos will be the lower end players, as the premium and VIP clients are more likely to fly to Singapore or Macau’s luxury resorts.