The week that is G2E Asia inevitably gets me thinking about what the Asian gaming industry will look like in 10 years’ time. What sort of innovations will have found their way onto gaming floors? What new jurisdictions will be finding their way onto the global gaming map? Will Japan finally have an IR to call its own?
Perhaps most intriguing for me, however, is Macau itself and what role it will play in the Greater Bay Area – a region of some 66 million people within a 200-kilometre radius incorporating Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong province.
Macau is already the entertainment hub of Asia and the gaming hub of the world, but what will happen as its borders with China and Hong Kong are gradually eroded?
The prospect of having these borders opened up is a mouth-watering one for Macau which, for all of its success in recent years, has still barely scratched the surface of the Chinese tourism market.
And if Macau is to see visitation from China and elsewhere enjoy significantly more growth, what measures will the city take to provide the accommodation and infrastructure needed to welcome them?
These are the issues that will define the Macau we’ll see in 2028.
Ben Blaschke
Managing Editor
