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Top 5 Best Gambling Destinations In South East Asia
Talking about gambling world without Vegas is like talking about lamb stew without lamb, or at least this is what the notion was. Now, there are many gambling destinations in South East Asia that have more annual gambling revenue than the entire Las Vegas Strip. Countries far East and South East Asia are legalizing more and more casino gambling ever since Macau surpassed Las Vegas in terms of annual gambling revenue back in 2006. And by the end of 2012, Singapore’s only two casinos had surpassed the annual gambling revenue of entire Las Vegas strip and by the end of 2013, the Island’s total gambling revenue rose to six times greater than Las Vegas Strip’s back in 2013. In 2006, the Chinese gambling market had reaped about $7 billion against the Las Vegas Strip’s $6.5 billion.
What’s next was the potential legalization of casino gambling all across Asia. Resulting in Integrated resorts in Japan and massive expansion of gambling world in the Philippines, by that time, Taiwan had already legalized gambling. Countries like India are still in arguments for legalizing casino gambling — it’s culture against the substantial revenue possibilities of casino gambling. For now, casino gambling is only legal in three places in India — Goa, Daman and Sikkim. But online places like “LeoVegas live in India” offers a wealth of interactive casino experiences that keeps the casino gambling alive in the countries where casino gambling is not present.
So now, brick and mortar casinos are not only available in Europe and the west; most of the South East Asian and Far East Asian countries have a booming gambling market. Those who love the thrill of Las Vegas but hate the heat can now travel the Far East and South East Asia for a diverse and dynamic gambling experience. Avid gamblers who are tired of the monotonous experience of Europe and the west are now heading to South East Asian gambling culture for a great vacation and even better gambling experience.
The list of best South East Asian gambling destination would definitely be incomplete without mentioning the two gambling giants of a destination— Singapore and Macau. Macau and Singapore are the 2nd and 4th largest gambling markets in the world. But there are other markets in South East Asia that may not be large enough but are diverse enough in experiences to worth mentioning in the list.
- Singapore
The government here did not pass the opportunity of hopping on the boat and legalised casino gambling in 2005. The first of the two Integrated Resorts to open in Singapore was Genting Singapore’s $4.8 billion “Resorts world” at Sentosa. Just after 2 months, $5.5 billion “Marina Bay Sands” opened to bank on Asia’s gambling appetite. Both Genting and Las Vegas Sands hit the jackpot with their investment in Singapore and now these two casinos make more money than any others on the planet. In just two years after their opening, these two casinos were making more money than the entire Las Vegas Strip.
If you pick any random picture of Singapore’s skyline, you’ll always notice a three-pillared building and horizontal boat shape on top. The building is one of the most photographed buildings in the world for obvious reasons but what most people don’t know is that this building is home to Marina Bay Sands Casino. The building has 160,000 square feet of gaming space, 2500 gaming machines and about 750 table games.
- Macau
Gambling has been legal here since 1887 when the Portuguese government allowed the activity for substantial extra taxes. Macau was the first to surpass the Las Vegas Strip’s annual gambling revenue, which set a wave of legalisation all across Asia. It is now known as “Monte Carlo of the Orient”. When Macau became the part of the Republic of China, there was a major change in gambling law which ended the monopoly of Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM). A new era of Mega Casinos came when the Sands Macau opened on the 18th May 2004 as the world’s largest casino and now there are over 35 casinos in Macau. Macau now has many of the world’s leading casinos — the Grand Lisboa, Venetian Macau, Sands Macau, MGM Grand Macau, Grand Waldo Casino, Wynn Macau, City of Dreams and Las Vegas Sands edition which is the Cotai Central on the new Cotai Strip.
Philippines
Another Asian country which was more than ready to welcome casino gambling was the Philippines. It is now one of those Asian Countries that have too many casinos spread in it. The entire country now has more than 65 casinos in its 32 cities. It is one of the largest countries in the world with the greatest number of casinos in it. The casino world changed ever since President Ferdinand Marcos issued a decree in 1976 that led to the monopoly of “the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR)”. By late 2012, there were 27 casinos in the country of which PAGCOR owned 13. 4 large casinos opened in the span of 2013 to 2015 which still are probably the best in the country — Belle Grande, Manila Bay Resorts, Resorts World Manila and Solaire Manila by Bloomberry Hotels and Resorts. The Philippines continues to attract wealthy businessmen from all across the world but mostly from Macau. As the Chinese government keeps tightening the noose around gambling, more and more people started to visit the Philippines.
Malaysia
With only one Casino, it’s probably a surprise that Malaysia is on the list. But the list is of best casino gambling destinations and not “the countries with the greatest number of casinos”. This is also a place where the Casino Dynasty was built on — The Resorts World Genting is sitting in a beautiful place between mountains on the border of Selangor and Pahang. It is about half hour drive from the Kuala Lumpur, Country’s capital. The casino was opened in 1965 and has undergone many renovations & extensions to keep it as one of the top luxury casinos in South East Asia. The casino has a 200,000 square foot of playing space, more than 400 table games and over 3,000 slot machines. Resorts world Genting also have a Guinness world record for being the first hotel with 7,351 rooms in five different hotels. This is a place for those who enjoy solitude and serene mountain spread instead of neon and concrete jungle.
Cambodia
Not long ago, Cambodia was one of the poorest countries of South East Asia. It has seen a massive increase in casino numbers since the Golden Crown opened in Poipet. Some of the casinos on the Thailand border are even bigger than those in Las Vegas Strip and the Vietnamese border casinos cater well to the crowd from Vietnam who cannot play in their own country. Bavet, which is one on one of the Cambodian borders has more than 15 casinos but these casinos keep closing down and opening under different names. Cambodia now has more than 50 casinos in the country.
