By 2020 it is expected that Australian casinos will have pulled over $6.2 billion in earnings due to Asia’s rising affluence and high-roller expenditure.
The Reef Hotel Casino in Cairns was the last casino to have been opened since 1996. Today’s plans to open 3 new resort-style casinos are proof that this industry is quickly growing. IBISWorld senior analyst Spencer Little, after completing market research outlining that foreign high spending is the main driver to boost gambling, said about the 3 projects undergoing construction: “Both groups have signalled their intentions to build luxurious, resort-style casinos to attract wealthy VIP gamblers from Southeast Asia”.
The two groups Mr Little is referring to are billionaire James Packer, who is looking to build in Sydney Harbour, Barangaroo, and a Chinese-backed development with two projects planned in Queensland, one at Yorkeys Knob and one on the Gold Coast. The first venture, an extravagant hotel with a VIP-exclusive casino, is expected to cost up to $1.3 billion. The other two mega-resorts will cost between $7.5 and $8.2 billion.
In both cases, the resorts are projected to be fully operational by 2018-2019. In direct competition with others in the Asia-Pacific region, the casinos are estimated to bring in $6.2 billion in income by the end of the decade.
Mr Little asserts that Australia will also greatly benefit from an increase in tourists interested in the casino resorts as well as in visiting the country.