Q&A with Andrew Scott, CEO of World Gaming Group | ‘Marketing and competition is heating up’

The World Gaming Group, which publishes World Gaming Magazine (WGM), has recently acquired Must Read Publications, the publisher of Inside Asian Gaming magazine. In an interview with The Times, Andrew Scott, CEO of World Gaming Group, shared his insights on Macau’s gaming industry and made assurances that IAG will remain as it is.

Macau Daily Times (MDT) – World Gaming Group has acquired Inside Asian Gaming. What does this mean for the group and IAG?
Andrew Scott (AS) –  The publication will absolutely remain as it is. It’s a very successful publication. Kareem Jalal, who will remain as IAG’s editor, has done an excellent job. He founded it in 2005 and over the last ten years it has grown to be the must-read industry, B2B publication. Everybody has heard of Inside Asian Gaming, and he’s done a great job with it. So we will leave it essentially as it is. What we might do is add to it, using the wider resources of our merged company to allow Inside Asian Gaming to do things that they otherwise wouldn’t have been able to do.

MDT – There’s a growing number of publications in Macau, but these are usually small operations. What are the main challenges they’re facing?
AS – Well, making a profit from advertising is very difficult in Macau, because up until now the major customers, the integrated resorts and their associated businesses, haven’t had any problem getting business. So sure they would advertise here but they didn’t feel that there was a pressing need for them to do so.
Now with the downturn in the market and the issues of more supply coming on board, marketing and competition is heating up in Macau. We at the WGM, we’ve always liked to be the ones that commented on the different gaming offerings. Our role has now been firmly established and I think it will become easier for us. And I think IAG is a must-advertise magazine if you’re a serious supplier to the gaming industry.

MDT – Macau’s gaming industry is facing new challenges with gaming revenue declining. What’s your perspective on the industry’s future?
AS – Well, short-term is very difficult to say, nobody really knows. In the longer-term I think Macau is still safe and Macau will still be the predominant gaming industry in Asia. People are very quick to predict wonderful times when things are going well, but they’re also very quick to panic when times are a little harder. People tend to overreact.

MDT – Are we overreacting?
AS – Yes, I would say we are. I think in the long term things will be fine. But in the short and medium term, there will be some really challenging times ahead of us. We’ve got a lot of supply coming on the market – there are currently about eight new properties about to open – and that supply was planned when times were booming.
We have some challenging times ahead in terms of infrastructure and labor; we don’t have enough skilled labor. Macau is a difficult place to come to. You can come from Hong Kong – you’ve got the ferry ride – but that’s not simple. Or you can come through the Gongbei Border Gate, but that border can be a pretty hellish place sometimes.

MDT – What are your thoughts on the proposed visitor cap?
AS – I think it’s a great idea, because it will allow people to get through the Gongbei border gate much quicker. Anything that brings customers to Macau quicker, easier and more conveniently is a good thing.
MDT – Some have suggested that it might not be such a great idea when gaming revenue is down.
AS – Well, they’ve talked about the limit being 21 million mainland Chinese visitors. I actually think that we’re not going to hit the limit that they propose. They’ve also said that the limit is just until the infrastructure can handle more. And that’s probably not a bad thing. We don’t want 25 or 30 million Chinese visitors coming here and having a horrible experience. We need to provide them with an excellent tourism experience. We need easier border crossing; good taxi services; and good flights. If we want to diversify our economy we need to make it an easy experience for people to visit Macau.