China\u2019s fight against online gambling in Asia could soon see the economic powerhouse assert similar pressure in Europe, potentially stifling growth in the continent\u2019s iGaming industry.<\/p>\n
The potential threat was flagged by Paul Leyland, Partner at strategic consultancy firm Regulus Partners, during a keynote speech at the KPMG Gaming eSummit in Malta on Tuesday. The eSummit is connected to iGaming show SiGMA, running from Wednesday to Friday this week.<\/p>\n
Discussing the outlook for the global online gaming industry in 2020 following a challenging 2019 hampered by regulatory roadblocks and political intervention, Leyland pointed to China as a worrying wildcard for iGaming operators over the next 12 months.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the things we think we\u2019re going to see from a geopolitical standpoint \u2013 and we\u2019re already seeing the noises coming through \u2013 is China really not liking online gambling,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cChina hasn\u2019t liked gambling, even its own regulated gambling, for some time and we\u2019ve seen that with the sheer number of unregulated, land-based gambling operations China has disrupted across Asia, which has seen thousands of people arrested and hundreds of millions of dollars seized.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe online industry hasn\u2019t tended to notice what China has been doing\u00a0because it doesn\u2019t disrupt the online environments we\u2019re focused on.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we\u2019re seeing a huge channel shift in Asian markets away from land-based points of payment to direct online. The Chinese government has noticed that, doesn\u2019t like it and is already putting a huge amount of pressure on the Philippines.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a level of pressure that China can exert pretty much globally and if you asked any politician anywhere in the world what do you like more, online gambling or China, it\u2019s a really easy choice for them to make.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we think that geopolitical tension around China is going to keep bubbling up and will have some really interesting implications for the industry that we probably haven\u2019t properly thought through yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen\u00a0revealed in August that the Southeast Asian nation would stop issuing online gaming licenses\u00a0and would not renew current licenses when they expire in a move believed to be directly linked to pressure from China.<\/p>\n
China has also been pushing for a similar decision around the Philippines\u2019s growing POGO industry, although\u00a0Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has so far resisted\u00a0following Cambodia\u2019s lead.<\/p>\n