Asia Gaming Brief Podcasts

Alex Czajkowski, an igaming marketing expert based in Asia, discusses the rise of live video - not just for the live dealer and proxy betting, but for unparalleled customer service.

Gary Bowerman, tourism industry analyst and director of Check-in Asia, speaks with Asia Gaming Brief managing editor Sharon Singleton about prospects for tourism recovery in 2021, how governments are seeking to boost domestic travel to plug the gaps and the challenges of getting regional airlines flying again.

Sameer Barde, chief executive officer of The Online Rummy Federation sat down with Asia Gaming Brief managing editor Sharon Singleton to discuss the outlook for his industry in India. Barde related that online rummy is growing at a remarkable pace in the subcontinent, but still faces challenges. The largest of the concerns is the movement in some high population states to try to ban online gaming, including rummy which has already been ruled legal by India’s Supreme Court as a skill game. The effort to educate both the public and policymakers about rummy’s status as a skill game must continue, he says.

Joji Kokuryo, managing partner of Bay City Ventures, speaks with Michael Penn, the executive editor of AGB Nippon, about the candidate locations to host an IR in Japan. This includes the four confirmed candidates (Yokohama, Osaka, Nagasaki, and Wakayama), as well as several others that Kokuryo reckons could become late entries.

Darang Candra, director of Southeast Asia for Niko Partners speaks with Asia Gaming Brief Asia editor Felix Ng about interesting trends seen across esports, PC, and mobile gaming in 2020 - with insights drawn from their 2020 annual report.

In this podcast, Darang describes covid-19's impact on esports as a "double-edged sword". On one hand, viewership for esports tournaments has exploded, yet sponsorship revenue and prize pools have fallen. 

Ultimately, esports is still at the mercy of the pandemic.

VIXIO GamblingCompliance journalist and Asia editor, Martin Williams, talks with AGB managing editor, Sharon Singleton, about whether the election of Joe Biden as president of the United States may help to reset rock-bottom Sino-U.S. relations. He says we can probably expect a different tone, but in substance, Beijing may even have a tougher time.

Ben Lee suggests that Macau might switch over its local economy, including its massive casinos, away from the Pataca or Hong Kong Dollar to the Digital Yuan. He sees this as an “elegant solution” for many of Macau’s economic challenges, and one that still leaves important roles for the junket industry to boot.

Gary Tham, Jinbei director of strategic & planning, speaks with Asia Gaming Brief Managing Editor Sharon Singleton about the company’s experience post-Covid and the Cambodian online ban. While the longer-term future looks bright, there’s no longer silly money to be made from igaming.

Tim McNally checks in with Asia Gaming Brief Asia editor Felix Ng to discuss the moves that NagaCorp has been making to offset the decline in international visitation this year. McNally also comments on NagaCorp’s initial thoughts on the China Tourism Blacklist, which we have discussed extensively over the past few weeks.

Silver Heritage Group CEO, Mike Bolsover, gives Asia Gaming Brief an update on where Bhairahawa Resort stands in terms of construction and the pandemic impact, as well as some insights about the broader context of gaming in Nepal.