Almost a year after closing two of its three casinos, Resorts World Genting in Malaysia (RWG) has introduced a new mass gaming floor. But it may not move the needle in terms of earnings.
Maybank analyst Samuel Yin Shao Yang visited RWG’s Genting Casino on 30 December. His verdict: the new floor, with 36 live gaming tables, low-volatility slots and EGMs, “does not compel us to revise our earnings estimates upwards”.
Last February, RWG’s Hollywood and Circus Palace casinos closed without notice, leaving only the newer SkyCasino open to players. Genting Casino will do little to take up the slack, suggests the New Straits Times. At fewer than 1,900 square metres, it adds less than 10% of the capacity of the two shuttered casinos.
As a result, following Genting Malaysia’s third-quarter 2024 results, Maybank trimmed its long-term mass-market gross gaming revenue (GGR) forecast by 25%, from RM3.1 billion (£557.7 million/€668.3 million/$6.882 million) to RM2.85 billion.
“We had expected both gaming floors to reopen to capitalise on the year-end holidays”, Yin wrote in December.
RWG parent Genting Malaysia initially gave no reason for closing the older casinos. Then it claimed they were closed for renovations, “in an ongoing effort to improve our operational efficiency and enhance the gaming and entertainment experience for our guests”.
Finally, the company conceded that the casinos likely won’t reopen unless business picks up.
According to Free Malaysia Today, the 2017 opening of SkyCasino “likely spelled the death knell for (Hollywood and Circus Palace), catering to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts”.
Despite the uncertainty, Maybank “continues to believe that Genting Malaysia’s valuations are attractive” and maintains its “buy” rating.
Increased tourism should drive the rebound. Singapore is the top feeder market, followed by Indonesia, Thailand, Brunei and India. The destination is increasing in popularity among tourists from Indonesia, South Korea and Taiwan.
Malaysia enjoyed a surge in arrivals from India last year, and also welcomed 3 million Chinese, an increase of 136.5%.
The ASEAN Tourism Forum will be held in Johor 15-20 January. It will emphasise “robust and sustainable” tourism across the member states. And the Malaysia Travel Year 2026 campaign, launched yesterday by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture (MOTAC) has expanded international air routes to the country.
All are positive indicators for Resorts World Genting, located in Genting Highlands, a mountainous region above Kuala Lumpur. RWG opened in 1965, and is Malaysia’s only licenced casino resort.
