Malaysia and Dubai to be the biggest iGaming hubs

In a not-too-distant future that sees iGaming ruling a bigger portion of the gambling market, two places are emerging as possible candidates for becoming a major center for operators: Malaysia and Dubai.

The gaming industry is continuously changing as the iGaming sector proceeds to take more from the overall market, and that development will not stop, considering some die-hard land-based casino operators' best efforts. At least one industry source claims that Malaysia and Dubai are now on radars for their base of operations for iGaming operators as the companies are trying to step away from increasing costs associated with working outside the Philippines.

Danny Too, the GM for Cherry Interactive, has just wrapped up an Asia Gaming Brief webinar on the status of the Philippine gaming industry, Live After POGOs. In it, he reported that both Malaysia and Dubai are beginning to look more appealing for iGaming operators trying to minimize spending and regulatory red tape, two barriers that have recently become greater in the Philippines. Too suggested he had talked to a number of operators who expressed interest in relocating to one or the other venue.

Malaysia, amid stringent anti-online gaming rules, has recently been a favorite. Too commented:

“You can set up finance, operations, and can even do online marketing out of the Malaysian office, but the key thing is that you get the permission of the federal government. You can get a place to work and a license from one of the states but you need to go through the central government to go ahead. From the government point of view, it’s just a BPO and as long as the games are not being offered in Malaysia, the government is happy to bring in these operators.” 

In the case of Dubai, which already has significant expat workforce and is a big center of foreign trade, recruiting iGaming operators would be another way for it to raise its tax revenue. Too suggested that a number of Chinese operators are already considering a potential change to the region as they look out to China's government's influence, and Dubai is offering a great expansion climate.

In all cases, strict controls will also be in force, and iGaming owners should be willing to do whatever they can to discourage the locals from accessing the sites. When it comes to breaking the rules, neither Malaysia nor Dubai has a cynical mentality, and each will be able to withdraw a warrant for a single offence. Any operators might see it as a threat, but there is still a lot of money to be made in the sector.

What may be a larger barrier is that both platforms are likely to prevent operators from selling live dealer options from their territories, meaning gaming companies will need to create at least one additional platform to capitalize on the common alternative.