In an exclusive interview with Focus Gaming News, Kok Keng Lau analyses regulatory divergence, compliance priorities and the growing role of technology shaping Asia\u2019s gaming markets heading into 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Exclusive interview.- Asia\u2019s gambling landscape continues to fragment as jurisdictions pursue sharply different regulatory, technological and consumer-protection strategies. In this exclusive interview with Focus Gaming News, Kok Keng Lau<\/strong>, head of Intellectual Property, Sports and Gaming at Rajah & Tann Singapore, reviews key developments across major markets, from the Philippines\u2019 regulatory reset and Singapore\u2019s high-compliance model to stalled reforms in Thailand and the evolving frameworks in Vietnam, Sri Lanka and the UAE. Looking ahead, Lau outlines the compliance pillars and policy choices that will define sustainable growth across the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Looking back at 2025, how would you assess the state of Asia\u2019s gambling industry across regulation, market performance, technology, and consumer protection?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2025, Asia\u2019s gambling sector has seen marked divergence in jurisdictional approaches. The Philippines has moved decisively by dismantling offshore POGOs, formalising domestic e\u2011gaming under PAGCOR with lower fees and tighter payment\/AML controls. Macau continues its pivot from VIP to premium mass under concession obligations, with DICJ data showing sustained mass gaming\u2011led momentum. Singapore preserves a high\u2011compliance regime with strict domestic controls (entry levies, exclusions, visit limits) alongside IR expansions at Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa. Japan made advancements in the Osaka IR on a long\u2011dated schedule following MLIT approvals, targeting opening in the early 2030s. Thailand\u2019s Entertainment Complex Bill stalled in 2025 for political reasons, as the promulgator of the Bill the Pheu Thai party, lost power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vietnam, on the other hand, progressed towards extending local access to casinos<\/strong> beyond the pilot Corona casino in Phu Quoc, allowing a five\u2011year locals\u2011play trial at The Grand Ho Tram, with policy discussions around an entry\u2011levy model akin to Singapore. The integrated\u2011resort pipeline also advanced, including approvals for an integrated resort in Van Don (Quang Ninh). In contrast, online casino\u2011style games remained expressly prohibited, with no comprehensive igaming framework. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka did a reset in 2025, enacting the Gambling Regulatory Authority Act, No. 17 of 2025, to create a unified regulator with powers over land\u2011based, ship\u2011based and digital gambling. The Act (effective 1 December 2025) centralises licensing, revenue collection, AML\/CTF oversight, junket controls and dedicated digital\/software authorisations. Betting and gambling levies increased to 18 per cent, while the casino entry fee was doubled to US$100. The August 2, 2025, opening of City of Dreams Sri Lanka<\/a> in Colombo underlined a strategy to attract premium tourism, possibly targeting the Indian market.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Technologically, regulators and operators are converging on cashless, biometric identity assurance, and AI\u2011enabled surveillance and monitoring<\/strong>. Consumer protection is increasingly codified or embedded in licence conditions in terms of exclusion programmes (self\/family\/third\u2011party), entry levies, anti\u2011inducement advertising rules, and trained responsible gaming ambassadors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Singapore\u2019s gaming industry increasingly focused on innovation, responsible gaming, and regional competitiveness, what regulatory trends or policy shifts do you expect will shape its evolution in the coming years?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Singapore\u2019s next phase will be defined by tighter, tech\u2011enabled supervision within a stable, high\u2011end duopoly. The Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA) is moving to a more assertive, risk\u2011based licensing posture<\/strong>, already visible in 2025 via a shortened casino licence tenure for Resorts World Sentosa to reinforce compliance incentives. With the Chinese money laundering saga, we can expect greater emphasis on AML\/CTF controls, data\u2011driven monitoring, and enhanced accountability for senior managers.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The GRA has flagged integrating generative AI to automate compliance monitoring and strengthen risk scoring, with visitor\u2011flow modelling already in use. Policy will continue to favour premium, non\u2011gaming\u2011led growth from the two IRs, pairing large\u2011scale reinvestment with compliance oversight. Facilitation of cashless payments with robust identity and affordability checks can be expected. The Gambling Control Act\/GRA framework will remain the backbone: exclusion of remote casino gambling, strict junket controls, and calibrated enforcement against unlicensed operators, preserving Singapore<\/a>\u2019s \u201cgold standard\u201d reputation while safeguarding social outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thailand\u2019s push to legalise casinos has repeatedly stalled throughout 2025. If the process were to be restarted, what safeguards and sequencing would you recommend to avoid past pitfalls, such as public consultation, social protections, enforcement capacity and investment criteria? What would the realistic timeframe be for Phase 1?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Thailand has just dissolved its Parliament<\/a> to pave the way for elections in the first quarter of 2026. It is anyone\u2019s guess as to whether the party that comes into power and the new Prime Minister will be pro-entertainment complex or otherwise. In any event, Thailand is now embroiled in border fighting with Cambodia, and its immediate priorities are to manage the escalating border conflict. That said, a stagnant economy, which in turn has given rise to domestic social issues, will need to be revitalised by the new government. A reconsideration of the entertainment complex proposal represents the best bet to boost the economy.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n To successfully reintroduce the entertainment complex proposal and avoid past pitfalls, the Thai government would need a structured approach<\/strong> that prioritises robust, transparent stakeholder and public engagement, as well as a commitment to imposing tight regulatory control, drawing lessons from models like Singapore’s. The process can start with an independent feasibility study of the regional casino market, potential economic impact, and social costs. This study should be made public to provide a data-driven rationale for the project. A broad and transparent public consultation should then follow. This may include town halls and stakeholder meetings across various provinces, engaging religious groups, civil society, academics and local residents, providing clear and simple information about entertainment complexes, potential benefits and measures to address social risks, addressing misinformation spread previously, and inviting comments.\u00a0 A socio-economic impact assessment should also be undertaken, in addition to the establishment of a Responsible Gambling framework. The Entertainment Complex Bill<\/a> can then be reviewed for necessary amendments, which take into account public feedback and concerns, and which incorporate licensing criteria and social safeguards. Finally, a preliminary Request for Information exercise should be conducted to elicit and gauge the level of interest in establishing Thai Entertainment Complexes by world-class developers and international operators.\u00a0 An achievable timeframe for doing all this will be between 12-18 months, as some of these activities can take place concurrently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As the UAE\u2019s regulatory framework matures under the GCGRA, what do you see as the non-negotiable compliance pillars for early entrants over the next 12\u201324 months, and what would you prioritise first: licensing readiness, AML\/CFT controls, or local partnership strategy?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n With the GCGRA framework maturing at federal level and the Wynn Al Marjan Island project<\/a> publicly disclosed in operator filings, non-negotiable compliance pillars for the next 12\u201324 months include licensing readiness (probity checks to demonstrate eligibility, financial stability, integrity, and competence before any operations can commence), putting in place documented Responsible Gambling programmes (by providing mandatory player protection tools like deposit limits, session time limits, self-exclusion programs, and adhering to strict advertising standards to protect vulnerable populations), and aligning AML\/CFT policies nd programmes to UAE laws) and FATF standards (including by implementing responsible gaming controls such as age verification, self-exclusion, playing limits, anti-inducement marketing, trained Responsible Gambling ambassadors and referral pathways, and operational integrity measures such as surveillance, incident management and dispute resolution). <\/p>\n\n\n\n In terms of priority, it would be licensing readiness first, followed by AML\/CFT and Responsible Gambling implementation, and then local partnership strategy. While a local presence is a requirement for licensing, the strategic development of partnerships is a commercial priority rather than an immediate regulatory one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Looking ahead to 2026, where do you see the main opportunities and challenges for operators, suppliers, and regulators in Asia? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Philippines\u2019 domestic e\u2011gaming market will operate under tightened oversight<\/a>, Singapore\u2019s two integrated resorts will continue to shine on the back of a strong economy and a stable political system, Macau\u2019s mass\u2011market model will remain resilient, and Vietnam will experience a lift with its casinos welcoming locals<\/a>. New demand will largely be driven by mobile experiences, live\u2011dealer formats and AI\u2011powered personalisation, while suppliers can take advantage of new compliance requirements fuelled by technological advancements in areas such as biometric KYC, transaction monitoring, Responsible Gambling analytics and crypto risk controls<\/strong>. Challenges include heightened AML expectations, compliance costs and enforcement against offshore platforms and illegal advertising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In an exclusive interview with Focus Gaming News, Kok Keng Lau analyses regulatory divergence, compliance priorities and the growing role of technology shaping Asia\u2019s gaming markets heading into 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":226,"featured_media":777036372,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":true,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"Kok Keng Lau of Rajah & Tann Singapore analyzes the significant regulatory divergence and evolving compliance priorities across Asia's gaming markets, highlighting key developments in the Philippines, Macau, Singapore, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, and the UAE. The interview also emphasizes the increasing role of technology in shaping market dynamics and consumer protection frameworks heading into 2026.","focusai_entities":"Kok Keng Lau, Focus Gaming News, Rajah & Tann Singapore, PAGCOR, DICJ, MLIT, Gambling Regulatory Authority Act, No. 17 of 2025, Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA), Marina Bay Sands, Resorts World Sentosa, Corona casino, The Grand Ho Tram, City of Dreams Sri Lanka, Pheu Thai party","focusai_location":"Asia, Philippines, Macau, Singapore, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, UAE, Osaka, Phu Quoc, Van Don, Quang Ninh, Colombo","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.95), regulator (0.98), compliance_legal (0.98), operator_casino (0.95), product_ux (0.75), tech_data (0.8), payments_fraud_aml (0.9), investor_analyst (0.93), supplier_vendor (0.88), journalist_researcher (0.97)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"Standardizing Compliance Frameworks?","query":"Given the pronounced regulatory divergence across Asian jurisdictions, what strategies are multi-jurisdictional operators employing to standardize or adapt their compliance frameworks efficiently?"},{"label":"Tech Investment for AML\/CTF?","query":"Which specific technological investments, beyond cashless and biometrics, are becoming imperative for operators to meet the evolving AML\/CTF and consumer protection mandates in key Asian markets?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[160,164],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-777036247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia-pacific","category-interviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777036247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/226"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777036247"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777036247\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":777036374,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777036247\/revisions\/777036374"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/777036372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777036247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777036247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777036247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"