Zombie Carnival

How to play Zombie Carnival

“Peru is our legacy. It’s one of our four markets here, so it plays a pivotal role in our ways of operating. Of course, we put a lot of focus into making Peru the market where we put attention and we are really careful about developing in terms of product, and also operationally.”

Like Betsson, Stake is trying to combine its global scale with a deep understanding of local markets in LatAm. It now holds local LatAm licences in Colombia, Brazil, Peru and Mexico, as well as the Province of Buenos Aires in Argentina.

Having received its licence in Peru in August 2024, Escobar argues Stake’s global scale delivers an advantage only when it is paired with a deep understanding of the Peruvian market and its players.

What is Zombie Carnival?

The prospect of international operators snapping up Japan’s coveted IR licences gradually lost its lustre, as the likes of Wynn Resorts, Las Vegas Sands, Genting Singapore and Caesars Entertainment balked at the demanding regulatory framework, hefty investment requirements and uncertain returns.

Although the late LVS chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson hailed the Japanese market as “a holy grail” and the “ultimate of business opportunities”, the company dropped out of the game, scrapping its pledged $10 billion project.

Japan has drawn on Singapore’s IR development model, which embodies a balancing act between ambitious economic visions and restrictive conditions. But Andrew Klebanow, principal of Klebanow Consulting, believes Japan’s IR regulations swerved “too far into crafting regulations and policies”. Klebanow specialises in hotel-casino market feasibility studies, strategic planning and facility planning recommendations.

What is Zombie Carnival?

The DIA worked directly with class 4 gambling operators (commonly known as pokies trusts), and discovered ‘widespread issues’ such as cases where money that should have been available for community grants was instead spent on society expenses, such as the purchase of additional gaming machines.

Vicki Scott, the DIA’s director of gambling, said the investigation had delivered significant results, while stressing that work to improve compliance and ensure communities received their share of gambling proceeds would continue.

“Most operators have worked constructively with us to address historical issues and improve their practices,” Scott said.