Places where gamblers spend most

Las Vegas used to be the Mecca for gamblers worldwide. Things have quite changed now for the Sin City.

Newer gambling destinations are taking the thunder away from the 6.8 km Las Vegas Strip, which was the heartland of fun and gambling.

Casinos in Asia are now more favourable destinations for gamblers. These casinos are growing at a rapid pace, as the countries in the continent witness better economic growth giving the population more disposable income.

Currently, US alone contributes 50 per cent to the $160 billion gambling industry worldwide. According to research, casinos in Asia will overtake the US in the next three years.

And though the total revenue from the US is still high, individual gamblers spend more money in the Asian casinos compared to the developed West.

Let’s take a look at the top nine destinations which have the highest revenue per visitor.

Macau

Rank: 1

Revenue per visitor: $1,354

Gambling tourism is Macau's biggest source of revenue, making up about 50 per cent of the economy. It sees large number of visitors from China and Hong Kong.

Several large casinos from Las Vegas have been quick to grab the opportunity and have set up their chains here.

The region now has 33 casinos, of which the biggest is The Venetian Macau. Most of them are open 24 hours.

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Australia

Rank: 2

Revenue per visitor: $736

If you go by the statistics, over 80 per cent of the country’s adults are engaged in gambling of some kind. And it’s not surprising that this is the highest rate of gambling in the world.

This also means that the government earns high billion of dollars in revenues from gambling every year.

Every major region in Australia (Queensland, Perth and Melbourne for example) has grand casinos.

The biggest casino in the country is Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex in Melbourne followed by Treasury Casino in Brisbane, Queensland.

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Singapore

Rank: 3

Revenue per visitor: $446

Singapore earns this revenue from just two of its casinos - Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa.

Marina bay Sands is developed by Las Vegas Sands, and is the world’s most expensive standalone casino property. It features 2,561 rooms, a convention centre, a museum, two large theatres, seven restaurants, and ice skating rings.

Developed by Genting Singapore, Resorts World Sentosa features four hotels with a total of 1,840 rooms, two casinos, Universal Studios, and world’s largest oceanarium. It is considered to be world’s second most expensive property after Marina Bay sands.

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Philippines

Rank: 4

Revenue per visitor: $404

The country already has lots of big and small casinos in different cities. And to top that, the Philippine government has ambitious plan to make Manila a major gaming hub that rivals Macau.

Some of the existing casinos include Resorts World Manila, Solaire Resort & Casino, Thunderbird Resorts, and Waterfront Cebu City Hotel & Casino.

Solaire Resort & Casino is among the casinos that opened recently and is located in the Entertainment City, a complex where the government is planning to creates Las Vegas Strip kind of development.

It features a 5-star hotel with 500 rooms, 1,200 slot machines, and 300 gaming tables.

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South Korea

Rank: 5

Revenue per visitor: $189

Casinos in South Korea are not just restricted to one region like many other countries. There are over 17 big and small casinos in different cities.

The country is also eyeing the gambling market, and is in the process of building the massive casino resorts to lure high-spending tourists after Singapore's success with two large properties.

The country wants to turn a small island of Yongyu-Muui into a futuristic gambling resort projected that is expected to cost about $290 billion that will rival Macau.

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Las Vegas

Rank: 6

Revenue per visitor: $156

The 6-kilometre strip has some of the biggest casino properties in the world. Fifteen of the world's 25 largest hotels by room count are on the Strip, with a total of over 62,000 rooms, according to Wikipedia.

The city is popularly known as Sin City and is also addressed as the fun capital of the US.

Some of the well-known casinos include The Bellagio, Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, the MGM Grand, Caesars Palace and The Luxor Hotel & Casino. Among these, MGM Grand is the largest casino, which features 3,500 slots and 165 game tables.

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Atlantic City

Rank: 7

Revenue per visitor: $112

After Las Vegas, this is the second biggest gambling destination in the US. The city has about 12 casinos that employ 33,000 people and receive 28.5 million visitors annually.

Some of the biggest casinos include Borgata, Harrah's, Tropicana, and Taj Mahal. The popular Borgata casino features a luxury hotel, spa, fine dinning, concert hall, and nightclubs. The 161,000 square feet casino floor offers about 4,000 slot machines and 200 table games.

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Cambodia

Rank: 8

Revenue per visitor: $73

The revenues per user may look small today but Cambodia is betting on casinos to draw high-spending tourists. The small nation boasts of 25 small casinos.

The well-known casinos include NagaWorld in Phnom Penh, which has over 720 rooms and over 150 gambling tables.

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Malaysia

Rank: 9

Revenue per visitor: $72

Malaysia manages the gambling revenues despite having just one casino located within the scenic Genting Highlands.

The hill resort is operated by Genting Group. The resort also features three theme parks, the famous Genting Skyway, convention centre, golf course.