Does Vincent Tan still retain his casino aspirations?

 

Vincent Tan’s foray into Malaysia’s gaming sector began in 1985 when his company acquired Sports Toto Malaysia.

PETALING JAYA: A casino would undoubtedly be the crown jewel in Vincent Tan’s gaming empire, but many have been left wondering whether the Berjaya Corp Bhd founder retains any such aspirations following the events of the last two days.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim vehemently denied a report suggesting that the government has plans to issue a licence for a casino in Forest City, Johor.

“Not true, not true. Casino licence… That’s a lie,” he told reporters, making an “X” sign with his arms to emphasise his point.

A Bloomberg article earlier that day said Anwar, who is also finance minister, met with Tan and Genting Bhd chairman and CEO Lim Kok Thay last week at Forest City to discuss the matter.

Quoting sources familiar with the matter, the US-based business media group said a casino would revive the US$100 billion (RM477.8 billion) project developed by China’s Country Garden, and dubbed Malaysia’s “Ghost City”.

Bloomberg qualified the article by pointing that any move to develop a second casino in Malaysia could become a challenge for Anwar, who heads a unity government. “Gambling is prohibited under Islam and Muslims are barred from even entering Malaysia’s (sole) casino,” it noted.

While a new gambling hub would bring in much needed revenue for the government, it remains a political hot potato.

The Genting casino contributed as much as RM5 billion annually to government coffers before the pandemic, according to a report by brokerage firm UOB Kay Hian.

Berjaya Corp has since refuted the Bloomberg article, denying that Tan was involved in talks with Anwar on the prospect of opening a casino in Forest City.

In a statement on Friday, it said the article had included “inaccurate information” that misrepresented the conglomerate’s supposed involvement in discussions with Anwar regarding the Forest City project.

“We would like to make it clear that (Tan) has not participated in any such discussions,” it added.

Meanwhile, news of the purported meeting between Anwar and the two tycoons gave Berjaya Corp a temporary lift on Thursday with its shares rising as much as 14.3% or 4 sen to 32 sen.

However, the prime minister’s emphatic denial quickly dampened sentiment, with Berjaya Corp giving up its gains to end just 1 sen or 3.5% higher at 30 sen, valuing the group at RM1.79 billion.

Quest for gaming gold mine

The casino licence awarded in 1969 to Genting Group to operate a casino in Genting Highlands has been a veritable gold mine for the group founded by Kok Thay’s father, Lim Goh Tong. Genting now operates casinos in the US, the UK and Singapore.

While the 72-year-old Tan has a thriving number forecast operation (NFO) in Sports Toto Bhd, a casino licence may well be the missing piece of the jigsaw puzzle for him.

The Bloomberg piece claimed Tan has long harboured ambitions of winning a casino licence in Malaysia, “but has been rejected at least twice”, citing local media reports.

In 2014, the New Straits Times reported that Tan wanted to revive plans to operate a casino at the Berjaya Hills Resort in Pahang, near the foothills of Genting Highlands.

The report said while he had applied for a licence to operate a casino in Berjaya Hills since 2004, it had been rejected amid protests from some quarters.

This was not the only time that Tan had seen his gaming aspirations derailed because of public unease. In January 2010, the finance ministry issued a sports betting licence to his wholly owned subsidiary Ascot Sports Sdn Bhd, only to withdraw it in October the same year.

At the time then prime minister and finance minister Najib Razak defended issuance of the licence as a means to “curb illegal gambling activities in the country”.

However, the controversial decision drew a fierce backlash and was later overturned after Umno’s Supreme Council unanimously voted against it.

In July 2018, then finance minister Lim Guan Eng said the new Pakatan Harapan government had no intention of approving any sports betting licence whether for Ascot Sports Sdn Bhd or any other operator.

International gaming enterprise

According to Forbes’ Malaysia’s “50 Richest” list, Tan has a net worth of US$730 million (RM3.5 billion). He relinquished his position as Berjaya Corp executive chairman in March 2023, and is now an adviser to the board.

Tan’s foray into Malaysia’s gaming sector began four decades ago when his private company acquired 70% of the paid-up capital of Sports Toto Malaysia Sdn Bhd, which was privatised in 1985 by the Mahathir Mohamad administration.

The company was incorporated in 1969 to run the Toto betting business as part of the government’s effort to raise funds to promote and develop sports, youth and cultural activities.

Sports Toto has since spread its wings internationally. Its Philippine subsidiary Berjaya Philippines, Inc, is listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange and operates an on-line lottery system in the Luzon region, via an associate company.

In the US, Sports Toto’s subsidiary, International Lottery & Totalizator Systems, Inc, provides computerised wagering equipment and systems to the online lottery and pari-mutuel racing industries worldwide.

Tan also has interest in Vietnam’s gaming sector via Berjaya Gia Thinh Investment Technology Joint Stock Company, which is 51% owned by Berjaya Lottery Vietnam Ltd (BLV). BLV is in turn 80% owned by Berjaya Corp and 20% owned by Sports Toto.

BLV is involved in running a computerised lottery in Vietnam by partnering with a state-owned enterprise under Vietnam’s ministry of finance. It currently has 4,700 terminals across 49 provinces in Vietnam. - FMT