IGamiX Management & Consulting Ltd

07/04/2026

Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin is anti-gaming, but local and international entertainment companies continue to press ahead with integrated resorts and large-scale developments, even without casinos.

Ben Lee, Managing Partner at IGamiX Management and Consulting, comments, “The previous administration [of Paetongtarn Shinawatra] tried to rush through the issue of gaming without preparing the Thai community. This has damaged the prospects of it [the Entertainment Complex bill] being accepted by the locals. Unless given a push by a new force e.g. by royal assent, it will probably take another few years before anyone in politics will dare brave it again.”

Gaming, International, Macau, Macau Business, MAG, MB, MB Featured | Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin is anti-gaming, but local and international entertainment companies continue to press ahead with integrated resorts and large-scale developments, even without casinos

06/04/2026

https://macaudailytimes.com.mo/international-integration-the-push-me-pull-you-of-talent.html

Key Takeaways

Integration vs. incentives

Government-backed schemes aim to push Macau youth into the GBA through internships, subsidies and job fairs, but higher local wages and job security weaken the pull. Financial incentives alone struggle to override structural advantages of staying in Macau’s protected labour market.

Labour shortages paradox

Macau faces low unemployment yet rising vacancies in sectors like insurance, retail and transport, revealing mismatches in skills and expectations. Talent is being pushed outward for integration while domestic industries quietly signal shortages, exposing tension between policy goals and market needs.

Education as leverage point

Allowing international students to work during and after studies would deepen talent pools, strengthen networks and improve university ecosystems. This policy could transform Macau into a more competitive, outward-facing talent hub, aligning education with long-term economic diversification and integration goals.

31/12/2025

Ben Lee, a consultant specialising in the gaming industry in Southeast Asia, holds a more upbeat view. “Gross gaming revenue has already reached MOP 226.5 billion by November this year, so it is more than likely that we will exceed the projection of MOP 228 billion,” he said.

The estimate for gaming revenue in 2026, the analyst added, is “somewhat conservative”.

“Unless there is a reversal next year, based on current momentum, gross revenue could reach between MOP 260 billion and MOP 270 billion by the end of 2026,” he estimated.

Macau, MNA, MNA Featured | Experts contacted by Lusa foresee challenges to Macau’s economic growth in 2026, with the recovery of the gaming sector contrasting with weak domestic consumption and mounting pressure to diversify the economy.

22/12/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1A8z5DeHPH/?mibextid=wwXIfr

07/12/2025

Analysis piece by our associate, Leanda

ANALYSIS Xi Jinping continues to prioritise the people’s well-being. This is a cornerstone of people-centred development as reported by the Supreme People’s Court earlier this year. Guiding and motivating the population to create a happy life through increased security and a better standard of l...

30/11/2025

Gaming expert Ben Lee, Managing Partner of IGamiX Management and Consulting, notes that industry chatter early this year already indicated that Ho Tram would get a license, alongside Van Don (when a property eventually opens), and accompanying the now-permanent extension of the Corona Resort & Casino’s pilot local’s trial.

Vietnam's shift to allow locals to gamble at Grand Ho Tram ushers in a new era for the operator, which stands to strongly benefit from the captive audience in Ho Chi Minh City.

01/11/2025

For Ben Lee of iGamix Management and Consulting Ltd, recent gaming forecasts closely align with the firm’s own projections.

“Macau always surprises in its ability to constantly reinvent itself,” he noted.

According to Lee, high-end gaming is no longer dominated by large corporate junket operators. Instead, independent “junket agents” – previously intermediaries directing players to operators –are now working on their own, driving VIP activity.

“The VIP segment now appears to be driven not by the large corporate junket operators that used to exist, but by what we call ‘junket agents.’ These are the independent field agents that used to push players to the junket operators but are now working for themselves,” he told the Times.

The gambling sector is showing a robust recovery, with Citigroup reporting that total gross gaming revenue (GGR) for the first 26 days of October may have reached approximately MOP20.4 billion. Average daily revenue for the week of October 20–26 was about MOP793 million, with VIP lounge betting up...

19/10/2025

Thailand gaming deferred:
Ben Lee, Managing Partner at IGamiX Management and Consulting, remarked: “The minute the big international casino operators started lecturing the Thai government on what’s good for them did not help public perception that it was all about ‘big business’ and that the main beneficiaries would be the tycoons at the expense of ordinary working people. That was probably when local attitudes shifted from ‘wait and see’ to negative.”

Gaming, International, Macau, Macau Business, MAG, MB, MB Featured | The Thailand Entertainment Complex bill seems dead in the water, but there is still a chance it could be revived by late 2026. The tangled relationship between Thai politics and gaming is both a game of thrones and a house of wild....

08/10/2025

Some of the casino revenues here are 95% reliant on gaming, according to Ben Lee, a gaming analyst at IGamiX, a Macau-based consultancy.

He also pointed out that three years after Macau’s gaming licences were renewed, “there is as yet no significant capital expenditure in non-gaming.”

What there is, he explained, is a list of unfulfilled promises: a new hotel and conservatory promised by one casino; an arts and culture centre promised by another, an indoor theme park – none of these were ever built.

When it comes to revenue, “they all know non-gaming is not going to replace gaming,” said Lee. “They’re trying to do as little as possible for as long as they can.”

Just an hour across the water is a city with a completely different history and culture. But how much longer can it last?

08/10/2025

Ben Lee, Managing Partner at IGamiX, says Macao’s $15 billion investment in diversifying away from the gaming sector has not yielded results. He explains that Macao has yet to see any hard capex investments on the ground and that the percentage of non-gaming’s contribution to the region’s total revenue has been falling since 2023.

Ben Lee, Managing Partner at IGamiX, says Macao's $15 billion investment in diversifying away from the gaming sector has not yielded results. He explains that Macao has yet to see any hard capex investments on the ground and that the percentage of non-gaming's contribution to the region's total reve...

06/09/2025

This month, our associate, Dr Leanda Care, comments on another form of integration beyond the economic: culture. In Macau Daily Times

Discourse about GBA integration tends to skirt around any overt explanation of how culturally discrete community groups are to integrate. Culture that is manifest in fine art productions and other intangible forms of artistic expression appears to be a safe domain of discussion, as public promotions...