Donuts

What is Donuts?

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.

“As the RFP process played out, regulators introduced additional policies and regulations. As each regulation was introduced, developers adjusted their gaming forecasting models downward. Finally, those models reached a tipping point where potential revenues were insufficient to justify a project’s capital costs,” says Klebanow.

Japan’s attempt to reap the economic benefits of casino gaming while keeping gambling socially contained is comparable to Asia’s dominant casino hubs Singapore and Macau.

How to play Donuts

Coming from the outside, I needed to gather a team to help steer the ship. In the two years since I took on the role, I have been blessed to work with some of the sharpest minds in the industry and I couldn’t be prouder of what we have achieved so far.

I won’t lie, when I first entered iGaming, I had my concerns. Aspects of the industry felt stuck in a state of stasis. People were making money, and as long as that continued to happen and margins were healthy, why innovate? Just keep doing the same things over and over, with marginal improvements when necessary.

As someone with a naturally curious mind, I found this frustrating. However, in a short period of time, I have seen positive changes. Recent regulatory shifts and an increasingly competitive landscape are pushing companies to innovate, and those unwilling to adapt are being left behind.

About Donuts

Each day of Africa Safer Gambling Week has centred on a different issue around player protection, including responsible gambling and the prevention of underage gambling.

Kesitilwe acknowledges that while Africa is one continent, it is also hugely diverse in terms of markets with different realities across regulatory structures and social contexts.

Therefore, the aim is not to create a single regulatory model, but rather continued collaboration that allows for locally relevant messaging and measures.