With the boom in Internet gaming and flashy casino developments worldwide, state-owned lotteries such as Singapore Pools could do with more room to manoeuvre.
This was the point made yesterday by a self-confessed outsider to the industry, Banyan Tree Holdings chairman Ho Kwon Ping, who addressed more than 200 delegates - comprising board members and senior executives from the international lottery community - at the World Lottery Association (WLA) Convention and Trade Show at Raffles City.
Arguing that the state should give these lotteries flexibility in business undertakings, Mr Ho suggested that they be allowed to buy into other lotteries or firms locally or abroad as well as go online.
This would help state-owned lotteries keep up with the changing business climate, he said.
"The world is liberalising and competition is the name of the game. Yet it's quite funny that these guys are not allowed to compete … because you're a monopoly. On the one hand, you're sitting in a cushy world (because you're protected as a monopoly) but on the other, you're stuck in that world."
Given the impending entry of two integrated resorts in Singapore and a very Internet-savvy population, Mr Ho told Today after his speech that the same arguments apply to Singapore Pools.
"The reason for having kept Singapore Pools as a monopoly owned by the state ... has largely been justified by the fact that we have never allowed private gaming operators into Singapore," he said.
"I think the fact that the Government has now allowed for casinos to operate does raise the question of state-owned monopoly for gambling." But Singapore Pools' chief financial officer John Teo felt that this was a "complex" issue to address, as it involved dealings and coordination with other countries.
He said that Singapore Pools is bracing for a dip in business once the two IRs are up and running by 2010, but he believed that there "will not be a significant impact". He pointed out that some of the participants at the convention - such as Australia's Tattersall's - reported recovery within three years after a casino's opening.
"The reason is, our clienteles may not necessarily overlap. Moreover, existing lottery games and sports betting that are conducted by Singapore Pools will be prohibited at the IRs," Mr Teo added. "We always review our business strategy. When the time comes, we'll take it one step at a time."
In his speech, Mr Ho also said that in return for flexibility to make these state-owned lotteries more competitive and profitable, their funds should be channelled into social causes that go beyond the domestic front, especially profits made from investments overseas. "Every country has its own state-owned lottery and the money was used to benefit causes in that particular country," he added.
"If we move into an international arena, why can't lotteries be used as a means for raising money quite painlessly for international causes … as a quid pro quo for unshackling state-owned lotteries?" he asked.
His proposal was welcomed by one of the participants, Mr Jesper Karrbrink, chief executive officer of Svenska Spel from Sweden, who said he would raise it in Stockholm.
Held for the first time in Asia, the biennial convention also saw about 40 exhibitors take part in the trade show. - /fa
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/061115/5/singapore241396.html
Let S'pore Pools buy firms, go online, to compete with casinos: Ho Kwon Ping 
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