Queensland will soon be home to several new casino resorts. The properties aim to improve the local economy – but some politicians have expressed concerns about the developers that will run these operations. Several new casinos will be owned and operated by Chinese businesses. Aquis casino resort in Cairns is a billion-dollar project that was proposed by Tony Fung, a wealthy businessman from China.
The AFS Consortium, which also received a license this week, comes from another Chinese property developer. According to Nine News, Senator Nick Xenophon is concerned about the fact that gambling is illegal in mainland China while developers from the country are venturing over to Australia to open casinos.
He seems worried that the Chinese government has banned gambling due to its potentially addictive nature but business people from China have not hesitated to open casinos overseas to target international players. "It's pretty curious that gambling is banned in mainland China but state-owned enterprises are planning to make a quid off the backs of Australian punters," he said.
Queensland Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney argues that the operators are not only in it to make money off of the Australian public. He states that the casinos will also attract international players from Asia and other countries around the world. Either way, the concerns are quite dubious, as Australian casino operators are engaged in similar business plans.
Over the course of the past few years, we have seen many casino owners target wealthy gamblers from China. Even though gambling is illegal in the country, Australian developers have not hesitated to target their operations to players from a nation in which gambling has been banned. As such, it does not seem as though one group is being victimised.
Both Australian and Chinese casino operators want to expand into new markets, and their business practices seem to be above board.
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