SINGAPORE A GOOD ONLINE GAMBLING JURISDICTION?

22 June 2007

Cryptologic CEO thinks it could be a model for Asia Pacific markets

Only a month after his appointment as the CEO at Canadian online gambling software firm Cryptologic, Javaid Aziz has been out and about in Asia, where the company has expansion in mind.

In an interview with The Business Times in Singapore, Aziz said that Singapore could be a model for other Asia Pacific online gambling markets, developing strategies that could allow land casinos (already permitted by the government) and online gambling venues to complement one another, perhaps by land casinos housing Internet gaming facilities.

Aziz pointed to the work his company is doing on the Internet operations of Dutch government owned Holland Casino.com as an example of possible synergies.

Cryptologic recently brought a respected Asian lawyer, Yap Wai Ming on to its board of directors, and has hired ex-Cisco manager Shailesh Naik to head up a Singapore office, although staffing will likely be confined to the "10s and 20s" as the main muscle for Cryptologic's Asian enterprises will probably come in the form of joint ventures with regional companies.

"The industry needs senior executives with experience in negotiating with regulators and governments," says Aziz, a former CEO for IBM in Britain, who says that his company is keen to negotiate with Asian policy makers.

Aziz told the newspaper that the market for casual games such as online pool is the more immediate prospect and that he plans to use Singapore as a regional base to tap into business potential in China, Korea, Thailand and India.

Obstacles include differing cultural preferences and the ease with which communities can be formed where players can find other players with similar skill levels.

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