China: Floating casinos benefit with the relaxation of restriction applying

With the relaxation of this restriction applying to more and more provinces, both the casinos in Macau and their floating counterparts in Hong Kong have benefited.
 
These vessels sail from various spots around Hong Kong, including Tsim Sha Tsui, where the departure halls are always packed with holidaymakers these days. Floating casinos encountered rough seas several years back, when Hong Kong was hit by the financial tsunami.

During the economic downturn, the floating casinos had to rely on promotional gimmicks - such as offering free buffets - to stay alive. Since the business has regained a firm footing, that is now out of the question.

In fact, customers can forget about getting on board in the absence of bookings made early - unless, of course, they are frequent patrons. Some mainland analysts believe the Hong Kong government is interested in giving floating casinos a helping hand, as it wants to compete with Macau for more visitors.

But others disagree, saying that customers of floating casinos only want to stay on the ship to gamble and don't contribute much to the retail sector.

However, when any business is going strong, there will never be any shortage of people wanting to jump aboard the bandwagon.

Therefore, it can be expected that the casino business - be it floating or otherwise - will be attracting more operators in the foreseeable future.