Packer's Crown wins in downturn, by Michael Sainsbury - The Australian - 28th October 2008

James Packer's gaming group Crown Limited is expected to unveil good trading results for its Australian casinos Crown and Burswood at the company's annual shareholder meeting in Melbourne today.

But Mr Packer's push to create a global gaming empire is continuing to run into the twin headwinds of the global financial crisis and slowdown of growth in China.

The gaming group's share price has been in steady decline -- falling from $14.27 in December last year to close at $6.48 yesterday, down 18c for the day.

A report released last week by investment bank Citi contained the results of a survey of gambling spending in regulated casino markets in the US. The results showed a rise in gambling spending over the past 12 months. In the 12 months to the end of August, total measurable gambling spending grew 2.3 per cent, compared with 1.4 per cent for the 12 months ended December last year.

Citi analyst Jenny Owen describes this as "contrary to the accepted wisdom" but another view says gambling is recession-proof and that people might even bet more during gloomy times.

But there has been a slowdown in Asia's emerging gambling hub, Macau.

Citing an article published by Lusa News Agency, Citi said Macau gaming revenue declined 3.2 per cent year-on-year to $863 million in September.

(Credit: The Australian)

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