But the U.S. casino sector will under-perform that growth, rising just five percent annually, and as a consequence, at the end of the five-year period it will account for a significantly smaller share of the global market than it does today. Currently, about 49 percent of the global market is in the U.S.; by 2015, that will have dropped to 40 percent.

Growth in EMEA will be even slower, at 2.4 percent annually, which PwC blames partly on “the impact of adverse regulatory developments” as well as on economic conditions. EMEA has about a 14 percent share of the global market now, but in 2015 that will have dropped to ten percent.

The market share lost by the U.S. and EMEA will, predictably enough, be taken by casinos in the Asia Pacific region, where 18.3 percent annual growth will lead to a share of about 43 percent in 2015, up from around 30 percent now. Asia Pacific is predicted by PwC to overtake the U.S. as the world’s biggest casino market in 2013.

Within Asia, PwC regards Macau as “the jewel in the gaming crown”. But across the region, it says, gaming is being driven to new heights by economic growth, local love of gambling, the increasing number of facilities, improvements in transportation links, and lifting of regulatory burdens.

And it is not just the success in comparative terms of the Asian markets that will lead the U.S. to lose its dominance. They will actually hit American business directly. Observes PwC: “Some high-roller customers that would otherwise travel to the U.S. will be diverted by these overseas attractions. The impact will be on U.S. gaming centres like Nevada, which have a higher reliance on foreign tourists to drive revenues.”

“We talk about the global economy, but this has never been more evident than in casino gaming. The turbulent global financial markets have curtailed consumer spending in some of the major markets for casino gaming. But we’ve seen huge growth in Asia as the affluent middle classes seek new forms of entertainment, and gaming’s intense balance of risk and reward has a special appeal for many people,” said Marcel Fenez, global entertainment and media leader at PwC.

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