In the world of gambling, there are surprisingly few major names that are worth looking at. Genting is most certainly one of them, however, having grown from a resort in the hills of Malaysian forests to one of the biggest betting companies on the planet.
The story is a fascinating one, which we’ll look at in more detail here. We’ll also attempt to look at Genting’s place in the world of gambling, looking to inform you about how they’ve developed over the years.
Who Are Genting?
Genting, South Kensington (TK Kurikawa / Bigstockphoto.com)
The Genting story began in 1965 when the Genting Highlands Resort was created. It was the brainchild of Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong, who thought a mountain holiday resort that all Malaysians could access would be a good idea when he was working in the Cameron Highlands in 1963. He joined with Tan Sri Haji Mohammed Noah bin Omar to form a private company called Genting Highlands Berhad in April 1965.
Over the following five years the ground was paid for and the construction of the venue began, which was paid for largely out of Tan Sri Lim’s own money and time. The foundation stone for the company’s first hotel was laid by YTM Tunku Abdul Rahman, the then Prime Minister of Malaysia, in March of 1960. It was the Prime Minister who suggested that a gaming licence might help the resort to develop.
Company Timeline
The 1971 opening of the company’s first hotel was the start of the building of a gaming empire. It grew slowly and surely, thanks largely to the opening of more hotels and country clubs in the years that followed. Here’s how the 1980s developed into the 1990s for Genting:
- 1981 – Genting Hotel Opens
- 1984 – Awana Genting Highlands Golf & Country Resort Opens
- 1992 – Resort Hotel & Genting Indoor Theme Park Opens
- 1994 – Outdoor Themepark Opens
- 1997 – Highlands Hotel & Genting Skyway Cable Car System Opens
In 2002, the First World Complex was launched, featuring a hotel, plaza, theme park and convention centre. This helped Resorts World Genting to become one of the main holiday destinations in the area. Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong and his successor Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay both guided the Genting Group to diversify, adding plantations, cruise operations and even oil and gas exploration to the company’s portfolio.
Global Expansion
When Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay took over the reigns of the group he began to work to expand its global presence. They took on the integrated resort project of the Government of Singapore in 2006, opening it four years later. It was the first domino in a global movement, with Resorts World Casino New York City opening the following year, Resorts World Bimini in the Bahamas in 2013 and Resorts World Birmingham in 2015.
Of course, no major gambling body can claim to truly be part of the industry until they’ve got a presence in Las Vegas and Resorts World Las Vegas is primed to open in 2021. It is built on the site of Stardust Resort and Casino, which Genting Group took over ownership of in 2013. It is already considered to be one of the main casino brands in the world, so its Vegas property will likely only add to that.
How Genting Fit into the World of Betting
Genting Highlands Malaysia (wittayayut / Bigstockphoto.com)
One of Malaysia’s most respected exports and largest corporations, Genting’s market capitalisation sits at in excess of £30 billion. Since its foundation, it has worked hard to develop, operate and market casinos throughout the world, meaning that it sits at the vanguard of the casino industry. That is in no small part thanks to casinos and resorts in the following locations:
- Malaysia
- United Kingdom
- Singapore
- Hong Kong
- Philippines
- United States of America
- Caribbean
- Korea
Where some companies have a place in their ranks for numerous different brands, Genting have tended to keep their offerings in-house. They have numerous other strings to their bow, including plantations and energy corporations, but when it comes to the world of gambling they are an island in an otherwise vast ocean.
Given that the company was worth more than nine billion Malaysian Ringgit in 2016, it’s understandable why those responsible for the running of Genting might not want to diversify or weaken their brand name.
What Genting Offer
Resorts World Malaysia (Chee Hong / Wikipedia.org)
As you might well imagine from reading the rest of this piece, Genting offer so much more than just casinos. It’s the casino side of the business that we’re most interested in, though, and on that front you’ll get pretty much everything that you’d expect if you take the time to head to one of their brick and mortar locations.
International Table Games
Of course, the company’s origins in Malaysia mean that some of the table games that you’ll get to play are a little more exotic than you might find in other UK-based casinos. The likes of blackjack and roulette are accompanied by games such as Sic Bo, Dragon Tiger and baccarat. There are also many different versions of roulette available.
Online Games
In this day and age, of course, few gambling companies are worth their salt if they don’t have an online offering, so Genting have branched out into that side of the industry too. They’ve added what is an electronic version of their physical casino to their portfolio, with a wider array of games than you’d be able to fit into an actual brick and mortar location.
That includes a host of slot games, the likes of which you can play at the real casinos too. The online site also has something that not all online casinos have, which is a sportsbook. When it comes to sportsbook and casino combinations, it’s common for bookmakers to launch a casino but rarely happens the other way around.