Credit ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service has placed the Baa2 issuer rating of Genting Berhad on review for possible downgrade, citing concerns that the company’s announced voluntary offer to acquire the remaining ~50.6 % stake in Genting Malaysia Berhad will materially weaken its credit metrics. According to Moody’s, Genting’s adjusted debt/EBITDA is expected to rise to about 5.1 times in 2025 under the deal scenario—well above the agency’s 4.0 times downgrade threshold, and from an already weak base.
Governments in Southeast Asia are ramping up efforts to dismantle trans-national cyber-crime operations that overlap with human trafficking, forced labour and online scam networks. This has become a regional priority involving countries such as Cambodia and Myanmar, which are increasingly being used as hubs or safe-zones for these illicit operations.
The Supreme Court of India (SC) has taken up a petition seeking a nationwide ban on online gambling and betting platforms that ostensibly function under the guise of e-sports and social gaming. The petition was filed by the Centre for Accountability and Systemic Change (CASC), which argues that these platforms exploit legal gaps, resulting in “widespread social and economic harm”. The petition names multiple Union ministries and the app store operators Google India Pvt. Ltd. and Apple Inc. as respondents, asking for a direction to interpret the recently enacted Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 (POGA 2025) in a manner that prohibits online money-games.
The Korean resort and casino Kangwon Land announced that it welcomed approximately 147,550 visitors between 3 and 12 October 2025 during the extended Chuseok holiday period, the holiday that celebrates the harvest and family reunion.
Sri Lanka’s government has announced that it plans to have its newly proposed Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA) up and running by June 2026, marking an effort to bring coherence and oversight to the country’s fragmented gambling sector. The legislative groundwork is already in motion: in August 2025, Parliament passed a revised gambling bill that consolidates earlier statutes covering casinos, betting, and horse racing, and empowers the GRA to regulate and license all gaming activities, monitor compliance, and enforce anti-money laundering rules.
Author: Janice Chew • Monday, 20/10/2025
