Growth rates in the Asia-Pacific gaming market are likely to moderate in 2012 after the rapid growth in 2011. Nevertheless, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services expects the industry to grow at a healthy rate in the next 12 months. That's according to an industry report card, titled "Asia-Pacific Gaming Industry: Growth Rates Are Moderating, But Are Likely To Remain Healthy In 2012," published today.

The report says the outlook on the Asia-Pacific gaming industry is stable.

"We expect growth rates in Macau and Singapore, the gaming hotspots in the region, to moderate in the next 12 months," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Joe Poon. "Our base-case forecast for the Macau gaming market is growth in gross gaming revenue of 10%-15% in 2012. We expect net gaming revenue in Singapore to grow by 5%-10% in 2012."

The other Asian markets are likely to accelerate their plans to develop licensed integrated casino resorts to spur growth in their economies.

"We expect operators in the region, with their improving financial capacity, to aggressively bid for casino licenses and invest billion of dollars into gaming projects," said Mr. Poon. "We consider gaming operators to be better positioned now than they were in 2008 to accommodate risks associated with investments in new gaming developments and any moderation in gaming demand."

The report examines the risk factors and growth potential of the gaming markets inMacau, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. It also discusses the gaming operators' appetite in the region and comments on individual operators.