Malaysia has one casino. Not one casino company, one casino property, one licence. And that licence sits inside Genting Malaysia Berhad.
People often confuse the company with its parent, Genting Berhad, and with its sister, Genting Singapore. But GENM is a distinct listed entity with its own licence, its own balance sheet, and its own set of problems. It is the operator that built a mountain resort from scratch in the 1960s, turned it into a national landmark, and then spent the 2010s and 2020s trying to replicate that success overseas.
That overseas expansion is now the centre of the story. The US$5.5 billion Resorts World New York City casino is the biggest bet in the company’s history. It is also the reason Q2 2026 net profit fell 89% year-on-year.
This is the complete operator profile.
The Origin Story: A Contractor, a Mountain, and One Licence
Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong, a contractor who spoke Hokkien, Mandarin, Malay, and Cantonese but no English, founded the Genting Group in 1965. His vision was a mountaintop resort at Genting Highlands, roughly 58 kilometres from Kuala Lumpur. The casino opened in 1971.
The original casino licence was issued to Genting Berhad in 1971. In 1989, the group underwent a restructuring: Resorts World Bhd acquired Genting Group’s entire gaming, hotel, and resort operations, including goodwill and relevant assets. The company subsequently renamed that entity Genting Malaysia Berhad and listed it on Bursa Malaysia under stock code 4715. The authorities issued the casino licence to GENM in 1989.
The licence is the foundation of everything. Under the Common Gaming Houses Act 1953 (Revised 1983), the government issues only this licence in Malaysia for operating a land-based casino. The Minister of Finance renews it on a quarterly basis, and the Minister has renewed it every quarter since first issuing it.
That quarterly renewal is the single most important fact about this company. There is no long-term concession. There is no statutory guarantee. Every three months, the licence comes up for renewal, and every three months, the government has the option to let it lapse. That is the structural vulnerability beneath the entire business.
Ownership: Who Actually Controls GENM
Genting Malaysia is a subsidiary of Genting Berhad, which holds a 73.83% stake. Genting Berhad itself trades as a listed entity on Bursa Malaysia, and Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, son of the founder, chairs the broader Genting Group.
The board of GENM is chaired by Gen. Dato’ Seri DiRaja Tan Sri (Dr.) Mohd Zahidi bin Hj Zainuddin (R), a former Chief of Defence Force. Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay serves as Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive. Dato’ Sri Lee Choong Yan is President and Executive Director. Dato’ Indera Lim Keong Hui is Deputy Chief Executive and Executive Director. As of the 45th AGM in June 2025, the board had eight members: three Executive Directors and five non-executive directors, including independent directors.
The ownership structure matters for regulatory purposes. Gambling licences in Malaysia are issued to entities, not groups. GENM holds the casino licence, not Genting Berhad. That separation is deliberate and legally significant.
The Malaysian Licence: What It Covers and What It Does Not
The Resorts World Genting casino licence authorises table games, slot machines, and electronic table games inside a gaming area of over 200,000 square feet. The casino comprises themed sections, including Monte Carlo, Circus Palace, Hollywood, and the International Room. It opens every day of the year.
The licence does not authorise online gambling. It does not authorise sports betting. It does not authorise lottery operations. Those activities sit under different statutes and, in the case of online gambling, are prohibited outright. The licence is a land-based casino licence, and it is the only one in the country.
Genting Hotel & Resorts Management Sdn Bhd, which Genting Berhad wholly owns, manages the casino under a 30-year management agreement that the parties entered into in 1989 following the restructuring. The fee structure has a basic component tied to gross revenue and an incentive component tied to net operating income.
The Resort: RWG by the Numbers
Resorts World Genting is not just a casino. It is an integrated resort with hotels, theme parks, retail, dining, and convention facilities. The property has approximately 10,500 hotel rooms across seven hotels, including First World Hotel, which has over 7,300 rooms and is one of the largest hotels in the world. It has over 100 food and beverage venues. The resort employs over 10,000 people directly.
Visitor numbers before the pandemic exceeded 20 million a year. The resort draws primarily from Malaysia and Singapore, with a mass-market base supplemented by VIP players who spend significantly more.
The resort is also the group’s Malaysian tax engine. GENM pays casino duty at 35% of gross gaming income, plus hotel tax, entertainment duty, and annual state government fees. In 2018 alone, it paid RM350 million in assessment rates to the Bentong municipal council. Over the five years from 2021 to 2025, its estimated casino tax contribution to the Malaysian government exceeded RM15 billion.
The Overseas Portfolio: UK, Egypt, Bahamas, and the US
GENM is not only a Malaysian company. It operates casinos and resorts in four other jurisdictions.
In the UK, it owns and operates over 30 casinos, making it one of the largest casino operators in the country. The portfolio includes Resorts World Birmingham, the first integrated resort of its kind in the UK. Its UK casinos include the prestigious Crockfords, Colony Club, Maxims Casino Club, and The Palm Beach brands in London.
In Egypt, it operates Crockfords Cairo, an exclusive casino inside The Nile Ritz-Carlton Hotel.
In the Bahamas, it operates Resorts World Bimini.
United States, it operates Resorts World Catskills and, most significantly, Resorts World New York City. RWNYC was originally a video lottery terminal facility at the Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens. In December 2025, the New York State Gaming Commission awarded Genting New York LLC a full commercial casino licence, after Genting New York LLC bid US$600 million for a 30-year licence — US$100 million above the minimum requirement — and committed to slot tax of 56% and table game tax of 30%.
The first phase of full commercial casino operations opened on April 28, 2026, with 242 table games and roughly 3,900 slot machines. The plan is to increase table games to 400 by the end of 2026 or early 2027. RWNYC has a first-mover advantage: its two competitors, Metropolitan Park and Bally’s, will not open until 2030.
Financials: Revenue Up, Profit Down
GENM’s FY2025 results were a study in divergence. Revenue rose 8.9% to RM11.88 billion from RM10.91 billion in FY2024. Net income was RM754.92 million, up sharply from RM251.28 million the previous year. Basic earnings per share from continuing operations were 13.32 sen, compared with 4.43 sen in FY2024.
The quarterly picture is more volatile. Q2 2026 revenue climbed 32% year-on-year to RM3.85 billion, driven by the RWNYC launch and the consolidation of Genting Casino Stratford and Empire Resorts. But net profit collapsed 89% to RM47.4 million, from RM416.6 million a year earlier. The company attributed the decline to an RM18.1 million unrealised foreign exchange translation loss on USD-denominated borrowings, ramp-up costs at RWNYC, higher depreciation, and higher financing costs.
The balance sheet reflects the scale of the New York investment. The enterprise value is RM20.32 billion, against a market capitalisation of approximately RM7.08 billion as of late October 2026. The debt-to-equity ratio is 1.74, and the interest coverage ratio is 1.44. The stock has fallen 46% over the past 52 weeks.
Regulatory Record: Clean at Home, a US$10.5 Million Fine Abroad
GENM’s Malaysian regulatory record is, by the standards of the global gaming industry, uneventful. The Minister of Finance has renewed the casino licence quarterly without public interruption since 1989. Authorities have not publicly reported any enforcement actions, licence suspensions, or regulatory fines against the Resorts World Genting casino operation under the Common Gaming Houses Act.
The same cannot be said for the wider Genting Group. In March 2025, Genting Bhd agreed to pay a US$10.5 million fine to the Nevada Gaming Commission as part of a settlement over a complaint related to the operations of Resorts World Las Vegas. The settlement allowed the Las Vegas property to retain its licence, subject to enhanced anti-money laundering review and other conditions. The fine was paid by Genting Berhad, not Genting Malaysia, but it is a reputational data point for the group.
On responsible gambling, GENM operates a self-exclusion programme at Resorts World Genting that has been in place since 2006. The programme allows guests to voluntarily prohibit their own participation in gaming, and participants do not receive promotional marketing materials. The group has strengthened early detection, education, and intervention measures, and has expanded digital awareness initiatives. Its UK operations achieved Advanced Level 3 of GamCare’s Safer Gambling Standard in 2021.
FAQ
Who owns Genting Malaysia Berhad?
Genting Malaysia Berhad is 73.83% owned by Genting Berhad, a listed Malaysian company. The broader Genting Group was founded by Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong in 1965 and is currently led by Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay.
Does Genting Malaysia hold the only casino licence in Malaysia?
Yes. Resorts World Genting is the only licensed land-based casino in Malaysia, operating under the Common Gaming Houses Act 1953. The licence was first issued in 1971 and is renewable on a quarterly basis.
How many casinos does Genting Malaysia operate?
It operates one casino in Malaysia (Resorts World Genting), over 30 casinos in the UK, Crockfords Cairo in Egypt, Resorts World Bimini in the Bahamas, Resorts World Catskills in the US, and Resorts World New York City.
What was Genting Malaysia’s FY2025 revenue?
FY2025 revenue was RM11.88 billion, up from RM10.91 billion in FY2024. Net income was RM754.92 million, compared with RM251.28 million in the prior year.
Why did Genting Malaysia’s Q2 2026 profit drop 89%?
The decline was driven by an RM18.1 million unrealised foreign exchange loss on USD-denominated borrowings, ramp-up costs at Resorts World New York City, higher depreciation, and higher financing costs.
Has Genting Malaysia ever been fined by regulators?
Genting Malaysia’s Malaysian casino operation has no publicly reported regulatory fines. Its parent, Genting Berhad, paid a US$10.5 million fine to the Nevada Gaming Commission in 2025 over Resorts World Las Vegas.
Sources
- Genting Malaysia Berhad — 45th AGM Minutes, June 11, 2025. gentingmalaysia.com.
- Genting Malaysia Berhad — Annual Report 2010: Celebrating 45 Years of Excellence. Bursa Malaysia.
- Fundsupermart — Eagle II Bond Offering Circular: Resorts World Genting casino licence details.
- MarketScreener / S&P Capital IQ — Genting Malaysia Berhad FY2025 earnings results, February 26, 2026.
- Bernama — “Genting Posts Net Loss Of RM11.56 Mln In FY2025,” February 26, 2026.
- The Edge Malaysia — “Cover Story 2: Will New York change Genting group’s fortunes?,” August 24, 2026.
- The Star — “Genting Malaysia gets the nod for New York casino licence,” December 16, 2025.
- The Star — “Genting to pay US$10.5mil fine in Nevada gaming settlement,” March 21, 2025.
- e南洋 — “贡献最为复杂庞大 云顶大马5年赌场税150亿,” June 4, 2026.
- StockAnalysis.com — Genting Malaysia Berhad statistics and valuation metrics, October 30, 2026.
- Genting Malaysia Berhad — Responsible Gaming / Self-Exclusion Programme disclosures.
- Bursa Malaysia — Genting Malaysia Berhad (4715) company profile and subsidiary listings.
