News and Notes

Representatives from the MSG Sphere venue in Las Vegas are awaiting a Nevada Supreme Court ruling that will determine whether or not MSG Entertainment Chairman and CEO James Dolan can be deposed in a lawsuit from cost consultant Rider Levett Bucknall, who is alleging that the venue owes him over $1 million in unpaid work. The suit, first filed in late 2021, alleges that the two sides signed a contract in 2016 that was later amended in 2018; when Bucknall requested a total of $1.56 million in payment in 2020, he only received a total of $300,000. The motion to depose Dolan was first denied by a district judge in Clark County, but the appeal is still pending.  •   New South Wales’ state regulator, Liquor & Gaming NSW, has confirmed that it will continue with a second round of compliance inspections to see if the state’s bars and clubs are keeping up with harm mitigation measures. According to the agency, some 500 inspections will take place, and the main points of inspection will be proper allocation of duties (i.e. only operating bars or gaming areas), placement of ATMs near gaming areas and other instances in which patrons are forced to pass through gaming areas to reach the rest of the venue. The first phase of the project, which comprised 875 inspections, resulted in 77 penalty notices.  •   Macau casino concessionaire SJM Resorts has retrained more than 1,000 of its former gaming employees and transferred them to non-gaming departments such as catering, marketing and HR. The program was a joint project of SJM and Macau’s Labor Affairs Bureau, and is part of a larger strategy to diversify the local economy beyond gaming.  •  Alliance Global Group will allocate $71.5 million in capex this year for the expansion of Manila’s Newport World Resorts. In a filing, AGI described the allocation as part of its strategy to “sustain the strong growth in its gross gaming revenues which hit record levels in 2022, and the recovery of its non-gaming revenues alongside the resurgence in staycations and MICE activities.” Newport World Resorts, previously Resorts World Manila, is operated by AGI subsidiary Travellers International Hotel Group.  •  Betsson AB says it has secured definitive terms to acquire Belgium-based BetFIRST, a sportsbook and casino brand for €120 million in cash in a transaction to be completed by July 5, SBC News reported June 15. BetFIRST was established in 2011 and quickly established itself as a leader in the online gaming market.  Betsson CEO and President Pontus Lindwall said in a statement: “We are very excited about entering the Belgian market together with our partners Groupe Partouche and see a strong strategic fit with the acquisition of BetFIRST.” He added, “At Betsson, our growth strategy revolves around extending our presence into new markets, particularly in locally regulated or soon-to-be regulated markets. Belgium, where the online gaming market is regulated since 2011, aligns very well with this strategy.”