NEWS & NOTES

Casino commissioners in the Northern Mariana Islands will decide on the license revocation of Imperial Pacific International on April 9. IPI holds the exclusive license to gaming on Saipan, but its Imperial Pacific Palace casino has been closed for more than four years, and the embattled operator has racked up millions of dollars in past-due licensing fees and other debt.  ●  Kangwon Land in South Korea is planning to triple the size of its casino by 2032. The US$1.85 billion project would expand the gaming floor by more than 530,000 square feet in a bid to draw more overseas players. Located about three hours from Seoul, Kangwon Land is the only casino in South Korea that admits locals. Its goal is to increase annual traffic from 6.8 million to 12 million visitors.  ●  A lawsuit alleging collusion among Atlantic City casino hotels in price-setting got a boost last week when the Federal Trade Commission and the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Justice Department filed a statement of interest supporting the plaintiffs.The lawsuit was filed in May 2023 by two tourists, alleging that Caesars Entertainment, MGM Resorts International and other competing operators violated antitrust law by knowingly using the same algorithm to set prices at their Atlantic City hotel. In their statement, the federal agencies said antitrust laws apply even if the operators never communicated with each other directly, and the hotels could have violated federal law by using the algorithm for the starting price even if they ended up charging different amounts.  ●   Australian bookmaker MintBet has been fined AU$100,000 (US$65,773) by the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) for harm minimization failures. According to the VGCCC, MintBet reportedly allowed a bettor to bet for 35 hours across a 50-hour period without without taking any preventative measures—the bettor placed a total of 327 bets and lost a total of AU$31,149 (US$20,487). In addition to the fine, MintBet must also submit a report to the VGCCC outlining the steps it has taken to remedy its problem gambling detection systems.