NEWS & NOTES

Casino Royale in the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu has been cleared to resume operations by the country’s Supreme Court. Earlier this year, the government closed 10 casinos in tourist hotels nationwide for failing to meet new regulations regarding royalty payments. Casino Royale had been shuttered for nearly six months. The other nine remain closed pending settlements.  •  Sydney-listed Cell Aquaculture has nixed plans to buy the Roxy Casino in Bavet City in Cambodia, claiming the operation is not able to meet financial disclosure and reporting requirements.  •  Ireland is following the United Kingdom’s lead with new legislation that will require online operators to obtain licenses to take wagers in the country, regardless of whether they have a physical presence in the country, and pay a tax on their Irish-facing business. The new levy will mainly target foreign-based operators, which currently operate tax-free, and raise €25 million a year for the government, according to official estimates. Up to €11 million of the funds is earmarked for capital and other investment in the country’s horse and greyhound racing industries.  •  Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen says his government has no plans to sell or rent Phnom Penh’s Buddhist Institute to accommodate an ongoing expansion of NagaCorp’s NagaWorld casino. The announcement comes days after some 200 monks marched in the capital to protest reports that the country’s Ministry of Cults and Religion had leased a parcel of land from the iconic institute, which shares a boundary with the casino, to NagaCorp.  •  The Macau government collected a total of MOP101.1 billion (US$12.7 billion) in direct taxes from gaming during the first nine months of 2014. The figure is up 9.1 percent from the same period a year earlier, according to data released by the government’s Financial Services Bureau. Total government revenue for the period reached MOP120.1 billion, an increase of 6 percent year on year. Direct taxes from gaming brought in 84.2 percent of the government’s total revenue in the first nine months from 35 percent tax on revenue and around 4 percent in additional taxes and a fee for each machine game, live dealer table and VIP room.  •  The newly opened Horseshoe Casino Baltimore has received an LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, one of the highest nods possible for energy efficiency. Gold is the second-highest rating a building can earn after platinum. Horseshoe Casino Baltimore is Caesars Entertainment’s first LEED Gold project.  •  A federal class action lawsuit was filed last week against Maryland Live! casino, claiming the casino’s dealer school was a “prop” used to avoid paying employees for training. “It’s our contention that it was a job training program and these individuals were entitled to receive at least minimum wage,” said attorney Steven M. Lubar, of the Law Offices of Peter T. Nichol in Baltimore, which filed the suit, according to the Capital Gazette. The suit seeks wages it says are owed to more than 800 people who participated in the 12-week program in early 2013 at Marley Station Mall in Glen Burnie, plus “other available relief.” Maryland Live! officials say they will fight the suit, which spokeswoman Carmen Gonzalez called “wholly without merit.”  •  Breakout Gaming, an emerging technology and game developer, announced the launch of an entirely new cryptocurrency named Breakout Coin (BRO) that will be used to target the multibillion-dollar gaming space. The BRO initial coin offering (ICO) public access and investor information is available via the www.breakoutcoin.com website. The site will provide a detailed overview on the company’s BRO coin as well as information about several Breakout platforms that will soon be launched for gaming. The site also explains how, when, and where individuals can play on Breakout Gaming and invest in a limited number of BRO coins by exchanging their bitcoin (BTC), beginning October 21.  •  Scientific Games announced the successful completion of an integrated lottery gaming system conversion, including a player subscription technology platform, for the North Dakota Lottery. The conversion was completed as part of an eight-year agreement with Scientific Games for the operation of an integrated online lottery gaming system and services. The new system also features the company’s Sciplay interactive technology, which enables an internet-based player subscription program in North Dakota.  •  The planning staff of Chico, California is recommending that the Planning Commission not allow the zoning changes that would allow the seven-table card room Casino Chico to move its operations downtown. The applicant, Jon Scott requests the city amend its regulations to allow a card room in the downtown area. The city’s Community Development Department has also recommended a denial.  Staff’s opinion is that a card room downtown would not jibe well with the goals of the General Plan.  •  The MGM Springfield, which may be built depending on results of a referendum in Massachusetts, is proceeding as though it will. It is introducing high tech software that vets prospective employees without paperwork. The software uses SkillSmart, a program that looks at skills people have acquired during their careers, rather than scanning resumes and putting them into a database. The MGM hopes to build an $800 million casino resort in the city’s downtown. Because the casino won’t open for at least two years, the process gives applicants a chance to beef up their skills if they are found to be deficient.  •  Arizona Department of Racing is investigating reports that a horseracing operation in the desert may be violating the law by charging admission, offering gambling and selling alcohol. According to a spokesman for the department, “It’s not necessarily illegal to have a match race. What makes it illegal may be some of the other things going on, maybe the gambling, the alcohol sales or possibly the admission.” Match races are races with two horses running down a straightaway, separated by a rail. Reports allege that some patrons gambled on the results.