NEWS & NOTES

The National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) has announced that it has implemented an electronic payment system through Pay.gov that will allow gaming tribes to pay quarterly payments of annual fees associated with casinos. The use of this system is optional. Checks will still be accepted. One advantage of using the system is that it calculates the rate of the fees, so mistakes are not made. The NIGC regulates 450 casinos operated by 242 tribes in 28 states.  •  Macau junket promoter Sorte Estrela has opened its first VIP room. The Altira Macau location contains 10 table games. The company says it is looking to open three rooms within two years and also has its sights on a casino license somewhere in the region. Unlike most Macau junkets, Sorte’s players mostly come from Southeast Asia, India, Japan and Korea.  •  The government of Madrid has proposed a reduction in tax rates for the region’s casinos and bingo halls. The tiered system lowers rates by five percentage points in each of three revenue segments, for an effective average land-based rate of 37 percent, and from 20 percent to 25 percent for online bingo.  •  Corredor Empresarial has submitted the only bid in Colombia to operate the country’s new “Súper Astro” game. “Súper Astro,” now in its 12th year, is one of the least-known offerings among Colombian bettors, accounting for only 4.3 percent of the market.  •  The Hengqin New Area Management Committee says it is “fully prepared” for the launch of 24-hour border crossing between Macau and Zhuhai at the Lotus Bridge Cotai Frontier Post. The extended hours come into effect December 18. Committee director Niu Jing said a joint inspection will be carried out to ensure all equipment and facilities are ready before December 15.  •  China property developer Landing International Development said it is in negotiations to acquire a casino license. The company, which is partnering in South Korea with Genting Singapore on a Jeju island bid, did not specify a location for the license, however, and said it is not in formal negotiations to acquire one.  •  Netherlands gambling regulator Kansspelautoriteit has begun accepting applications from companies interested in acquiring online gaming licenses in the country.  •  Tatts Group has stated a “strong interest” in acquiring Western Australia licensed betting operator TAB if it were to be put on the market by the state government. Tatts currently owns TAB operations for the governments of Queensland, South Australia, Northern Territory and Tasmania.  •  The Hindu community is reported to be upset with Gauselmann’s Merkur Gaming for releasing a slot machine themed about the god Shiva. Universal Society of Hinduism President Rajan Zed pointed out that Shiva, as one of the three great Hindu deities with Brahma and Vishnu, is “meant to be worshiped in temples or home shrines and not for promoting gambling on slots.” Zed has urged Gauselmann and its chairman, Paul Gauselmann, to publicly apologize and immediately recall the game.  •  Genting Malaysia’s Resorts World is making fast progress on an expansion of its massive leisure complex north of Kuala Lumpur, according to CIMB Research. The firm says 1,300 remodeled rooms will be ready by year’s end. The casino floor is being expanded and could include 250 new machine games, raising the property’s total to 850. The company also expects to complete by 2016 a movie industry-based theme park called Twentieth Century Fox World, at a cost of about MYR1 billion (US$287.8 million).   •  The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe of New York State says its Akwesasne Mohawk Casino Resort in Hogansburg attracts 2.8 million visitors a year and supports more than 100 programs through the Tribal General Fund. The casino opened in 1999.  ?  Casino Mantra Punta del Este in Uruguay has reopened for the summer season, from December through February. The gaming hall operates for just one season during the year. It is open nightly from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m.  ?  Singapore’s National Council on Problem Gambling is planning to launch a new multimedia campaign that will appeal to the council’s target audience “in a positive manner that conveys hope for recovery” and “encourage help-seeking behavior.”  •  The Maine Legislature’s Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee has signed onto discussing the gaming expansion studied prepared for lawmakers earlier this year by WhiteSand Gaming, and which recommends allow two more casinos in the state. There are currently two casinos in the state: Hollywood Slots in Bangor and the Oxford Casino. Some lawmakers have expressed reservations about expanding gaming. Some say that any such expansion must include a provision for helping the state’s horseracing industry. Others fear cannibalizing the two existing facilities. Governor Paul LePage insists that the voters must make any such decision.  •  The 2^nd annual iGaming Legislative Symposium will be held February 26 of next year at the Sheraton Grand Sacramento Hotel in California. Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom will give the keynote address. The symposium will focus on the future of internet gaming in the Golden State and will include as participants lawmakers, regulators, and tribal and commercial casino operators.  •  Austria’s Novomatic Group, through its subsidiary Novomatic Gaming Spain, has acquired shares in GiGames, a company with venue in Terrassa, Barcelona. GiGames is a manufacturer and distributor of gaming equipment in Spain. Novomatic officials say that as a local manufacturer and operator, GiGames and the Conei Group will help the company to consolidate and further enhance its future position in the Spanish gaming market.