“If we do not have a casino in our country, (we lose) the millions of dollars that foreign and Brazilian tourists spend when they travel to play. And while other countries have in the casinos a source of high revenue and tourist attraction, Brazil insists on illegality.”
—Herculano Passos, Brazilian lawmaker, pointing out that illegal games in the country annually generate R$34.1 billion (US$9 billion) with no tax benefit
“I’m not favorable. I think we have to move forward in a discussion involving the integrated resorts, as we see in Singapore. Not bingo, game of the animal.”
—Marcelo Álvaro Antônio, Brazil’s tourism minister under President Jair Bolsonaro
“The long process of implementing the emblematic investment of Hellinikon both symbolically and financially marks Greece’s passage to the era of growth.”
—Alexis Charitsis, Greek Interior Minister, on the $8 billion Hellinikon Airport IR development
“It has always been our policy to attract better tourists to Macau, such as European tourists, Portuguese, Spaniards and the British who come to appreciate our mixed Portuguese-Chinese culture.”
—Alexis Tam Chon Weng, Macau secretary for social affairs and culture, on a plan to possibly institute a tourism entry fee in the market
“Government statistics are the basis for economic and fiscal policy and should be accurate. It’s truly regrettable that the labor survey had to be corrected.”
—Taro Aso, Japan finance minister, whose office was forced to add ¥650 million (US$5.9 million) in costs to the country’s 2019 budget because of faulty jobs data
“The growth of esports is based on overall viewership and the amount of money that curiosity generates is huge. Sponsorships, larger prize money, advertising will all be larger as the interest in e-sports increases. People bet on esports the same way they would bet on traditional sports—through a sportsbook or online casino. As e-sports grows and becomes more popular, casinos will begin to see the opportunity of offering e-sports betting lines and inviting that volume of interest to gamble on tournaments.”
—Onur Unlu, content manager at NJGames in the gambling consultant’s report predicting growth of eSports betting at casinos
“This shift is really tied to the remarkable crossover between fantasy players and sports bettors. And with that strong crossover, we believe there is a lot we can do together and that this is a natural evolution for us.”
—Paul Charchian, president of the Fantasy Sports Trade Association which is renaming itself to the Fantasy Sports & Gaming Association
“Mr. Perelman has a history of making opportunistic purchases when he has felt a disconnect in valuation, given Scientific Games’ growth prospects.”
—SunTrust gaming analyst Barry Jonas, commenting that Scientific Games Chairman Ron Perelman’s December acquisition of 1.5 million shares in his company is a way to offset the supplier’s flat results in 2018
“More gamblers are dying every day than being born. In Nevada the graph of device numbers is the same—much less devices and the gaming floor space has gone to entertainment. Here in Cripple Creek we haven’t done that as readily. I think that is coming.”
—Steve Kitzman, Cripple Creek, Colorado, director of marketing and events on why the city wants to encourage non-gaming amenities to go along with gaming
“Legal, regulated mobile sports betting provides the best mechanism to not only protect consumers, but to eliminate illegal offshore gambling, ensure game integrity, generate new revenue for the commonwealth and fuel the growth of Massachusetts’ sports-tech sector.”
—Jamie Chisholm, spokesman for DraftKings, a Boston-based daily fantasy sports operator, supporting online sports betting in Massachusetts
“We came up with what we think is a bill that will take sports betting out of the shadows, but provide responsible consumer protections.”
—Senator Brendan Crighton, introducing a bill in the Massachusetts legislature to legalize sports betting
