Just another hurdle to overcome, the Chinese government has dictated how many citizens will be able to visit Macau each year. Citing concerns about decreased quality of life for residents, the government of Macau, with direction from Beijing, has announced it will cap the number of Mainland Chinese tourists at 21 million per year. At the same time the jurisdiction will work to attract more international visitors.
Connecticut’s two gaming tribes, the Mohegans and the Pequots, are encountering growing resistance to their call for new casinos, including from a new player, the state’s attorney general. According to AG George Jepsen, giving the tribe’s a monopoly on three new casinos off the reservation could violate the U.S. Constitution. And some question where the tribes would get the funding, even if new casinos were permitted. Mohegan Tribal Chairman Kevin Brown (l.) says it would be no problem.
With a new Labor government in power, official enthusiasm could be waning for a quartet of megaresorts planned for Queensland, including Echo Entertainment’s proposed Brisbane casino (l.). Chinese-backed investors have pledged some A$17 billion to develop resorts in Australia’s second largest state.
In a speech to the National Association of Attorneys General, American Gaming Association President Geoff Freeman (l.) has called for a partnership between legal gaming and attorneys general of the states to crack down on illegal gambling.
The judge in the bankruptcy case of Caesars Entertainment’s largest operating unit will consider whether the operator should have submitted to an involuntary bankruptcy petition filed by creditors.
The decline of the world’s No. 1 gaming hub has put the Philippines on the front burner for many global gamblers; now a $1 billion project (l.) is now under consideration by regulators, outside the gaming capital of Manila, in Cebu. South Korea is also benefiting from Macau’s slump.
Atlantic City’s first casino, Resorts Casino Hotel, has launched an online gaming site along with a new iGaming Lounge on the casino floor. The ResortsCasino.com website offers slot and table games, while the lounge acts as a digital hub to assist players for sign-ups and account handling. Compared to an Apple Store, the lounge functions as an integration between online gambling the brick and mortar casino. Owner Morris Bailey (l.) says it will be an asset to the property.
This week, in part one of a two-part presentation, the GGB Podcast features an interview with Kevin Washburn, the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs in the Department of the Interior. Washburn explains some of the progress being made by his agency.
Pansy Ho, daughter of legendary casino boss Stanley Ho and co-chairperson of MGM China Holdings Ltd., says the government of Macau should lengthen the license terms of the city’s current casino concessionaires. Their licenses are due to expire in 2020 and 2022.
U.S.-based Realty Group International of Beverly Hills wants to mastermind the first casino resort project in the Greek-controlled Republic of Cyprus. Rather than bid for its own gaming license, RGI wants to sell land for the proposed Mediterranean casino development.
Kyrgyzstan President Almazbek Atambayev (l.) has signed a law that bans gambling in the Central Asian country. The law was crafted to protect “the moral and mental state of people who are fond of gambling,” especially younger people.
If the Green Party of the U.K. and Wales takes power in the upcoming election, it may work to ban all horse and greyhound racing, according to reports. Party leader Natalie Bennett has promised a “complete review” of the sports. Voters will decide in May.
In the aftermath of raids on private gaming rooms, French lawmakers are looking at the possible Paris casino. A source told Le Parisien that prefect Jean Pierre Duport wants “a transparent and controlled offer of gambling games.” The study should be complete by the end of April.
The Baccarat Casino in Edmonton, Alberta will move to a new larger location adjacent to the existing building. When the new $32 million casino is complete in summer 2016, the old structure will be demolished.
Market research firm IBISWorld says the Australian gaming market could be work $6.2 billion by 2020. The continent will add three new casinos in the coming years, hoping to attract foreign high rollers as well as local players.
The Vietnamese government is doubling down on casinos to help grow the country’s tourism industry and compete with other Asian gaming destinations. Next up is a casino resort planned for the vacation island of Phu Quoc.
Hotel casino operator Tsogo Sun is battling Capetown, South Africa’s Competition Commission for the right to acquire 40 percent of two casinos, including the GrandWest (l.), owned by its competitor, Sun International. Commissioners say the move would give Tsogo an unfair advantage in the West Cape.
So far, Delaware’s experiment with online gaming has not put a dime into the three state casino’s coffers as revenue has gone completely to the state. The state receives the first $3.75 million in revenue, a mark not reached in the first year of online gaming in the state.
An online petition asking the White House to take an official stance on online poker hasn’t generated nearly enough signatures to get a response. The White House’s “We the People” site responds to petitions that get 100,000 signatures. The online poker petition has less than 4,000 in its first 10 days on the site.
Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred (l.) and the MLB Player’s Association have reached an agreement to ban players from participating at fantasy baseball sites. The move comes even as the league and some teams have been signing marketing deals with online sites and doesn’t stop players from endorsing fantasy league companies.
The Netherlands does not currently regulate online gambling sites taking bets from Dutch citizens, but that could change. The Dutch government says it wants to put in reforms to regulate the industry and protect Dutch players. The proposed reforms include licensing online sites to operate in the country and protections for problem gamblers.
Louisiana state Rep. Joe Lopinto has introduced a bill to legalize fantasy sports gaming in the state. The bill treats fantasy sports as skill-based and not gambling.
Online gaming operator Unibet is focusing on its live sports betting services in a new advertising campaign. Unibet said the idea of the campaign is to show off its 90,000 in-play markets, which enable users to place bets during games.
According to statistics from the Italian Observatory on Online Gaming Italian gamblers spent $769 million online in 2014, up only 0.1 percent over 2013. Online poker revenue showed a decline.
Online bookmaking operations such as Betfair had to fend off attacks by hackers, which knocked some sites offline. The attacks—called DDOS attacks—are designed to take sites down in hopes they will pay to have service restored. Details weren’t always released, but most sites were able to restore service.
666Bet has told customers that they will have to wait to collect winnings while their license is suspended by the UK. The UK and Aldernay gaming commissions are reviewing the company. Though the commissions have said the company can pay off winners, 666Bet says it can’t process payments while its site is offline.
Canada’s Prince Edwards Island is denying it conspired to undermine the economic interests of a U.S. technology company involved in the province’s attempt to become an international online gambling hub. The suit stems from reports that government officials were able to invest in companies working on the project.
The state gaming commission could vote this week to extend the May 26 deadline for three developers to submit applications and plans for casino resorts in the southeastern part of Massachusetts. George Carney (l.), owner of Raynham Park, and his Rush Street Gaming partners are the only ones to have completed the application.
Six lawmakers are asking Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane (l.) to investigate Penn National Gaming over its cancellation of a partnership in the Lawrence Downs racino.
Similar gambling bills passed committees in both the Florida House and Senate, both allowing greyhound racetracks to decouple live racing from gambling, among other measures. The Senate version also would extend the Seminole Tribe's exclusive rights to blackjack for one year. Rep. Dana Young (l.) says her bill does not expand gaming, it contracts it.
Atlantic City’s closed Revel casino has been without power for more than a week as the battle between new owner Glenn Straub and the casino’s former power plant operator wages on. Even the arrival of generator trucks at the site didn’t help as the state raised concerns over their installation for environmental reasons, and a judge granted an injunction request from the power plant (l.) owners to keep them off.
The Indiana Senate voted to let riverboat casinos move onto land, but rejected allowing live dealers at the state's two racinos, which Governor Mike Pence (l.) considered an expansion of gambling. Bill author state Rep. Tom Dermody said lawmakers "need a little more time" to prepare the measure for Pence to sign—or not.
Harrah’s Casino's request to delay New Orleans' citywide smoking ban, which will take effect April 22, was denied by the city council. Officials said the ban will lead to a 20 percent drop in revenue and puts the casino at a competitive disadvantage since other casinos in the region still will allow smoking.
Construction of a 248-room hotel at Hollywood did not begin as planned this week. Instead, operators Kansas Entertainment will pay Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas 1 percent of annual revenues, or $1.25 million. Officials said a soft hotel market and talk of reopening the Woodlands as a racino also stalled the project.
For the 14th time in as many years the New Hampshire House is considering a bill that would allow two casinos in the Granite State. This time could be the charm, say supporters. Opponents are just as hopeful.
Between the beginning of construction on Resorts World Las Vegas, the Mayweather-Pacquiao (l.) fight, and the closing of the Riviera, the first week of May is shaping up to be one of the most interesting in the city's history.
A recent study conducted by San Francisco based GLS Research asked visitors of Las Vegas for some information. What they got was rather interesting, and shows some new trends going on in Las Vegas.
Alleged pro-ISIS hackers broke into the website of the New Jersey Casino Reinvestment Development Authority and posted messages sympathetic to Islamist terrorists, but the authority says no information on the site was breached.
The Hard Rock Rocksino in Northfield Park, Ohio had a very good month in March. So good that General Manager Mark Birtha (l.) called it a “perfect storm.”
Atlantic City has received four proposals for redeveloping its closed municipal airport and they are heavy on using the site for sports fields and sports complexes. None of the proposals include casino construction, which for years was what the city expected would be developed on the site.
Pinnacle Entertainment, who was looking to split its real estate and operating assets into two separate companies, has been made a new offer for its real estate by Gaming & Leisure Properties, at $40 a share.
Though down as a whole for the city overall, Atlantic City’s remaining casinos saw a slight bump in revenue for March thanks to online gambling revenues. Still, the month was a tough one for the city with overall casino revenue down 12.6 percent when factoring in three casino that closed after March 2013.
A.G. Burnett, chairman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board has come out and said technology and high-tech slot games will be the main focus for regulators in the near future.
Set to open in December, 11 of the 15 floors of Scarlet Pearl Casino's hotel have been poured, said interim Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer Denise Barton. The resort will offer three restaurants and a pool and a championship miniature golf course complete with a volcano.
Baltimore homeowners will not receive Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's promised property tax break, "20 cents by 2020," based on revenue projections for Horseshoe Casino (l.), which opened last August. The proposed property tax relief plan is taking a one-year "pause" because it's ahead of schedule, Rawlings-Blake said.
The six casinos in the St. Louis gaming market—including two in Illinois—reported a 1.4 percent revenue drop in March, to $91.4 million. Hollywood in Maryland Heights and Ameristar in St. Charles came out on top, while Casino Queen in East St. Louis lost 8.8 percent to $9.8 million.
With the decision looming in the air surrounding a fourth casino license in New York, nobody is awaiting the decision more than Jeff Gural, owner of Vernon Downs and Tioga Downs.
A New Jersey Judge has reaffirmed her ruling that Atlantic City’s Golden Nugget casino does not have to pay about $1.5 million to a group of gamblers that noticed cards in a baccarat game were unshuffled and bet accordingly. The gamblers now have the option to appeal the ruling.
Video gambling has exploded in the past three years in Illinois, and the village of Norridge may be the next community to offer it. Village President James Chmura said bar owners have said they're losing customers to businesses that allow the games in nearby communities.
The $40 million Wild Rose Jefferson in Greene County, Iowa is on track to open in August. A job fair recently was held to fill 250 openings in every category. The casino will be one of the largest employers in the area.
The efforts of the Tohono O'odham Nation to build an off-reservation casino in Glendale, Arizona hit another roadblock last week when a state official said he would not issue a certification for the new casino. Tribal chairman Ned Norris Jr. (l.) isn’t happy.
Governor Susana Martinez last week signed a 22-year compact with five of New Mexico’s gaming tribes. Others are expected to follow before the existing compact expires in June of this year.
The Indian gaming industry in California has bounced back strongly from the last half decade of recession and is poised to beat old records sometime in the next few years, according to a report by Alan Meister.
The 15 law enforcement and military professionals who took part in an armed raid on the Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino in Coarsegold, California on October 9 will stand trial, a state judge ruled last week. They are not protected by tribal immunity said the judge.
The Santa Ysabel tribe continues to fight for its right to offer online poker from a website based on the reservation. Although it was order to shut the site down last year, the tribe has issued a white paper detailing its legal arguments that it should be allowed to reopen it.
The Houlton Band of Mailiseet Indians in Maine has asked the legislature to approve of a bill that would allow it to operate a casino. It has specifically asked not to put the notion to a statewide vote.
After some controversy surrounding the Wizard of Oz themed Yellow Brick Road Casino in Chittenango, the Oneida Nation has pushed back the opening until later this year. Chittenango was the birthplace of Oz author L. Frank Baum, who held harsh views on Native Americans.
The battle continues between the Fond du Lac Band and the city of Duluth. The National Indian Gaming Commission ordered the tribe to stop its $6 million annual revenue sharing payments to Duluth. The city has lost court battles to get its money back. Still, both sides want to settle the issue.
With its deep roots in the Madison, Wisconsin area, the Ho-Chunk Nation is considering establishing a cultural destination on 47 acres at the tribe's Ho-Chunk Gaming Madison casino. Other possibilities for the land include an athletics facility or an entertainment venue.
The federal Bureau of Indian Affairs' public meeting attracted more than 200 people wishing to express their opinion about a proposed $480 million casino and tribal village in South Bend, Indiana. The project would create
2,000 permanent jobs and 1,400 construction jobs, and bring in $620.4 million in annual revenue.
Alabama voters rejected a state lottery 15 years ago, but House Minority Leader Craig Ford (l.) introduced a measure to let voters decide the issue once again. Ford said the lottery would be a "voluntary tax" that people do not have to pay.
The Kansas Lottery is reviewing the contracts of three competitors who want to develop a state-owned casino in the southeast gaming zone. Commissioners will announce on Friday who will move on to the next round—review by the Lottery Gaming Facility Review Board, which will have up to 60 days to name a winner.
Last year the 43 states that offer lotteries plus the District of Columbia generated $70 billion. But anti-gambling forces are pushing back against lotteries' aggressive marketing tactics and increasing availability of ticket sales through the internet, gas pumps and ATMs.
Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures announced Tracy Sam has been promoted to general manager at Grand Casino Mille Lacs in Onamia, Minnesota. Most recently, Sam was corporate vice president of human resources for Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures. She also has worked for the Mille Lacs Band in human resources.
Buddy Roogow, former director of the Maryland Lottery and D.C. Lottery, died suddenly in Washington, D.C. at age 65. Appointed Maryland Lottery Director in 1996 by former Governor Parris N. Glendenning, Roogow led the lottery for 12 years, also managing casinos' entry into the state. He took over the D.C. Lottery in 2009.
Cintas Corporation has received Image of the Year Awards from the uniform manufacturer’s association for the 16th consecutive year. One of the honors was for uniforms at Las Vegas’ boutique hotel, the Cromwell (l.).
IGT has offered to buy back series of notes due in 2020 and 2023 for cash, in an offer worth $800 million or 101 percent of the principle amount plus interest.
The Canadian securities watchdog agency has seized documents of high-level executives of Amaya Gaming, including CEO David Baazov (l.), investigating possible insider trading.
Scientific Games last week announced that it had renewed and extended agreements with Danish iGaming operator Danske Spil to offer popular land-based slots and table games in the SG Interactive library.
Global Gaming Business magazine has joined with MediaBrains Inc., the leading online business advertising network, to create the Global Gaming Business Directory, providing readers with new online resources to reach key decision-makers.
Scientific Games’ SG Connect division will refurbish, supply and service more than 2,000 of its Vision self-service betting terminals for Best Gaming Technology.
