In an historic agreement, the U.S. state of New Jersey and the United Kingdom have agreed to share online poker liquidity among legal iGaming operators in both jurisdictions. The NJ Division of Gaming Enforcement last week sent letters to those common operators to determine how such a system would work. DGE Director David Rebuck (l.) says the deal would expose NJ iGaming to more than 70 million people.
Within hours of taking office, new Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte (l.) declared he would put an end to online gambling in the country, tighten anti-money laundering laws, and possibly privatize PAGCOR. With billions of dollars of investment in Philippine casinos and integrated resorts, the pronouncements sent shock waves through the island nation’s gaming industry.
The coalition of the unwilling, gaming tribes led by Pechanga Band Of Luiseño Mission Indians, are determined to stop any iPoker bill from passage that doesn’t ban PokerStars from participating. The coalition sent a letter to the bill’s sponsor, Adam Gray, offering new amendments that also insist on “bad actor” sections. U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (l.) opposes any online poker bill in her state.
A planned tourism zone in Barcelona has been cut back to a fraction of its original footprint. Originally called BCN World, it was to have included six theme parks, 12,000 hotel rooms, six casinos and more. Now, less grandiose plans are envisioned for the resort zone (l.).
Bahamas Prime Minister Perry Christie announced the local government reached a financing agreement for the nearly finished Baha Mar Casino and Hotel. The $3.5 billion casino development was to open two years ago, but delays put the project in bankruptcy in a U.S. bankruptcy court in Delaware. Christie said several days of negotiations with Chinese banks were fruitful and resulted in a tentative agreement on completing Baha Mar, which Christie says is almost ready to open.
The Vietnamese government has received the final draft of a casino bill that could lift the ban on nationals gambling in the country’s casinos. If it passes, it could bring back scores of gamblers who now go to Cambodian border casinos, like the Las Vegas Sun in Bavet (l.).
Many California gaming tribes are livid at new rules proposed by the Bureau of Gambling Control for the state’s card rooms that don’t go far enough in reining in the practice of allowing dealers to take on the duties of banker for poker games. Tribes have been demanding action from the state since 2012 and don’t believe they have got it yet. Former California Gambling Control Commission member Richard Schuetz (l.), whose probes into card-club oversight began this review, believes the new rules are ridiculous.
Apollo Global Management, through its subsidiaries, agreed to pay $2.2 billion to buy Las Vegas-based Diamond Resorts, which, owns 420 luxury timeshare properties in 35 nations, including Polo Towers (l.) in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip. The cash deal is equal to $30.25 a share and represents an about-26 percent premium over the share price at the time of the sale.
The slots and systems giant is creating a new Administrative Services division to centralize the management and coordination of key operations worldwide headed up by IGT veteran Robert K. Vincent (l.). The company also has named a new chief of human resources from the ranks of Italy’s corporate hierarchy.
Busan’s potential as a gaming hotspot took center stage at a recent gathering of tourism and economic development experts in the booming South Korean port city (l.). The meeting came on the heels of a visit to the city by a delegation from Las Vegas Sands.
The Macau casino operator global growth strategy has turned toward Portugal in the form of plans for a $200 million-plus non-gaming resort near Lisbon. Cape Verde and Laos also are in the company’s sights.
In Macau, a modest loss can be seen as a real gain. In June, gaming revenue in the Chinese gaming hub fell less than analysts predicted. That’s cause for celebration in a city gripped by a recession now in its third year, just in time for the opening of Wynn Palace and Sands China’s the Parisian (l.).
The Best Sunshine Live temporary casino (l.) in Garapan, Saipan generated $1.65 billion (HK$12.8 billion) in rolling chip volume for the month of June, reports parent company Imperial Pacific International Holdings Ltd.
The Chinese government last week was cracking down on illegal gambling conducted using social media and phone transfers of money as fans of soccer bet furiously over the outcomes of the UEFA European Football Championship. Hundreds were arrested and millions of yuan confiscated.
Sands China has announced that its subsidiary VML US Finance LLC has agreed with lenders to amend a $1 billion loan agreement, extending the maturity of term loans to mid-2022.
Punters in the UK gambled away a record £12.6 billion (US$16.7 billion) in 2015. Of that total, £3.6 billion was spent on online gambling, £3.3 billion on the lottery and £3.2 billion in betting shops.
The government of Mendoza Province in Argentina has chosen not to renew the licenses of three casinos in the vicinity. Lawmakers say the gaming halls, including Casino Mendoza in Uspallata (l.), failed to meet regulators’ objectives.
Colorado Springs-based Century Casinos will purchase the Apex Casino (l.) in Edmonton, Alberta, for $12.3 million and its real estate assets for $9.3 million. The Apex, to be renamed the Century Casino, will be Century's third Canadian operation. The company will renovate the 34,500 square foot facility which offers 382 slot machines and 11table games.
Emfuleni Resorts Ltd. has deep-sixed its plan to develop a casino complex in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The decision came after local regulators did not extend the area’s casino license for an additional 20 years.
Sun Dreams, formed by the merger of Sun International and Dreams SA, will develop a $250 million casino complex in Lima, Peru. Dreams General Manager Martin Dávila said the property will be based on its Chilean model. Dreams also has operations in Peru, and Sun International operates casinos and hotels in Chile, Panama and Colombia.
Although the city council in North Vancouver, British Columbia rejected casino gambling last year, it sent a non-binding "expression of interest" to the B. C. Lottery Corporation, which invited three North Shore municipalities and two First Nations if they want a casino. A North Shore casino could generate $2.2 million annually.
The fate of a major expansion of gaming in Pennsylvania was in limbo last week as state lawmakers wrestled over funding for a state budget for the new fiscal year. The state House has passed a bill legalizing online gaming and fantasy sports, but the measure has little support in the Senate and Governor Tom Wolf (l.) is cool to it.
Tennessee has incorporated regulating fantasy sports under a state government division led by Secretary of State Tre Hargett (l.)and has prepared regulations and licensing requirements. The state was one of the first to adopt regulatory rules for daily fantasy sports and other fantasy sports contests.
Gibraltar-based online gambling companies will continue to operate in the British protectorate despite concerns about the upcoming exit of the UK from the European Union, Gibraltar officials said. Gibraltar’s Minister for Financial Services said every company in the Gibraltar has said it remains committed to its operations there.
PokerStars has announced that announced that it was pulling out of the online gambling market in Slovenia. The company has already pulled out of the Portuguese market and the Dutch market while those countries try to shore up gaming regulations.
Portugal will likely see a further delay in implementing new online poker regulations which should set the launch of online poker in the country back until November, according to various local reports. The regulations have been delayed due to proposed changes in whether the country will allow sites to share player pools.
Under a recently signed agreement, online casino operator Riobet Casino will integrate the casino content aggregation, customer management system, mobile casino and affiliate management solutions of PartnerMatrix, a subsidiary of the Malta-licensed gaming software and platform provider EveryMatrix. Launched in 2014, Riobet provides players from European nations with games from top suppliers.
A strike by about 1,000 workers at Atlantic City’s Trump Taj Mahal casino showed no signs of breaking as it continued through the week. Employees of the city’s main casino union struck just before the busy July 4th weekend. The union is seeking restoration of health benefits that were stripped during the casino’s long bankruptcy before it was acquired by billionaire Carl Icahn.
Hundreds of construction workers are preparing the planned Montreign Resort Casino at Adelaar for its March 2018 opening date, and developer Empire Resorts anticipates having 2,000 workers on site soon. Going up is a 93,000-square-foot casino, an 18-story, 332-room hotel, and dining, retail, and entertainment venues. Meanwhile, a proposed casino in Suffolk County might wind up in Islandia.
Las Vegas sports books could begin offering bets on e-sports—video game competitions—after a review by the Nevada Gaming Policy Committee. A.G. Burnett (l.), chairman of the Nevada gaming Board said the review is down to answering one question—are e-sports the same as athletic competition? Either way, however, Nevada sports books may be able to offer bets on the games.
Developer Bart Blatstein (l.) has put the former Showboat casino back into action on Atlantic City’s Boardwalk with a “soft” opening of the property’s hotel and some restaurants, retail, and entertainment venues. The re-opened property, however, does not include a casino and Blatstein has said he does not intend to add one.
One less weekend and fewer large events led to reduce visitation, occupancy, and gambling revenues in Las Vegas and statewide in May. May 2015 saw several large-scale events, including the long-awaited Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao title fight and the rotating Rock in Rio festival, which helped to pack hotel rooms a year ago, but resulted in down numbers this year. Only Downtown Las Vegas casinos reported increased gaming revenues for May 2016.
The Kansas Supreme Court recently said it—not the appeals court—has jurisdiction in Castle Rock Casino's and Cherokee County's lawsuit to stop Kansas Crossing Casino (l.), now under construction. The plaintiffs claim the state gaming commission improperly selected Kansas Crossing although Castle Rock was larger. No date has been set for arguments.
Along with a public referendum on building two new casinos in northern New Jersey, the state’s voters also will decide two other referendums in November. With pro and con forces on the casino issue promising large campaigns, advertising on the three questions could easily top $100 million, analysts says.
Extensive renovations recently were unveiled at Golden Entertainment's Rocky Gap Casino Resort near Cumberland, Maryland. Upgrades include an expanded gaming floor, smoking terrace with slots, Signatures Bar and Grill, fire pits, volleyball and bocce ball courts and 168 parking spaces.
A new logo and Rewards Club membership benefits also were introduced.
Southwest Airlines carries more passengers to and from McCarran International Airport than any other airline, and says it does not want a football stadium built near the airport on land owned by UNLV. In a letter to Clark County Commission Chairman Steve Sisolak, the airline said a stadium by the airport would disrupt passenger traffic and airport operations, while decreasing safety.
Atlantic County New Jersey will have to pay $6.8 million over the next two years as its parts of a tax appeal won by the Borgata Casino in Atlantic City. The payment will raise the county’s tax rate slightly.
The NHL’s recent announcement that Las Vegas will have its first major professional sports team in 2017 illustrates the integrity and rise of legal sports betting and the decline of the stigma with which the NFL and other professional sports leagues viewed Las Vegas. But with the city among the fastest-growing urban centers and plentiful infrastructure, professional sports leagues no longer view Las Vegas as a place to avoid and have begun to embrace it.
MGM Springfield proudly touted its achievements in diversity hiring and contracting before the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. The developer has exceeded its goals in dealing with women, minorities and veterans.
The Blind Tiger, a popular seafood restaurant, moved another step closer to becoming a reality at Harrah’s Gulf Coast Biloxi casino as the city council held its first reading of an ordinance to amend the casino's master plan. The council will vote on July 19 whether to approve the lease and allow construction to start.
The final greyhound race was held July 2 at Tucson Greyhound Park in Arizona. Governor Doug Ducey recently had signed legislation ending live dog racing in the state. The facility will operate as a simulcast location until the owners determine its future, and the dogs have move on to adoption agencies or other racetracks.
The Karuk Tribe of Northern California will hold a groundbreaking July 29 for its proposed $30 million casino. The under-construction casino (l.) is meant to attract players from the Medford, Oregon metropolitan area.
California failed last week to meet a court-imposed deadline for agreeing to a compact with the Enterprise Rancheria forced on it by a court-appointed mediator. The court earlier ruled that the state acted in bad faith in its dealings with the tribe.
Government officials and the media must get permission from the Tigua Tribe in El Paso, Texas to enter tribal lands, according to Governor Carlos Hisa (l.). The tribe claims it is a sovereign entity and that state police have brought hidden cameras into its entertainment center, where the electronic games have been declared illegal by the state attorney general.
In Tucson, Arizona, Casino Del Sol Resort held a special 22nd anniversary celebration over the July 4 weekend, with concerts by Enrique Iglesias and KISS and a fireworks display. The casino has generated millions for the area through gaming and tourism, benefits nonprofits and supports local history and culture.
California’s Wilton Rancheria last week gave the public an inside look at what it proposes for its $400 million casino resort that it wants to build in Elk Grove. The tribe wanted to allay some basic misconceptions that the public has about tribal gaming: such that it doesn’t pay taxes.
The location of the Prairie Island Indian Community's Treasure Island Resort and Casino near Red Wing, Minnesota risks nuclear contamination and flooding. The tribe applied for federal trust status for acreage in West Lakeland Township, where it could build another casino. A spokeswoman said it has no definite plans for the land.
Twin Arrows Navajo Casino Resort near Flagstaff, Arizona won AAA's Four Diamonds Award for the fourth consecutive year, for its Navajo-inspired architecture and customer satisfaction. Only just 5 percent of the 30,000-plus AAA-approved properties receive the designation. Evaluators especially noted the facility's enhanced buffet, 110-room resort expansion and conference and convention center.
After the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians applied to have a 12-acre parcel in Traverse City taken into federal trust, Acme Township, Michigan officials filed an appeal. Now, new county leadership is expected to drop the appeal and allow the tribe's plans for a new Turtle Creek Casino entrance to move forward.
Arizona’s Tohono O’Odham Nation made its first payment to the city of Glendale as part of an agreement that will see $25 million paid over the next two decades. In return for the money the city agreed to drop its opposition to the Desert Diamond West Valley Casino And Resort.
For 20 years, half of the net profits from Harrah's Cherokee Casino Resort in North Carolina have been used for per capita payments to members Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Minors faced a huge tax bill on their $130,000 payments at age 18. Now the council approved distributing minors' payments in three installments.
Although Illinois still has no state budget, lottery winners may continue to collect their prizes under a bill recently signed by Governor Bruce Rauner (l.). Last December he signed a similar bill but it expired June 30, requiring another measure to keep Illinois Lottery prize payments going.
Wang Zhimin, a deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council, has been chosen to replace Li Gang as director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in Macau.
Merkur Gaming Mexico, a subsidiary of the Gauselmann Group, named 15-year gaming industry veteran Ronnie Ferreira as general manager. A strong advocate for effective gaming regulation, Ferreira brings to his new position executive experience in gaming manufacturing and operations, plus leadership in start-ups, acquisitions and casino business development.
Austrian lottery veteran Friedrich Stickler has joined Novomatic Group as a consultant for the company’s Lottery Solutions division. He will assist with product and business development and employee training, the company said.
UK-based William Hill is offering virtual horse racing at the Silver Sevens and Plaza Hotel & Casino (l.) in Las Vegas. Virtual races are run every five minutes, with legendary race announcer Tom Durkin calling the action. Each race contains eight to twelve virtual horses, and bettors can lay wagers to win, place, show, as well as exactas and trifectas. Meanwhile, London-based Lotter.com wants to sell Oregon Lottery tickets.
Ainsworth Game Technology has launched its new A600 cabinet in the North American market, complete with larger screens, dynamic lighting effects and an LCD touchscreen button deck.
Popular TV sitcom “The Big Bang Theory” provides the setting for a new progressive slot from Aristocrat. The Big Bang Theory Jackpot Multiverse features multilevel jackpots available at less than max bet and guaranteed progressive wins.
AGS’ new ICON slot cabinet has been approved by the Mississippi Gaming Control Board following a successful trial at Beau Rivage in Biloxi. The ICON boasts two 23-inch hi-definition LCDs, integrated digital sound and a customized package of games.
TCS John Huxley has been licensed by the state’s Gambling Commission as a manufacturer and distributor. The award opens up a 30-casino region to the company’s extensive portfolio of table games products and systems.
Playtech has created a lifelike virtual tennis platform for its online and mobile customers. The graphics and play were developed in conjunction with Warner Bros. Studios and 3D Design.
Online game developer Play’n GO has a new slot geared toward the Mexican market. Grim Muerto is the title of the five-reel, 20-line offering, themed around the country’s “Day of the Dead” festival.
The 2016 Global Gaming Expo, September 27-29 at the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas will attract 26,000 attendees and spotlight the politics of gaming, said AGA President Geoff Freeman. For the first time, he'll share the stage with National Indian Gaming Association Chairman Ernest Stevens Jr. (l.)
Workshops on AML and taxation and the latest in jurisdictional news are among the highlight of an expanded program planned for November’s Malta iGaming Seminar. Key topics such as eSports and data security will also be on the bill. And the event confirmed two conference chairs for this year’s show.
