Eighteen employees of Australian gaming operator Crown Resorts are being held without charges in Mainland China for reported “gambling crimes.” Among them is Executive Vice President Jason O’Connor in charge of international marketing. The arrests have send shock waves through the APAC market where Chinese “whales” reign supreme. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull (l.) is providing “consular support” to those detained.
The two largest sports betting companies in Australia will join forces now that Tabcorp Holdings has agreed to be acquired by Tatts Group. The $4.9 billion deal dominates more than two-thirds of the active sports betting market in Australia. The new organization will take wagers on horse and greyhound racing and sports matches, competing with foreign firms that have been lured by Australia's deregulation of gambling licenses in 2012.
Talks of a merger between William Hill and Amaya proved short-lived as both sides have walked away from the table. William Hill faced opposition to the merger from its largest investor, hedge fund Parvus Asset management. Former William Hill Chairman Ralph Topping (l.) also opposed the merger. Amaya announced it was ending talks to remain an independent, publicly traded company, which it sees as the best way to return long-term value to shareholders.
With an eye on the potential of skill-based slot machines, Nevada regulators are crafting new rules aimed at getting new games into the state’s casinos faster. The plan centers on fast-tracking the often-lengthy process of field trials. A.G. Burnett (l.), chairman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, wants to shorten it.
Sarkis Izmirlian (l.), the man who conceived the Bahamas’ $3.5 billion Baha Mar, is offering to buy back the unfinished megaresort at a premium. But he lacks the support of the government and the stalled project’s Chinese backers.
The “grind mass” customer is becoming more important to Macau casino operators. GGR in the mass-market segment rose 3.9 percent in the third quarter over the same period in 2015. MGM China CEO Grant Bowie (l.) says operators in Macau are now content with “consistency and stabilization.”
The right of the Northern California Enterprise Rancheria of Maidu Indians to finish their $186 million Fire Mountain Resort and Casino has been upheld by a Court of Appeal. This overturns efforts by the United Auburn Indian Community of the Auburn Rancheria, a neighboring gaming tribe, to stop the casino, and upholds the rights of Governor Jerry Brown (l.) to negotiate the company.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has joined an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court of a federal ruling striking down New Jersey’s sports betting law. The New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association has also filed the appeal. This is the second time the state has made an appeal on sports betting to the court. The court, however, did not rule on the first appeal.
Ladbrokes and Gala Coral will sell 359 betting shops in the UK as a condition of their $3.4B billion merger. UKL regulators required the sell off to protect competition in the market. Betfred (l.) will buy 322 shops for ₤55 million, while Stan James will purchase 37 shops for ₤500,000. Irish bookmaker BoyleSports, however, has objected to the sale saying it had made a higher bid for the shops.
The crackdown by the Chinese government on the international marketing arm of Crown Resorts sent shudders through the industry last week. So how wise is it to depend on that endless supply of VIPs?
This week, the GGB Podcast features a discussion with Blaine Graboyes, the CEO of GameCo, the first new slot manufacturer to offer skill games on the casino floor.
For the second time, Taiwanese residents in Penghu have overwhelmingly rejected a plan to bring casino development to the island. A referendum to allow gaming was opposed by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party. Hopes for gaming in Taiwan are slipping away and Mainland China gets more hostile toward the government of President Tsai Ing-wen (l.).
The warming relationship between the governments of Beijing and Manila could spell big gains for the Philippine gaming industry, say pundits. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte (l.) last week embraced his Chinese counterpart, leading casino operators to hope for more inbound tourism from Mainland China.
Saipan Island’s Commonwealth Casino Commission is weighing the applications of junket operators who want to bring VIP players to the Best Sunshine and Imperial Pacific gaming halls. Casino Commission Executive Director Edward Deleon Guerrero (l.) says his agency has approved several applications, but rejected others.
Cambodia’s casinos generated US$37.4 million in taxes for the first nine months of 2016, up more than 35 percent for the first three quarters of 2015. The taxman took US$37.4 million during the period.
Philippines-listed Philweb Corp. has applied for a renewal of its license to operate internet cafes in the country. Earlier this year, the state regulator declined to renew the license as part of a crackdown on e-Gaming.
A report says “illicit,” “blatant,” syndicate-run mini-casinos are operating outside the law in shopping malls in Kuala Lumpur. The casinos are thinly disguised as internet cafes or beauty outlets, the report indicated.
A massive boost in monthly rolling chip revenue at Summit Ascent’s Tigre de Cristal has been attributed to Macau junkets. Turnover went from HKD million in November 2015 to HKD2 billion in July 2016.
A system that identifies possible problem gamblers and urges them to take breaks is not being utilized by all UK bookmakers, according to a report. The system was developed by the gaming industry to curb addictive play.
The Novomatic Group officially launched the expansion of its Casino FlaminGO (l.) in Macedonia, which makes the property southeast Europe’s largest casino.
The leading gaming services provider in the Baltic states and operator of casinos in Slovakia, Italy and Malta, Olympic Entertainment Group said revenue rose 21.3 percent to $49.7 million in the third quarter, primarily due to Estonian operations, including Tallin’s new Hilton Hotel (l.), where revenue rose 20.2 percent over last year, with $11 million in third-quarter revenue.
UK Sports Minister Tracey Crouch (l.) says her department will levy a 10 percent gross profit charge on all racing wagers, online and retail. The charge was to have gone into effect in April, according to reports.
The Casino Gaming Commission of Jamaica recently released its annual report. Chairman Walter Scott (l.) noted the two "major disappointments" were that no progress has been made on two approved casinos, and that Chief Executive Officer Phillip Shelton of Australia held the position only for one year. The commission is seeking another international executive.
Star Entertainment, which operates three casinos in Australia, has been awarded a new gaming license in the country. It will add the Queen’s Wharf Brisbane (l.) to its existing portfolio of properties.
Paraguay’s gaming regulator, the Comisión Nacional de Juegos de Azar, is considering extending certain gaming licenses in a position that’s drawing criticism from the country’s comptroller general.
With time running out on the legislative session and an urgent need to address host-community taxes, Pennsylvania lawmakers consider online gaming and daily fantasy sports. Poker Player Alliance Executive Director John Pappas (l.) emphasized consumer protection.
Online casino gaming legislation still is under review in the Michigan legislature. State Senator Mike Kowall (l.) said there is “plenty of time” for lawmakers to approve a bill before the end of the year. If the measure passes, Michigan would become the first state to legalize online gaming since 2013.
Manchester United and Marathonbet have launched an online live casino featuring live roulette and blackjack in a Manchester United-themed environment. Players can win United giveaways, prizes and game offers and "interact among kindred spirits," said Premier League Club Managing Director Richard Arnold.
A Washington-based maker of video games is denying that it can do anything to prevent its game system for being used for illegal skins betting. Valve Corporation last week sent a letter to the Washing State Gambling Commission defending itself from charges that it has anything to do with gambling.
Playtech has partnered with Warner Bros. Consumer Products to launch the first two of a series of online slot games based on the Batman TV series of the 1960s.
The euro has replaced the U.S. dollar as the most popular online casino currency according to research by KeyToCasino. The euro is now accepted at 79 percent of online casinos worldwide, compared to the U.S. dollar, which has slipped below 75 percent.
Portuguese gambling regulators have issued an online casino license to the local BEM Operations Limited subsidiary of French gambling giant Betclic-Everest Group. It’s the second online license issued by the country.
According to reports, Paul Tate, former PokerStars director of payments, has reached a plea deal stemming from the 2011 shut down of international online poker sites in the U.S. Tate is one of three people still under indictment from the shutdown. Tate is expected to plead guilty and was originally charged with five counts related to unlawful gambling.
Public funding for a $1.9 billion domed stadium for the proposed Las Vegas Raiders is in the bag. So when will the National Football League’s owners OK the team’s move to Sin City? Or rather, will they OK it? Raiders owner Mark Davis (l.) previewed the idea to the owners at a meeting last week.
With a referendum to allow new casino construction in New Jersey likely to fail on Election Day, one state lawmaker is reviving the idea of placing video lottery terminals at the state’s racetracks. Assemblymen Ralph Caputo (l.), a vocal proponent of expanding gambling beyond Atlantic City, said he feels the terminals could be approved without the need of another public referendum.
The pro-gambling group Arkansas Wins in 2016 asked the state Supreme Court to reconsider its recent decision to keep off the November ballot a proposed constitutional amendment allowing three casinos. The high court said the ballot title misled voters. Meanwhile, pro and anti groups spent more than $2 million on TV ads.
Billionaire Carl Icahn (l.) has sharply criticized a bill that was passed last week by the New Jersey Senate that would stop the billionaire from re-opening the recently closed Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City. The bill would ban a casino license holder that shuts a casino down from re-opening for five years. The bill is designed specifically to stop Icahn from re-opening the Taj as a non-union shop.
When MGM National Harbor (l.) opens December 8, and for 30-45 days beyond, Prince George’s County police will have a plan in place to handle the expected crush of traffic and 35,000 visitors. Police Chief Henry P. Stawinski III said 65 officers will work 24/7 and a helicopter will be in the air "all the time."
The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission recently met in Davenport, where the new land-based Rhythm City Casino reported a 50 percent increase in business. Owner Dan Kehl (l.) says the threat of slot machines at bars, restaurants and truck stops in Illinois is a threat, however. Also the new land-based $60 million Bettendorf Isle recently opened to positive reviews. Still, the slow agriculture economy and unceasing growth of video gaming in Illinois could hurt Iowa casinos.
The Video Gaming Coalition is promoting legislation that would allow electronic gaming machines in bars, truck stops and other places that serve alcohol, and generate $165 million in new annual tax revenue. But the state’s casino industry claims the games would have an unfair competitive advantage and attract casual slot players.
Rodney Centers (l.), the new general manager of the Meadows racino near Pittsburgh, plans upgrades in slots, table games and restaurants as well as new loyalty-club features.
Revere, Massachusetts gave a resounding defeat to a group that wants to allow a second racino in the state at Suffolk Downs (l.) inside the city limits. A referendum is on the ballot in November that would approve such a facility but with a non-binding defeat from the host community, the measure is likely to fail.
A news reports says the SEC, and possibly the FBI, are looking into the timing of the award of a casino license to Empire Resorts’ Montreign resort (l.) in the Catskills. The issue, according to the report, is whether New York officials with advance knowledge of the award profited from trading Empire stock.
Black Hawk, Colorado (l.) offers 17 casinos that take in more than $604 million a year. Now city officials have created a 25-year plan to offer breweries, a pedestrian mall, bike trails and more, with the goal of becoming a resort destination that offers more than gambling casinos.
Revenue for Atlantic City’s eight casinos declined 1.5 percent in September, as the Trump Taj Mahal Casino was preparing to close October 10. The eight casinos that operated in September took in $226.6 million that month. Online gaming remained a bright spot, as the casinos took in $16.2 million, up 35 percent from 2015.
Las Vegas’ Culinary Union lost a unionization vote at the city’s Palace Station casino by just four votes. Union officials, however, suspect something is amiss, and they say they will petition the NLRB for a new election.
The main political subject for conversation on the TV airwaves in Rhode Island is Question 1. This initiative would allow Twin River Management Group to move its slots parlor from Newport, which doesn’t really want it, to Tiverton, which does.
Harrah’s Philadelphia will launch a new nightlife and entertainment space featuring live table games called The Block, as part of a number of property enhancements.
Atlantic City and New Jersey’s government continued their turbulent relationship as the city missed a state-imposed date to rework their municipal budget to include tax increases. The city maintains that it has raised taxes to the breaking point for city residents. The battle played out as the city nears a November 3 deadline to announce a fiscal plan that will stave off a state takeover of its municipal government.
Hollywood Park Casino, which opened next to a thriving racetrack in 1994, only to see it close a few years ago is moving. It will reopen on October 21 next to Inglewood’s City of Champions Revitalization Project, which includes the new Los Angeles Rams sports stadium.
MMCT Venture, which represents Connecticut’s two gaming tribes, has received five bids from communities near Hartford that have bid to host a third tribal casino, including the defunct Showcase Cinemas (l.) in East Hartford. The tribes seek to build and operate a casino to prevent the MGM Springfield from wreaking havoc on the state’s gaming revenues. And the Schaghticoke Nation is suing the state for failing to recognize it.
Ho-Chunk's $33 million expansion at its Wittenberg, Wisconsin casino has alarmed the Stockbridge-Munsee and Menominee tribes. They claim the project, which includes a larger gaming floor, hotel and bar, doesn't comply with Governor Scott Walker's (l.) criteria. But Scott's administration said the expansion does not violate the tribe's 2003 gambling compact.
The Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians denies that it has tried to keep its efforts to obtain federal blessing for a $700 million casino near Vallejo, California was intended to exclude local and state authorities from commenting on it. The tribe seeks to build an off-reservation casino.
Judge William Young, who in July ruled that the Department of the Interior made a mistake when it put land in Taunton, Massachusetts into trust for the Mashpee Wampanoag for its First Light casino (l.), is standing by that decision. He didn’t budge, despite an appeal from the Department of Justice.
The Eastern Shoshone Nation recently held a grand opening for the $30 million expansion at its Shoshone Rose Casino & Hotel in Lander, Wyoming. The project created 100 construction jobs and 50 new permanent jobs and added a 61-room hotel, an indoor pool and a large patio with a fire pit.
A proposed development on Muscogee (Creek) land in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma is stirring up bad memories of the Kialegee Tribal Town's controversial, uncompleted Red Clay Casino. City Attorney Beth Ann Wilkening said developer Steven Bruner's staff "no final decision with regard to gaming has been made," but it could be offered later.
Tribes that maintain near absolute claims of sovereign are running afoul of an activist National Labor Relations Board that claims that tribal casinos are subject to federal labor laws. A bill working its way through Congress would change that.
A leaflet traced to the Pioneer Press in Lakeland Township, Minnesota claimed the Prairie Island Indian Community planned to build a casino on land it purchased to eventually replace its casino location near a nuclear plant. But tribal leaders said no casino is planned, although they have applied for federal land-trust status.
Attorney Erin Barnett has been hired by Affinity Gaming in Las Vegas as vice president and deputy general counsel. Barnett most recently worked as an attorney with the McDonald Carano Wilson law firm in Las Vegas, and also was an associate general counsel at the Greenspun Corporation and an associate at Marquis Aurbach Coffing.
BMM Testlabs announced that it has named Ashley Burnside, former a member of the Eastern Shawnee Gaming Commission, as the testing company’s tribal services manager.
Scott Sprague, director of the Gun Lake Casino in Wayland, Michigan since 2012, recently was named tribal council chairman of the Gun Lake Tribe. He also has served on the tribal gaming commission and as tribal council secretary since 2014. He succeeds his cousin, Leah Sprague-Fodor, who was not re-elected in August.
Filippo Ferri has been hired as regional manager for Spain and Latin America at UK-based NMi Gaming. Ferri has held senior roles at leading organizations in the i-gaming and gambling industries. He advises local gaming regulators and serves on technical panels including the Brazilian Gaming Congress.
International Game Technology and Every Games Holding Inc. have signed a cross-licensing agreement allowing Everi to use patented game features from the IGT portfolio for a licensing fee.
Scientific Games’ lawsuit against Aristocrat Technologies alleging patent infringement of the Bally curved-screen product got under way in Nevada District Court.
Scientific Games has secured a contract to supply a systems solution to the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, its third for Hard Rock-managed properties.
Inspired Gaming has signed an agreement to supply its Virtuals Connect platform and its premium suite of virtual sports products to software supplier EveryMatrix.
Scientific Games has signed an agreement with Penn National Gaming to supply games and systems to the Tropicana Las Vegas and the new Hollywood Casino Jamul-San Diego.
Novomatic Lottery Solutions is partnering with Kambi Group to provide Kambi’s sports-betting service to government-regulated lotteries around the world.
The American Gaming Association will host a panel discussion on the need to repeal the federal ban on sports betting at the March South by Southwest trade event. Sara Rayme (l.), senior vice president of public affairs at the AGA, will coordinate the presentation.
