Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (l.) and his ruling Liberal Democratic Party have engineered the approval of the country’s Integrated Resorts bill. It’s a giant and long waited step toward a legal casino gaming industry, and big guns including MGM Resorts International are already making their moves. But some analysts believe Japanese companies will be the primary owners with international gaming companies the minority operating partners.
James Packer (l., with Melco Crown Co-Chairman Lawrence Ho) and Crown Resorts have withdrawn from the international casino market, keeping only the casinos in Australia it owns. Crown plans to sell half of its interest in Melco Crown and its casinos in Macau, and cancelled Alon, a major project on the Las Vegas Strip.
Billionaire Sheldon Adelson of Sands China was a little lighter in the wallet after news circulated that the Chinese government would limit cash withdrawals in Macau. The move is meant to curb money laundering, but it’s still unclear what impact it will have on Macau’s casinos.
A new bill in the New Jersey Legislature would allow for “internet café” gambling at the state’s racetracks, Monmouth Park and the Meadowlands (l.). The bill allows racetracks to partner with existing online sites to offer on-site online gambling to customers at the tracks.
Genting Malaysia has long hoped for a foothold in the South Florida gambling market. Ever since purchasing the Miami Herald building in 2011, it's waited for the legislature to approve casino gambling. Meanwhile it will oversee casino operations at Gulfstream Park (l.) in Hallandale Beach, Genting officials announced.
It’s official―the Bahamas’ Baha Mar has a new owner, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, and the deep-pocketed Hong Kong conglomerate has pledged to get the stalled $3.5 billion megaresort open starting in April 2017. It means as many as 1,500 local jobs in the first phase and “thousands more” as build-out progresses.
Agilysys has named former Bally Technologies CEO and casino systems veteran Ramesh Srinivasan as its new president and chief executive officer. He replaces Jim Dennedy.
Okada Manila, Japanese businessman Kazuo Okada’s self-named casino resort in the Philippines, will begin a preview period Wednesday, December 21. The $2.4 billion resort’s grand opening is set for early 2017.
Now that the impossible has happened—Japan legalizing casinos—what happens next and how can investors get involved? The rules have yet to be written, so what shape will the casino industry take in Japan?
This week, the GGB Podcast presents an interview with Joe DeSimone, the owner of Railroad Pass casino in Nevada on what it’s like to be a new casino owner in the industry.
Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau is trying to track down Jimei Group founder Jack Lam, who fled the Philippines in November after an illegal casino was busted and more than 1,300 arrested. The warrant for Lam’s arrest is concerning to Macau, which has been trying to clean up its regulatory scheme recently.
Bloomberry Resorts Chairman Enrique Razon confirms that a planned sale of his Jeju Sun Hotel and Casino (l.) to the Iao Kun Group has fallen through. The Macau junket operator could not raise sufficient funds for the resort.
Malaysian investment firm MQ Technology Bhd has proposed a $30 million casino and theme park in Prey Veng near the Vietnam border. Its reported joint venture partner is Cambodian Resorts and Entertainment. And a joint venture featuring Macau junket giant Suncity and Hong Kong’s Chow Tai Fook Enterprises plans to break ground early next year on Hoiana (l.), an integrated resort with gaming on Vietnam’s central coast.
Macau Legend Development Ltd. will debut its new five-star Legend Palace Hotel on Fisherman’s Wharf before Chinese New Year begins in February 2017. The property will include more than 230 luxury guest rooms and suites.
Bloomberry Resorts Chairman Enrique Razon (l.) is urging the Philippine government to adopt a “visa-on-arrival” policy for Mainland Chinese tourists. Visitors from China now must secure a visa from their homeland.
Lawrence Ho’s Tigre de Cristal casino in Russia’s Primorye region is expected to do booming business through 2018, according to forecasts from Union Gaming Securities Asia Ltd.
The UK government has given the Welsh government the authority to license high-stakes gaming machines. It could be a direct hit at fixed odds betting terminals, which allow punters to play up to £100 per hand.
Polish Deputy Prime Minister Jarosław Gowin (l.) says the country is working to relax its laws related to sports betting and online poker. The change will help the government reclaim revenues forfeited under a previous regime.
According to the International eSports Federation, Finland’s eSports Federation SEUL has gained recognition from the Finnish Sports Confederation as an official sport. The post said that the recognition shows that recognition of eSports is spreading.
Four financial investors led by the Macquarie Group and Morgan Stanley have formed the Pacific Consortium and bid $5.5 billion for Australian lottery operator Tatts Group. The bid could derail a plan by Tabcorp to merge with the lottery operator. Tabcorp agreed in October to an $8.7 billion merger with Tatts Group, but the new offer has reportedly drawn support from investors. The new bid seeks to acquire Tatts Group lottery business, while the Tabcorp bid seeks the entire company.
The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation has selected Vancouver-based Gateway Casinos & Entertainment Limited to oversee operations at OLG casinos in the North and Southwest Gaming Bundles, including Casino Thunder Bay (l.). Under the 20-year agreement, Gateway also will have options to build new casinos in North Bay and Kenora.
Visitors to casinos in Mexico’s Quintana Roo, including the Princess casino (l.), will pay a 10 percent tax on gaming. That is over and above all other taxes they pay while visiting this area known for Cancun’s sandy beaches and Toltec pyramids.
Casino Niagara (l.) in Ontario recently turned 20, and operator Falls Management Group announced a $5.3 million facelift there in partnership with the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation. But OLG won't renew FMG's contract past 2019, and Niagara Falls NDP MPP Wayne Gates asked Premier Kathleen Wynne to delay the search for a new operator.
Workers at the National Ports Authority in Ciudad del Este in Paraguay are planning to mount organized protests against a proposed casino resort proposed for the site of a local government building.
Match fixing is a growing problem in Canada, with a special focus on the Canadian Soccer League, a small, obscure league in southern Ontario. Lax laws, official indifference and the scope of global gambling have contributed to sports corruption in Canada, where CSL games "clearly reflect signs of being fixed," Federbet reported.
Nevada Congresswoman Dina Titus (l.) has responded to a letter by 10 state attorneys general sent to Vice President-elect Mike Pence opposing online gambling and urged the incoming Trump administration to oppose RAWA and any online gambling ban. The move comes as many analysts feel supporters of RAWA will try to get legislation passed in the lame duck session of Congress. Also, a new anti-online gambling bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives.
The Poker Players Alliance has criticized a November letter to the state Assembly from state Senator Robert Tomlinson (l.) that repeated misconceptions about iGaming.
In a $10 million deal, the Oklahoma-based Iowa Tribe will purchase a 51 percent stake in Pokertribe.com, the first tribal-owned online gaming venture developed by Universal Entertainment Group of Florida. The tribe hopes to launch the website in early 2017. Under the tribe's gaming compact, the website will be unavailable to Oklahomans.
According to court arguments, Canadian regulators are charging that former Amaya CEO David Baazov used a “front” to disguise trades ahead of Amaya’s $4.9 billion acquisition of PokerStars. The charge came to light as Baazov’s lawyers sought more discovery evidence on regulators case against Baazov before a Canadian judge.
In a quickly moving story, talks of a reverse takeover bid by GVC of Ladbrokes Coral broke down just days after they were disclosed. The two reports sent Ladbrokes coral stocks up and then down. Reports say the talks ended just hours after the story was first reported.
SugarHouse Online Casino (l.), a New Jersey iGaming site operated by the parent company of the Philadelphia casino, has launched an affiliate program with Income Access.
Cherry AB will acquire the remaining 51 percent of the shares in ComeOn Malta Ltd under an option. The company predicts the acquisition will triple its revenues and make it the third largest Nordics-focused gaming company.
The Ohio legislature is looking at a bill that would settle the jazzy legal status of fantasy sports in the state. The bill would put the online games under the Ohio Casino Control Commission.
South Africa’s 38 casinos continue to improve their bottom lines with steady revenue growth. However, many fear competition from illegal online operations and are demanding government action.
Wynn Resorts is selling a half-interest in its new shopping mall to a New York group specializing in the kinds of high-end tenants the Las Vegas Strip gaming giant is looking for. The $472 million deal follows a string of major retail moves on the Strip over the last year.
A majority of creditors have voted to approve a restructuring of Caesars Entertainment’s largest casino operating company and take it out bankruptcy protection early in the new year. But a powerful group of bank lenders aren’t completely satisfied and are threatening to derail the plan, going round and round like Caesars’ High Roller (l.) on the Las Vegas Strip.
Following recent Missouri Gaming Commission approval, Mark Twain Casino (l.) in LaGrange and St. Jo Frontier Casino in St. Joseph soon will be owned by Z Capital Group LLC of Denver, which will acquire all outstanding shares of Affinity Gaming. The deal is expected to close in early 2017.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has authorized the start of design work on the main phase of its planned $1.4 billion expansion. The centerpiece, a 600,000-square-foot exhibit area, will be the subject of discussions early next year as the LVCVA and its partners and major customers work through ideas for the space.
In the wake of the opening of the $1.4 billion MGM National Harbor resort, Rob Norton (l.), the president of the Baltimore-area Maryland Live! Casino, says the property will remain a dominant force.
The developers of a casino in Diamondhead, Mississippi, said they will present their proposal to the state gaming commission, which rejected the plan two years ago. Commissioners said the site on the Gulf of Mexico, near Gulfport, was inappropriate. No one has seen design plans for the casino resort.
With the Trump Taj Mahal casino now closed, casino revenue in Atlantic City declined 3.5 percent in November. However, revenue for the city’s seven remaining casinos was up 3 percent, reflecting a trend that has been happening since city casinos began closing in 2014.
PT’s Entertainment Group, Nevada’s largest operator of non-casino gaming venues, has gotten larger with the opening in Las Vegas of its newest PT’s Gold location (l.), its fifth to debut in Southern Nevada this year. The tavern is authorized to run up to 35 machine games and features indoor and outdoor seating and 24 big-screen HD TVs.
Regulators in New Jersey have seized $69,000 in jackpots at Atlantic City casinos, the bulk of which was seized from the now-closed Trump Taj Mahal. The jackpots were either unclaimed or won by players who could not prove they were old enough to play in New Jersey casinos.
Atlantic City’s Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa scored 100 percent on the on the 2017 Corporate Equality Index. The survey reports on corporate policies and practices related to LGBT workplace equality and is administered by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. President Tom Balance says it’s a “core value” for the Borgata.
The Chicago Tribune found the Illinois Lottery didn't award 40 percent of major prizes for its biggest instant games between 2011 and 2015. Private lottery operator Northstar simply ended several games without paying any grand prizes due to declining sales from over-printing tickets. The state and Northstar profited but players could have won millions more.
The Intralot gaming system will be used in the Idaho Lottery for the next ten years. The UK based gaming systems provider was chosen through a competitive bidding process.
The Idaho Racing Commission didn’t have the legal authority to disburse funds from a form of gaming called “historical racing” machines. That’s the conclusion of state auditors, who say the commission broke the law when it paid out $286,000 to breeder groups last year.
Scott Kreeger who was brought in two years ago to replace the original SLS Las Vegas CEO Rob Oseland, stepped down last week to accept another, unspecified, position with a different company. His successor has not yet been named.
The Nevada Resort Association (NRA) last week announced the Caesars executive Jan Jones Blackhurst (l.) has been appointed chairman of the lobbying group, with Station Casinos exec Scott Nielson stepping into the role of vice chairman.
A key figure in the evolution of the modern integrated gaming resort, Ensign rose from a Reno craps dealer to become head of Circus Circus Enterprises and later chairman of Mandalay Resort Group. Together with Circus Circus, the company’s Mandalay Bay, Excalibur and Luxor resorts were landmarks in the evolution of the Las Vegas Strip.
MGM Grand in Las Vegas will open a millennial-friendly social lounge called Level Up, with stadium-style electronic table games and traditional bar games.
Scientific Games completed its first two European installations of its Tournaments Express instant-tournament system at casinos in France and Portugal.
GLI performed the World Lottery Association Security Control Standard audit for Mexico’s national lottery, which was granted the WL-SCS certificate recently.
Betfred has agreed to buy an additional 650 wide-screen Novomatic terminals and sports-book software for its betting shops from Best Gaming Technology.
Twin River Management Group wants to begin offering free-play style social media at its Rhode Island casinos. It has contracted with the UK internet gaming supplier GameAccount Network to set up such a system.
The Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers (AGEM) last week announced that has added 11 new members, bringing its membership roles to 157, the highest in its history.
The producer of February’s ICE Totally Gaming trade show says that a total of 91 gaming organizations from 34 countries will be first-time exhibitors at the show.
TCSJohnHuxley will showcase its Qorex electronic gaming solutions at ICE Totally Gaming 2017. Qorex will be installed soon at several casinos in the UK and Asia.
