U.S. Attorney General nominee Jeff Sessions (l.) said he would revisit the 2011 Department of Justice ruling, which cleared the way for intra-state online gaming. Sessions said he was “shocked” by the 2011 opinion during confirmation hearings last week and said he opposed the 2011 opinion from the Obama Administration. At the same time, the American Gaming Association is urging Sessions to consider cracking down on illegal sports betting while legalizing and taxing it via Congress.
Jay Costa (l.), the minority leader of Pennsylvania’s state Senate, has introduced a bill that would authorize online gaming, daily fantasy sports, online lottery sales and tablet gaming at airports, plus a fix to the local host fee. But the high tax rate envision for iGaming and fantasy sports may doom the legislation.
Florida state Senator Bill Galvano (l.) recently filed the first gambling legislation for the upcoming session. The 112-page bill would allow blackjack to be expanded beyond Seminole Tribe casinos, decrease the number of state gambling licenses, allow decoupling and expand slots to parimutuels where voters have approved them, among other provisions.
Aussie billionaire James Packer (l.) has returned to the board of global casino operator Crown Resorts. In other changes, Robert Rankin is out as Crown’s board chairman. He will be replaced by John Alexander.
The Leeds Victoria Gate "super casino," the largest casino in the north of England and Scotland and the UK's third-largest, will open January 26. The 50,000 square foot property will offer 140 slots, 24 table games and 75 electronic games, plus the Live Bar, Curve and V Restaurant dining and drinking venues.
VizExplorer’s Mick Ingersoll (l.) explains why database marketing can be a blessing and a curse. But when it is used correctly it can be a powerful tool for your host team to identify players and potential players whose net worth can be boosted and improved, and their brand loyalty increased.
The first casino resort has opened in Russia’s special gaming zone in Sochi. The Sochi Casino and Resort, located in Gorky Gorod, has been described as a “unique concept in the spirit of the best casinos of Las Vegas.”
Now that a former casino owner is president of the United States, what does it mean for the gaming industry? Will Donald Trump understand the realities of today’s industry or will he line up with conservative Republicans and try to limit gaming?
This week, the GGB podcast features a discussion with Dirk Finstel, executive vice president, corporate strategy & development and Elizabeth Campbell, general manager of the Americas for Adlink Technologies about how slot machines could not operate with the Adlink products.
Looking back, gaming analysts say the lowest point of Macau’s historic recession occurred in June 2016. Macau ended the year lower than in 2015, despite a rally that began in August, for the third year of decline.
India's largest publicly traded gaming company, Delta Corp, opened Casino Deltin Denzong, its first Sikkim casino, on January 14 in the 5-star WelcomHeritage Denzong Regency (l.) in Gangtok. Delta’s Deltin Daman hotel-casino will open soon in Goa, where the company also operates land and offshore casinos, plus the Deltin Caravela casino-hotel cruise ship.
Philippine police have been directed by Ismael Sueno (l.), secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government, to pursue illegal gaming operators with the same zeal they apply to drug dealers. The principle of “Oplan Tokhang” is based on grass-roots interrogation and investigation.
The new Imperial Pacific resort on Saipan Island will not open as planned for the January 28 Chinese New Year. IP International Holdings Executive Director has announced the resort will open sometime in the first quarter.
Construction is set to begin in East Asia in April on a cruise ship that is being billed as the world’s largest. Backed by a Malaysian company and pegged at US$560 million, the 3,200-passenger Cruisino will have 1,330 state rooms and a two-deck gambling hall.
Gaming revenues at South Korean casino operator Paradise Co. Ltd. rose more than 6 percent in 2016. The company posted revenues of KRW603.13 billion (US$505.9 million) compared to KRW567.88 billion in 2015.
Law enforcement officers in Macau have arrested 23 people for alleged fraud involving UnionPay ATM cards in the city. The suspects reportedly allowed customers to conduct false transactions to access casino cash.
Mainland China-based Landing International Development has warned it is likely to post wider-than-anticipated net losses for 2016. The company is now planning a foreigners-only gaming hall on Jeju Island in South Korea.
Around 300 dealers in the Chinese casino enclave went public this month with a demand for a 5 percent pay hike. The grassroots labor group that organized the demonstration wants the local government to intervene on their behalf and has vowed to stage more protests.
Goa Chief Electoral Officer Shri Kunal is warning casinos to stay out of the state electoral process. Kunal says the watchdog group is working to ensure money doesn’t change hands ahead of the February 4 elections.
The government of Vietnam has established a higher payout policy for slot machines in the country’s casinos. An amended decree mandates that all machines offer a payout rate of no less than 90 percent.
The English community of Chelmsford could host the first racetrack casino in the United Kingdom. The city in Essex is weighing the benefits of adding a Betfred casino development to the local racecourse (l.).
Profits for UK Bookmaker William Hill came in £20 million below estimates for 2016. The bookmaker had a tough December in betting on soccer and horseracing, capping a difficult year. Still, William Hill’s profits for the year came in at about £260 million.
Shorelines Casino Belleville, owned by Great Canadian Gaming Corporation, recently opened in the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation's East Gaming Bundle. The property features 450 slots and table games, a buffet, restaurant and performance space, plus the interactive PlaySmart Centre, operated by the Responsible Gambling Council.
Mexican Senator José Maria Martinez (L.) has estimated that more than a third of the 100,000 slot machines in the country’s casinos are uncertified and subject to tampering.
Details have emerged about a $3 billion casino project planned for Australia’s Gold Coast. The resort, under development by partners Crown Resorts and the ASF Consortium, will include residential and office space.
Slot machines will soon be whirring again in Israel. The High Court of Justice has ordered the lottery firm Mifal Hapayis to reactivate slots and other electronic games of chance a week after they were shut down.
Daily fantasy sports is a game of skill, not luck, said Florida state Rep. Jason Brodeur (l.), who filed a measure that removing DFS from regulatory oversight. Under current state law, both games of skill and chance are illegal. A similar bill to allow and regulate DFS died last year.
The Miami Heat NBA team is the latest to partner with an eSports team, with its acquisition of a stake in Misfits, formed by Miami native Ben Spoont in June 2016. The Heat will help Misfits in the areas of marketing, branding, promotion, retail, digital and sponsorship activation.
PalaCasino.com has launched Jackpot Shores, an exclusive progressive jackpot slot, for its New Jersey online casino. The mid-winter prize is a trip to the California shore for the lucky winner.
Portugal has proposed a plan for the sharing of online poker players across jurisdictions and submitted it the European Union. The model would include European online markets as well as be open to other international jurisdictions provided they meet technical requirements. The move comes as many European jurisdictions are moving away from “ring-fencing” in their jurisdictions and hoping to launch new liquidity agreements this year.
Officials for Antigua and Barbuda expressed optimism that a new Trump administration will settle the island nation’s longstanding gambling dispute with the U.S. The dispute stems from the U.S. barring players from gambling on online sites based in Antigua. The country says that failing a resolution, it is prepared to go forward with punitive actions approved by the World Trade Organization.
PokerStars Casino has introduced an exclusive progressive jackpot slot game titled Millionaires Island. The slot has a minimum jackpot payout of $1 million.
A surge in the virtual currency Bitcoin’s value to start the New Year came to a quick end as the currency lost 20 percent of its value as China’s yaun rose. The virtual currency is traded heavily in China where there are limits on investors buying foreign currency with the yaun. The virtual currency had hit a three-year high of $1,139, but then fell back to as low as $885.
Pariplay, based on the Isle of Mann, has ventured into Belgium’s online gambling market providing a suite of games to Casino de Spa’s online casino 777.be. The move is part of a partnership agreement with iSoftBet.
Playtech has opened a live casino facility in Bucharest hoping to meet the need for live online play in the country. Playtech has received four licenses for live online casino play in the newly regulated country.
The eSports Entertainment Association has confirmed that a hacker compromised about 1.5 million accounts in a ransom scheme last year. ESEA is a major league for the game Counter Strike Global Offensive. The company says credit card info was secure, but other information may have been leaked.
Lawmakers in the two states are letting fly with a couple of Hail Mary passes in the face of a longstanding federal ban on sports betting. New York already has a law on the books authorizing the activity provided Congress reverses the ban. The South Carolina measure would require a constitutional amendment just to get to that point.
Glenn Straub (l.), owner of the former Revel casino in Atlantic City won a small concession from New Jersey gaming regulators, but the main issue of whether he needs full licensing to lease casino space was not resolved. Instead, the state’s Casino Control Commission ruled that reports on Straub compiled by the state’s DGE could remain sealed.
FanDuel and DraftKings claim their games are skill-based. But under legislation proposed by U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (l.) of Kansas, DFS and sports betting could be considered games of chance and taxed at 23 percent. Moran's "Fair Tax Act of 2017" also would abolish the Internal Revenue Service and repeal the federal income tax.
A recent Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll found 56 percent of registered Georgia voters support allowing casino gambling--already a key topic of the 2017 session. State Rep. Ron Stephens said he'll reintroduce legislation for a constitutional amendment allowing four casinos, and state Senator Brandon Beach (l.) also favors a racetrack and five casinos.
Horsemen at Finger Lakes Gaming & Racetrack want bigger racing purses to counter the heavy competition they expect when del Lago Resort & Casino opens nearby in February. They’ve refused to sign off a new simulcasting deal until they get them.
Atlantic City saw the Trump Taj Mahal close in 2016 and revenue at brick-and-mortar casinos decline slightly, but thanks to online gaming, the resort has posted its first yearly revenue increase in 10 years. The city’s casinos took in $2.603 billion in 2016, a 1.5 percent increase over 2015. Online gaming made up $196.7 million in revenue.
The region beat official forecasts on the way to 42.9 million visitors in 2016, setting a third straight annual record. Convention attendance hit 6.3 million, also a new high, and hotel occupancy was up by more than 1 percent.
Gretna Racing in Gadsden County, Florida, has no standing to intervene in U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle's decision allowing the Seminole Tribe to continue to offer blackjack, against the wishes of the state. Gretna lawyers said Hinkle's ruling "puts the small facility and its operators at risk."
Nevada regulators are expected to sign off this month on 2016’s sale of Affinity Gaming to Z Capital Group. The deal includes all 11 of Affinity’s casinos in Nevada, Colorado, Missouri and Iowa. Buffalo Bill’s (l.) is one of three casinos Affinity owns in Primm, Nevada.
The Gardens Casino near Los Angeles could lose its license. The casino, which just completed a $90 million renovation, is accused of running afoul of anti-money laundering laws.
More than a year after they began the process of picking a site for a third, satellite casino, Connecticut’s two gaming tribes have eliminated all but two potential sites. MGM, whose Springfield, Massachusetts casino is the target of the tribal project, has continued to object, using former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder (l.) to lead its legal challenge.
What is rarer than a vote by a town’s residents to determine whether a tribal casino can go forward at an abandoned mall (l.). Such a vote could be scheduled in Elk Grove, California, now that a petition with 11,565 signatures have been turned in to put a city council action to a vote of the people.
For more than a dozen years officials of the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians embezzled a total of $6 million from the tribes’ Rolling Hills Casino (l.). That’s the assertion of an indictment handed down last week by a federal grand jury.
A Washington tribe is demanding that the state and Snohomish County stop collecting taxes from non-Indians doing business at tribal establishments in Quil Ceda Village, an incorporated municipality on the reservation. The tribe has gone to court to challenge this practice and is being backed up by the U.S. Justice Department.
An Oregon tribe, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, plan a $70-$80 million expansion that will include diversification into non-gaming industries. The expansion would add a second hotel tower, a large bowling alley and expand the number of slots.
Arizona has a dramatically different gaming landscape than it did in 1988, when Indian gaming was legalized. But, for all that, the state remains remarkably anti-gaming, as is shown by its attitude towards fantasy sports.
The Tule River Indian Tribe is continuing the process for moving its existing Eagle Mountain Casino from its current location to 40 acres in Porterville, California. The change would require putting the land into trust for the tribe.
A family that belongs to the Bishop Paiute tribe of California, which sits next to the Mojave Desert, is seeking recourse from a federal judge against a tribal council and judge that sought to eject them from their land, in favor of a casino expansion—even though the tribe’s general council voted the expansion down.
The Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma's proposed Golden Mesa Casino (l.) will not require an Environmental Impact Statement, speeding up the process for Bureau of Indian Affairs approval. An act of Congress would allow the casino to be built 400 miles from the tribe's headquarters, since it has no jurisdictional land of its own.
The Osage Nation in Oklahoma purchased 43,000 acres of historic land for $74 million from media mogul Ted Turner. Proceeds from the 20,200-member tribe's seven casinos helped make the reacquisition possible. Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear said the land may be used for a bison preserve after it's taken into trust.
A lottery bill could be considered by Mississippi lawmakers in the recently begun session. A statewide lottery could generate up to $100 million in annual revenue, officials said. Governor Phil Bryant (L.) said he's open to discussion about a lottery but is against directing lottery revenue to a particular agency, especially education.
The government of Quebec has announced its intention to cut the number of lottery VLTs from 12,000 to 10,000 to fight “compulsive gambling.” The new regulations also aim to move them out of poorer neighborhoods.
A class-action lawsuit against the Atlantic Lottery Corporation in Newfoundland and Labrador relies on an outdated law, per a press broadside from the lottery. The plaintiffs seek damages for gambling addiction.
Melco Crown Entertainment has announced major executive appointments including Frederic Winckler (l.) as chief marketing and brand officer and Gabriel Hunterton as president of City of Dreams.
Joe Lupo has been named president at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tampa. Lupo worked for Boyd Gaming for 13 years, most recently as senior vice president of operations at Borgata Hotel Casino in Atlantic City. He also was race and sports book director at the Stardust Casino in Las Vegas.
SLS Las Vegas has named Station Casinos veteran Terry Downey (l.) president of the Strip hotel casino. Downey quit the Aliante in North Las Vegas after its purchase by Boyd Gaming earlier this year. Joining him at SLS is Robert Schaffhauser, who was Aliante’s CFO.
The New Jersey Senate will lose two of its most vocal gambling proponents in 2017 as state Senators Raymond Lesniak (l.) and James Whelan, both Democrats, have announced they will not seek re-election. While Whelan is retiring, Lesniak has announced he plans to run for governor in 2017. Both pols have been major backers of gambling legislation in the state including online gambling and sports betting moves.
At Mesquite Gaming in Nevada, Corporate General Manager Scott Singer (l.) has been promoted to corporate director of operations, Director of Casino and Hotel Marketing Operations Julia Abouzeid to general manager at Casablanca Resort and Executive Casino Host Brad Conklin to casino marketing manager at Casablanca and Virgin River Hotel & Casino.
Prairie Band LLC in Kansas recently named Jacob "Tug" Wamego as president and chief executive officer. He had held those roles in interim capacities since May 2016, and was business development and legal counsel since 2014. Wamego is a licensed attorney in the state of Kansas and Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation.
Cherokee Nation citizen Chris Benge, chief of staff to Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin, has been named to the newly created position of state secretary of Native American Affairs. The post is expected to raise the profile of Native Americans in Oklahoma and help advance their issues.
Andy Bassam, a 15-year veteran of the cash-handling industry, recently was promoted to vice president of customer support at Innovative Technology, where he will oversee ITL's global technical support as the company increases its product range and market share. Bassam managed ITL’s customer support for five years.
Joe Bunch recently was sworn in as chief of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Bunch had served as interim chief following the removal of George Wickliffe in mid-2016. Assistant Chief Jamie Thompson blamed the tribe's financial issues on "vile and corrupt leaders of the previous administration."
The Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers has announced the new slate of officers resulting from its board of directors election, including new president, Tom Nieman (l.).
Gamblit Gaming has signed a deal to add 125 interactive, skill-based slot games to Caesars property in Nevada this year, including the operator’s major Las Vegas Strip properties.
Wynn Resorts will deploy Amazon Echo, a hands-free, void-controlled service system featuring answers to voice requests to “Alexa,” at all of its properties.
Philadelphia chef Jose Garces will open three new restaurants at Atlantic City’s Tropicana Casino in March. Garces has had an up and down history in the resort, but continues to be a major presence in the city’s restaurant scene.
The organizers of the February ICE Totally Gaming trade show report a record media presence is expected for the event, with unprecedented numbers of media stands and registered journalists.
Interblock Global CEO John Connelly (l.) says his company is preparing products for its stand at ICE Totally Gaming that will give operators new ideas of configuring an exciting and successful casino floor.
Konami Gaming’s stand at ICE 2017 will include the introduction of many new products related to the very popular Concerto series of video slots, including th4e Concerto SeleXion multi-game (l.).
The G2E Asia trade show will be approximately one-third larger than the 2016 edition, with more than 11,000 square meters of net floor area already sold.
Slot Tech magazine has announced the 2017 schedule for its regional slot tech training seminars, designed to prepare students to deal with the most common failures in slot machines.
