The dispute over banked games in California cardrooms finally came to a head last week when two tribes filed lawsuits against the cardroom owners for violating state law. Rincon Chairman Bo Mazzetti (l.) says the failure of the state to enforce the existing regulations forced the tribes hands, despite recent moves by regulators to crack down on the games.
Cordish Companies announced it is buying out its partner, Greenwood Gaming, in the under-construction Philly Live! casino project (l.) in South Philadelphia. The company is also asking the state Gaming Control Board to grant it a three-year extension, which would have the casino opening in last 2021.
Last week, a day after Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies passed a bill to legalize online and land-based sports betting, the Brazilian Senate followed suit. The legislation now will be passed up to the office of the outgoing president, Michel Temer (l.), who is expected to sign it.
The racing and gaming giant and partner Keeneland are expected to break ground early next year on a $150 million harness racing venue (l.) targeting the Nashville market with 1,500 machine games and an array of attractions. Highlights include a hotel and a 3,000-seat outdoor amphitheater.
The governor of Puerto Rico, Ricardo Rosello (l.), has approved of allowing as many as 50,000 slot machines that now operate outside of casinos in the shadows to become legal. The hope is that additional slot machine taxes will help the bankrupt island government add revenue.
When it comes to Japan, Galaxy Entertainment Group is casting its net wide. In a recent news conference, Deputy Chairman Francis Lui (l.) disclosed that the company has submitted seven RFIs to seven different areas. Lui says Galaxy has over $4 billion in the bank that will help finance a Japanese IR.
Despite warnings prior to the November elections, the Florida Gambling Amendment that gives voters control over expanded gaming, it does not cover sports betting. Sports betting expert Dan Wallach (l.) explains why.
President Donald Trump has recognized Miriam Adelson with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Miriam Adelson is a doctor, philanthropist and wife of Sheldon Adelson, Chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands Corp. who is considered one of the nation’s most powerful Republican donors. The Adelsons donated $30 million to Trump’s campaign in the final months of the 2016 race.
The government is floating a plan for a sliding scale rate that climbs to as high as 50 percent. Not surprisingly, operators across the Caribbean island nation, including Atlantis (l.) and Baha Mar, are pushing back.
A market sell-off makes everybody nervous, but think about Warren Buffett at times like these. Bad times aren’t so bad for good companies and may represent bargains in gaming stocks. Here’s two you should consider.
This week, the GGB Podcast sits down with Don DeMarinis, the senior vice president of sales for technology provider Agilysys about how his company is ramping up the analytics and products for the gaming industry.
According to Bernstein, gross gaming revenues in Macau will grow 2 percent to 4 percent year on year for November. The gaming hub was challenged this month by the Macau Grand Prix (l.), which diverted visitors.
The Imperial Pacific Resort on the island of Saipan, forced to close after Typhoon Yutu (l.) in late October, resumed business “as normal” on November 18, said Imperial Pacific International in a filing to the HKSE.
Plans for the rebranding and refurbishment of Sands Cotai Central (l.) are evolving, says Sands China President and Chief Operating Officer Wilfred Wong. The property will become the Londoner Macao by 2020.
Macau Chief Executive Chui Sai On (l.) says the retender of the city’s gaming concessions will be “absolutely transparent,” but revealed little more about the process that will begin in 2020.
Liu Hsi-lin (l.), vice president of Taiwan’s National Kaohsiung University of Hospitality and Tourism, says the country’s government should reconsider casino gaming as a way to boost tourism.
Officials in Hanoi have approved a US$500 million horse track and entertainment facility in the Vietnamese capital city. The project is a long time coming; it was first OK’d in the late 1990s.
Underwriters who handled Studio City International Holdings’ IPO exercised their over-allotment option, buying more than 4.3 million additional American Depositary Shares for $12.50 each.
Macau’s gaming halls are moving slowly to establish legally sanctioned smoking lounges. Of more than 400 lounges that must be certified by January, the Health Bureau officials have approved less than 50.
The Philippine government plans to crack down on illegal foreign laborers in the country’s casinos and online gaming industry. A new task force to ensure that all workers hold valid employment permits.
The Irish Parliament is scheduled to review amendments to the country’s budget that would revamp betting taxes to 10 percent gross profits tax on retail bookmakers and a 20 percent tax on online gambling sites. The amendments are backed by the Irish Bookmakers Association which feels that plan would create €25 million in tax revenue and protect betting industry jobs by avoiding shop closures.
Financial analysts at Macquarie Research warn that Australia’s Gold Coast may not be able to support two integrated resorts. The analysis comes as the Queensland government considers a second IR in the region in addition to expansion at the existing Star Gold Coast, formerly Jupiters (l.).
The British Columbia Lottery Corp. has approved of the Cascades Casino Delta (l.) in the city of Delta. The casino will be built by Gateway Casinos & Entertainment Ltd.
South Africa’s casino industry posted 3.5 percent growth year-on-year, welcome news after the first annual decline in 2017. But factors continue to cause uncertainty, including the economy and rampant online gaming.
A judge has nullified the 2016 state law permitting daily fantasy sports. In response, the N.Y. Gaming Commission says it can no longer regulate the sector. Operators, meanwhile, are still taking customers.
The Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten is taking action against the Carmanco NV trust office, which has been identified as director of a company that offers illegal online gambling. The bank said it is “taking the necessary measures” against the trust.
The All-India Gaming Federation has reportedly appealed to the country’s prime minister to crack down on foreign betting websites. The AIGF claims access to the sites can increase gambling addictions among Indians.
Pariplay and High 5 Game are entering into a partnership to offer H5G’s suite of slot content integrated into FUSION, Pariplay’s comprehensive online gaming solution.
PartyPoker has been licensed in the Czech Republic by the country’s Finance Ministry. The company had exited the country’s market in 2017. According to reports, Leo Tsoukernik of King’s Casino in Rozvadov will run the online poker room.
Congressman James Sensenbrenner (l.) is looking to jump-start the debate over federal sports betting regulation with a request to the Justice Department to weigh in. This from a lawmaker who held a recent hearing on the issues during which he made it clear he favors regulation.
New Mexico’s Pueblo of Santa Ana tribe has created a test case for sports betting in tribal casinos where there is no law specifically legalizing sports books. USBookmaking launched a sports book at the tribes Santa Ana Star Casino (l.) last month.
Sports betting is just around the corner in the two casinos that serve Rhode Island. The first to introduce it will be the Twin River in Lincoln, to be followed within weeks by the Tiverton Casino Hotel.
Ready or not, here it comes! Sports betting that is. That’s the conclusion of the newly elected governor of Ohio, Mike DeWine (l.), no friend of expanded gaming in the Buckeye State.
The Old Dominion could see competing bills that would legalize sports betting soon after the legislature begins in 2019 session. Several Virginia legislators plan to introduce bills that would allow betting on professional but not college sports.
Legislators in North and South Carolina are expected to introduce bills in the coming New Year that would legalize sports betting in those states. As one lawmaker puts it: “Why not allow them to do legally what they’ve been doing illegally but tax them on it?”
A U.S. District Judge has denied a lawsuit filed by New Jersey racetrack Monmouth Park (l.) against the professional sports leagues and the NCAA, which charged that their opposition to sports betting cost the track millions. The track had sought a $3.4 million injunction bond plus “interest and damages,” stemming from the league’s opposition to New Jersey’s sports betting law dating back to 2014.
Michigan state Rep. Brandt Iden (l.) who is sponsoring a sports betting bill says he will consider applying an “integrity fee” to professional leagues in his bill. Michigan state representative Brandt Iden said he has changed his mind about charging operators the fee after speaking with various professional league officials.
PointsBet has formed an alliance with EML Payments USA LLC to provide a reloadable card program that will serve the sports betting industry in New Jersey. The partnership hopes to eventually serve this growing market all over the USA.
The PGA Tour has signed an exclusive multi-year agreement with Britain’s IMG to distribute its official game data and statistics worldwide. The deal features innovative tech components to facilitate in-play wagering.
Boyd Gaming’s Valley Forge Casino filed its application for a Pennsylvania sports betting license, becoming the sixth casino in the state to opt to offer a sports book.
MGM is the new owner of the Hard Rock Rocksino (l.) in Northfield Park, Ohio. It will soon begin rebranding the most successfully casino in the state, which it purchased in July, along with its REIT spinoff, MGM Growth Properties, for $1 billion.
Oaklawn Racing & Gaming in Arkansas has announced a $100 million expansion that will include a 200-room hotel, 28,000 square feet of gaming space and a 1,500 seat event center. The announcement comes two weeks after state voters approved casino gaming.
The Mississippi Gaming Commission has put off until December a vote on a casino that could help the coastal community of Long Beach come back to economic life 12 years after Hurricane Katrina ravaged a large part of its business district. The proposed casino would be built on site of a Kmart that was destroyed by the hurricane in 2005.
Steve Wynn (l.) has at least temporarily prevented the Massachusetts Gaming Commission from using private documents that he argues are subject to attorney client privilege in an investigative report that was scheduled to be released next month. The investigation holds the fate of the Encore Boston Harbor in its hands.
The New Jersey Casino Reinvestment Development Authority’s new $6.7 million budget focuses on Atlantic City including a mix of social and development projects. The budget funds expansion of Atlantic City’s special tourist zone police force as well as streetscaping on the resort’s Tennessee Avenue. CRDA also approved a plan by Showboat Atlantic City owner Bart Blatstein (l.) to convert 400 hotel rooms in the now non-casino hotel into 264 market-rate rental units.
Although the Pojoaque Pueblo of New Mexico ultimately lost its fight with the state government over whether it could operate the Buffalo Thunder casino (l.) legally without a tribal state gaming compact, the tribe is still battling of money that was collected into a trust account while that fight was still being litigated. At stake is about $10 million.
Whether an off-reservation casino (l.) proposed by the Timbisha Shoshone tribe for Ridgecrest, California happens, and if it happens in the city or outside city limits is completely up in the air according to recently reelected Mayor Peggy Breeden. That’s the message she brought to a gathering of the Democratic Club last week.
The High Court of England & Wales has denied the combined appeal of Lottoland and Multi Lotto UK to allow bets on EuroMillions draws in other countries. The companies had sought to challenge UK rules implemented this year that prohibit betting on the outcome of non-UK EuroMillions lottery draws.
Betting technology provider Sportech announced a strategic partnership with online lottery provider Lot.to Systems. The company also revealed that negotiations are also underway for Sportech to acquire the lottery provider.
IGT has named former Vice Chairperson Lorenzo Pellicioli as the company’s new chairman, after having served as acting chairman since the August departure of Phil Satre.
Sheldon Adelson’s No. 2 has had his employment contract extended through 2024. The new deal comes with $1.1 million in additional salary and fresh options on 2.5 million shares.
Jimmy Vaccaro (l.), the famed Las Vegas oddsmaker, is departing the South Point for Rush Street Gaming. The regional casino operator will be looking to his expertise to ensure the success of its entry into sports betting in Pennsylvania, New York and Illinois.
The Palms, the off-Strip Las Vegas resort now owned by Station Casinos, is revamping its look top to bottom and plans to be a serious player in the city’s lucrative nightlife scene. Two executives with deep Strip experience, Ronn Nicolli (l.) and Ryan M. Craig, have been brought in to make it happen.
Win Systems has named Gaston Capurro as business development manager for Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay, heading the commercial office in Buenos Aires.
The state Gaming Commission has approved CG Technology’s offer of $2 million to settle a range of regulatory violations. It’s the third complaint the betting platform provider has faced in Nevada in the last five years. This time, the company’s license was at stake.
The All-In Diversity Project has just released the gaming industry’s first-ever report that throws up some surprising insights including more women on their non-executive boards than the U.S. or UK national averages, as well as tech and risk roles.
DraftKings at Scarlet Pearl Sportsbook on Mississippi’s Gulf Coast will use IGT’s PlayShot sports betting platform, which also was approved last week in Nevada.
Everi Holdings has signed an agreement with the British Columbia Lottery Corporation to deploy the Everi TournEvent tournament system across the province’s 35 casinos.
Ken Jolly (l.), the head of Asian operations for Scientific Games Corporation, says the company has made several developments that will boost its growth in Asian markets.
Chris Rowe (l.), the managing director-Asia Pacific for Aristocrat Leisure Industries, commented that the company is not concerned with designing games to appeal to the millennial generation.
Wipfli/Joseph Eve has released its latest cost-of-doing-business report for the tribal gaming industry, designed to help leaders make more informed business decisions.
JCJ Architecture was one of four companies selected to work with construction partner Tutor Perini Building Company to develop and build the expansion of Oklahoma’s Choctaw Casino & Resort (l.) in Durant.
Clarion Gaming has confirmed that next year’s edition of ICE London will be the largest edition of the ICE Totally Gaming trade show in the history of the event. Managing Director Kate Chambers (l.) says ICE is more than twice as large as the 2012 show.
