Republican Orrin Hatch and Democrat Charles Schumer (l.) have introduced in the Senate legislation that would give the federal government the last word on state laws regulating sports betting. It’s not known how the measure will fare in the new Congress. But Schumer, the Senate’s minority leader, says there is bipartisan support for federal oversight. And the Department of Justice is reportedly set to reverse the 2011 ruling that led to the legalization of iGaming.
The Philippine Department of Justice has Kazuo Okada (l.) in its crosshairs. On December 7 the DOJ indicted the Japanese casino boss on charges that he misappropriated millions of dollars from his company, Tiger Resort. Okada has recently launched an campaign to clear his name, so this development will clearly be a setback.
In a bipartisan and rapid manner, the Michigan legislature last week approved online gaming for all gaming operations in the state, commercial and tribal. The bill now heads to the desk of Governor Rick Snyder (l.) who hasn’t given any indication of whether he will sign it or not.
The District of Columbia’s City Council has approved a sports betting law that permits retail and online sports betting in the capital. Mayor Muriel Bowser (l.) is expected to sign it. Online wagering will be allowed through the district’s lottery, but the bill also allows the city’s major sports arenas to offer live sportsbooks. The bill must be submitted to Congress for review, but officials said sports betting could begin in the district by April.
The American Gaming Association formally named longtime Capitol Hill lobbyist Bill Miller as the trade association’s third president and chief executive officer. Miller most recently serviced as senior vice president for the Business Roundtable and has experience with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as well.
Japanese entertainment giant Sega Sammy has set its sights on Tokyo as a possible integrated resort destination. Chairman and CEO Hajime Satomi (l.) said the company hasn’t ruled out Osaka, site of the 2025 World Expo.
Poker players in Israel who are generally treated like criminals could see some light at the end of the tunnel. A bill has been introduced in the Knesset that would follow the lead of the Supreme Court, and define poker as a game of skill, not gambling.
Attorneys for Steve Wynn, Wynn Resorts and the Massachusetts Gaming Commission are negotiating over details of a deal to allow the MGC to go forward with its suitability review of the Boston area license for the gaming giant. At stake is the fate of the $2.5 billion Encore Boston Harbor (l.) near completion in Everett.
AGS will acquire slot supplier Integrity Gaming, along with its installed based of 2,700 Class II and Class III gaming machines, for a cash payment of $49 million. AGS also announced an agreement to provide third-party slot content to UK multi-channel gaming operator the Rank Group. The deal covers the Rank Group’s Mecca Bingo and Grosvenor Casino brands.
The U.S. stock market has been taking a huge hit in the last two weeks. Now maybe regular investors can get a taste of how gaming investors have been treated recently. And Santa can’t help.
This week, the GGB Podcast features a discussion with Cheryl Moss, a family court judge in Las Vegas who is launching the state’s first gambling court that intervenes in qualifying cases where a crime was committed connected to compulsive gambling.
Malaysia’s uber-rich Lim family, which owns a majority share of Genting Bhd, has increased its stake in the company, buying up an additional 300,000 shares. Family patriarch Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay (l.) is the chairman of Genting. The Lims now own almost 1.48 billion shares.
India’s largest casino operator, Delta Corp., has appealed in Bombay High Court for help securing a gaming license at its five-star Deltin Hotel (l.) in Daman. The hotel has been eligible for the license since it opened in 2014.
The Philippine SEC has approved Udenna Corp., the Philippines holding company of Davao City petroleum titan Dennis Uy (l.), to launch its casino resort business.
A revised bill that prohibits Macau casino workers from entering those gaming halls when they’re not on the clock has been passed in the Legislative Assembly. Some wonder if enforcement will prove difficult.
Melco Resorts Philippines, a unit of Melco International Development, invested PHP9.70 billion (US$184 million) in a recent share tender exercise, buying up public shares of the subsidiary.
Hollywood will be coming to China’s Hengqin Island near Macau in the first half of 2019. The movie-themed Lionsgate Entertainment World (l.) is part of a plan to boost non-gaming attractions in the vicinity.
New regulations making radical changes in the Albanian casino market will take effect after the New Year. Among the changes: No slot machines outside of casino resorts—like the Amadeus Palace (l.)— hotels and online.
Merkur cut the ribbon (l.) on its third casino in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, as the Merkur Spielbank Halle casino opened in partnership with the Swiss Stadtcasino Baden.
Martin Cruddace, chief executive of UK’s Arena Racing Company, has announced cuts as it prepares for a reduction in the maximum bet allowed on fixed odds betting terminals in the country. The company is reducing its overall prize money contribution by £3 million in 2019 saying that the expected closing of betting shops from the cuts will hurt Britain’s racing subsidies. The company is also planning to close 1,000 betting shops in the next year.
Outgoing Brazilian President Michel Temer (l.) has signed off on legislation that charts a path for legal sports betting in the country. The bill gives lawmakers two years to create and approve sports betting regulations.
James Packer’s Crown Resorts has won a contentious court battle to prevent another firm from blocking the views of Sydney Harbor from Crown’s planned $US2 billion Barangaroo integrated resort (l.).
The Australia Capital Territory has ordered Aquis Entertainment to revise its AU$330 million casino expansion plans for Casino Canberra (l.) and reduce the number of gaming machines it wanted to add.
Australia-listed Donaco International Ltd. is seeking cash to help it pay off US$39.9 million in debt to Mega International Commercial Bank. Its collateral for the loan was Donaco’s Star Vegas Resort in Cambodia.
An ad by Australian online bookmaker Sportsbet has drawn a record amount of complaints for allegedly linking gambling with sexual success. The Australian Ad Standards—which handles complaints—said the ad from the Paddy Power Betfair owned site sends a false message that gambling will improve young men’s sex appeal.
Stockholm-listed online gambling group Cherry AB has received an £802 million takeover offer from a consortium led by British private equity firm Bridgepoint. An independent bid committee established by Cherry has recommended that its shareholders accept the public offer of SEK87 (£7.59) per share submitted by European Entertainment Intressenter Bidco, a company jointly controlled by Bridgepoint Advisers.
Online betting and gaming operator LeoVegas announced it has submitted a license application for casino and sports betting in Spain. The company said it hopes to launch in Spain in the first quarter of 2019.
The Malta Gaming Authority has granted a supplier license to Playson, a Malta-based content developer. The license means Playson can provide Malta-licensed operators with Type 1 games of chance.
Virginia has no brick-and-mortar casinos but that's an advantage, according to state Del. Mark Sickles (l.), who wants sports betting to be allowed at Colonial Downs racetrack and off-track betting sites, plus online and via smartphones. Sickles' legislation would require a $250,000 sports betting application fee and a 15 percent tax on adjusted gross revenue.
A bill allowing sports betting at riverboat casinos and online has been pre-filed by Missouri state Senator Denny Hoskins (l.). Sports betting revenue would go toward education, veterans programs and infrastructure improvements at sports venues. The measure "puts reasonable regulations to monitor sports betting to make it legal in the state of Missouri," Hoskins said.
Harrah's New Orleans signed a multi-year agreement with the National Football League's New Orleans Saints and the National Basketball Association's New Orleans Pelicans to become the teams' first official casino partner. Harrah's will offer customized experiences, in-game features and a Saints branded area on property, plus be named an official post-game destination.
DraftKings will operate an online sports book for Penn National's Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races in West Virginia. DraftKings Co-Founder Matt Kalish (l) says Hollywood casino customers will return again and again after experiencing the DraftKings sports book.
Gambling has been banned in South Carolina since 1802; the lottery is the only legalized gambling. But state Senator Gerald Malloy pre-filed a bill amending the state constitution to allow sports betting and "casino activities." Estimates show sports betting could generate $215 million in annual tax revenue.
Since sports betting began in Mississippi casinos in August, bettors wagered $116 million, generating $1.03 million in state tax revenue. From July 1, the start of the fiscal year, through November, casino revenue rose 5.5 percent to $55.7 million compared to the same period in 2017, since sports betting attracted more visitors, officials said.
A top Rhode Island lawmaker predicts that online sports betting will be approved and operating in the Ocean State by the end of next year. Senate President Dominick Ruggerio (l.) is planning to do everything to make his prediction come true.
With casinos in Pennsylvania’s two largest cities opening their sports books, legal sports wagering in the state is of to a running start as more licensees line up to offer the wagering.
The Stars Group, owner of PokerStars, has announced a partnership with the NBA. The first sports league PokerStars has signed such an agreement with. It is considered a possible wedge in penetrating other markets, such as California. And FanDuel has become the NBA’s third major domestic gaming partner. The league also has added Codere in Mexico to a growing list of international partners.
Mobile sports information app supplier theScore has announced plans to enter the U.S. gambling market through a partnership with Darby Development LLC, the operator of New Jersey’s Monmouth Park Racetrack. The two sides signed a 15-year agreement which will give a portion of the revenue generated by theScore's sportsbook.
Betting brand UBET has stopped operations in Australia with its customers transferred to TAB as a result of the Tabcorp-Tatts Aus$11 billion merger a year ago. Tatts’ UBET brand will disappear from Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory, where Tatts held exclusive retail betting licenses. The platforms have all been rebranded to the TAB brand.
Delaware’s legal sports betting market turned in one of its strongest months to date in November, when revenues increased by 152 percent over the previous month.
IGT and William Hill have expanded their sports betting operation to a permanent sports book at the Twin River Casino Hotel in Rhode Island. The two companies operated sports betting in the state for the Rhode Island Lottery.
The MGM rebrand of the Monte Carlo as Park MGM (l.) and NoMad Las Vegas earned it more than half a billion dollars from the property’s owner, MGM Growth Properties. The 2,700-room property has added new restaurants and a massive theater hosting artist residencies.
Andy Beshear (l.), a candidate for governor in Kentucky thinks that the state should take a chance on legalizing casinos as one way to deal with the state’s $43 billion in pension debt. One of the other ways is recreational marijuana.
A Texas lawmaker wants to raise money to strengthen the state’s windstorm insurance by allowing casinos along the Gulf Coast. Rep. Joe Deshotel’s bill would allow six casino licenses in six counties. Governor Greg Abbott (l.) killed a bill that would have raised insurance costs to pay for that. But he’s also opposed to legalizing gaming.
‘Tis the season for applying pressure to state lawmakers in advance of the legislative session of the New Year. MGM Resorts has begun a full court press to convince Connecticut lawmakers to support a commercial casino (l.) in Bridgeport, in a state where two Indian casinos have ruled for 25 years.
Officials at Spectacle Entertainment, the new owners of the two Majestic Star casinos in Gary, Indiana, want to move one license to Terre Haute. Full House Resorts also wants to locate unused gaming positions in a new Terre Haute casino. And state Senator Jon Ford (l.) has suggested moving both Gary licenses to different locations.
A deed in Miami-Dade County records shows Casino Miami LLC, owned by Las Vegas billionaire Phil Ruffin (l.), paid $23.15 million for the real estate of Casino Miami in Florida. The 21-acre property offers 1,000 slots, a performance venue and a jai-alai fronton. Ruffin owns Treasure Island Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas.
Campaign finance reports show Arkansas casino backers spent $9.7 million to pass a constitutional amendment allowing Oaklawn and Southland racinos to expand, plus one new casino each in Jefferson County, where the Quapaw Nation expressed interest, and in Pope County, where the Cherokee Nation would like to build.
Officials and the chief of police in Strasburg, Pennsylvania, are criticizing plans to add video gaming terminals to five truck stops in Lancaster County next year.
Gaming regulatory officials in Maryland are suggesting rate changes that could give the state’s casinos a break from what are among the highest revenue taxes in the industry.
Dealers at Wynn Las Vegas have a federal appeals court ruling in their favor but have yet to collect any of the back tips they’re seeking after losing a second decision before the same U.S. District Court judge who thwarted them five years ago. They vow to continue the fight.
The buyout by Cordish Companies of its partner in Stadium Casino, owner of the second Philadelphia casino license, has been approved by Pennsylvania regulators.
The new law, enacted as part of a comprehensive reform of the island’s tax code, transfers some 25,000 non-casino EGMs from the gray market into the legal market. The government expects the change to boost its coffers by $160 million a year in new revenue. The law will put yet another nail in the coffin of the territory’s casino industry, including Casino de Puerto Rico (l.), which has been struggling for years.
After a slow start, the surprising success of charitable gambling, especially electronic pull tabs, has helped fund U.S. Bank Stadium (l.) in Minneapolis. In fact, a recent report said the stadium's reserve could top $200 million over the next five years, leading the state to pay off its loan debt a decade earlier, saving Minnesota taxpayers $300 million.
The league voted to bring the annual three-day extravaganza to Las Vegas in a move obviously timed to boost the fortunes of the new Las Vegas Raiders, who will start their 2020 season as the casino capital’s home team. The city expects to enjoy some sizable economic benefits as well.
The Miss America Organization is exploring moving the yearly pageant to either a new venue in Atlantic City or another city. The owner of Atlantic City’s Ocean Resort casino, Bruce Deifek (l.), has offered to start negotiations to host the pageant as the organization looks for a new sponsorship deal. The pageant’s deal with the New Jersey Casino Reinvestment Development Authority ended this year.
Churchill Downs' $65 million Derby City facility (l.) in Louisville has been fined $1,000 a day since it opened September 1. The state racing commission said its 900 historical racing machines included unauthorized races in which horses were scratched. However, an ongoing investigation found no patrons have lost any money on the machines.
A Maryland Stadium Authority study recommends that Pimlico Race Course be demolished and rebuilt at a cost of $424 million. The study calls for renovating the track that hosts the Preakness Stakes and surrounding area to allow for year-round developments and non-racing events at the facility. No information on funding for such a project was included in the report.
Two new treatment centers have opened as part of the program, the first of several to be developed across New York with fees paid by the state’s four commercial casinos. The program also features an all-media campaign designed to raise problem gambling awareness in areas surrounding the casinos.
The New Jersey Casino Reinvestment Development Authority will invest about $700,000 to promote eSports events at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall (l.) and the resort’s convention center. The authority is hoping to attract younger visitors and millennials to the resort through the events. The events will be presented by Ingame Esports Inc.
The Nebraska Gamblers Assistance Program treats up to 300 people a year with a gambling problem. The program has been funded from lottery sales since 1993.
Although the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe of Massachusetts recently gained an important ally, the General Society of Mayflower Descendants, in its fight to keep its lands in Taunton as trust land, its cash flow problems will probably cause layoffs and cut programs in 2019. Tribal Chairman Cedric Cromwell (l.) announced the bad news last week.
The Pamunkey Indian Tribe purchased 600 acres in New Kent County, Virginia for a possible casino-resort, the first in the state. Now tribal officials are negotiating with the city of Norfolk and Mayor Kenny Alexander (l.) for 20 acres on Hampton Roads for the proposed $700 million project. A recent survey showed 64 percent of Hampton Roads residents support a tribal casino.
The Muscogee (Creek) Nation's River Spirit Casino-Resort recently signed a 10-year agreement as SMG Tulsa/BOK Center's (l.) exclusive casino resort partner. The River Spirit brand will be displayed throughout the facility, on the BOK Center's website and in communications to ticket holders and the arena will open a River Spirit-themed bar.
Beloit, Wisconsin citizens commented on the Ho-Chunk Nation's proposed $405 million casino at the Bureau of Indian Affairs' public hearing. But residents called another meeting regarding the project. Contractor Bill Dorr said the city should hold another referendum since Beloit has changed since 2000. Former City Manager Larry Arft (l.) said that could result in legal challenges.
In a 5-2 vote, the Enid, Oklahoma city commission rejected an agreement to allow the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians to open a casino. Tribal officials said they don't need but would have liked the city's support for the venue, which could open in 2020 in a 20,000 square foot building following a $10 million renovation.
A federal court denied the Comanche Nation's appeal of a lower court's ruling denying the tribe's claim that the Secretary of the Interior should not have approved the Chickasaw Nation's land-trust application for a casino in Terral, 45 miles from the Comanche's Red River Casino (l.). The Comanches attorney may appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Scientific Games has promoted Jim Kennedy (l.) to chairman, lottery, Patrick McHugh to executive VP and group chief executive for lottery, and Jordan Levin to executive VP and group chief executive, digital.
Caesars Entertainment has named Mattel executive Juliana Chugg as its 12th director and its second female member of the board. The first, retired Estee Lauder executive Denise Clark, was appointed in October.
Sports betting operator William Hill US has named Kenneth Fuchs head of the company’s digital wagering operations. Fuchs had been CEO of STATS, which provides sports data and ancillary products to Google, Apple, Amazon, ESPN, Microsoft, New England Patriots, and Golden State Warriors. STATS also provided technology to William Hill.
The IT software testing firm Professional Quality Ltd. (PQA) has hired Jennifer Rushton of the Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre (SSMIC) to help it create a software testing lab and “center of excellence” in lottery and gaming software testing. Her title will be Vice President of Lottery and Gaming.
The Australasian casino and hospitality operator Skycity Ltd. has made to top hires whose mission will be to increase the company’s footprint in Asia. They are John Chong, president of Asian sales and commercial strategy and Peter Alexander, as chief property officer.
JCM Global announced it has been awarded additional U.S. patents for its Fuzion slot technology, which adds promotional kiosk capabilities to electronic gaming machines. The product won a gold medal in GGB’s Gaming & Technology Awards in 2017.
Paradise Entertainment has entered into a supply agreement with Chairman Jay Chun’s brother-in-law that can involve a total of HK$40 million in business.
iGaming content and platform provider GAN will enter the Mississippi gaming market with the launch of its Simulated Gaming at the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indian's Pearl River Resort, which also will license GAN's U.S. patent for linking loyalty rewards. GAN now will serve 14 clients across 11 states.
