A new study indicates five casinos in Virginia could generate almost $1 billion in annual revenues, add $260 million in new taxes, and create 10,000 jobs. But the ripple effect of “resort-style” casinos on existing gaming operations has sparked questions, concerns and instant opposition. The report said the real cash cow would be a casino in Northern Virginia, a notion that Senator Tommy Norment (l.) rejected as a “complete folly.”
New Hampshire has selected DraftKings to operate its mobile and retail sports betting. DraftKings will keep at least 50 percent of the gross gaming revenues accrued through the wagering, splitting it with the state. Governor Chris Sununu (l.) said the betting will open in time for the Super Bowl on February 2, 2020.
Governor Naomichi Suzuki (l.) last week decided that his prefecture would not participate in the first round of casino licensing currently under way in Japan. While he didn’t rule out accepting bids in subsequent rounds, Suzuki’s decision has an impact on several potential U.S. bidders like Hard Rock International and Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment.
City of Dreams Mediterranean, a Melco Resorts & Entertainment property now in development in the Republic of Cyprus, will reach full fit-out by next August, according to the operator. The integrated resort is expected to be the largest of its kind in Europe.
Big changes at Encore Boston Harbor are designed to make the facility more player friendly. Lower table games minimums, free parking and more attention paid to the community are just some of the issues being address by new president, Brian Gullbrants.
Fawn Sharp, the chairwoman of the gaming tribe, Quinault Indian Nation, was recently elected as president of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI). One of her first goals is to address “treaty abrogation”—the failure of the U.S. government to live up to the commitment made in writing to many Native American tribes across the country.
Queensland, Australia is offering Star Entertainment first right of refusal on a planned multibillion-dollar Gold Coast tourism hub. There are strings attached: the operator of Star Gold Coast (l.), must come through with US$2 billion in planned developments and infrastructure improvements.
Under the approved dates from the New Jersey Racing Commission, the Meadowlands (l.) received more thoroughbred races, while Monmouth Park received fewer. The changes will provide greater visibility to Meadowlands. The tracks will share state subsidies for purses.
The Fantini Index of North American Gaming Stocks will finish up nearly 25 percent in 2019 if trends continue for the next month. Fears of an economic bubble and bad national news have not dampened the enthusiasm of investors for growing gaming companies.
This week the GGB Podcast features a discussion with Jim Allen, the leader of Seminole Gaming & Hard Rock International, on the opening of the Guitar Hotel at Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, Florida, as well as the recent explosive growth of the company.
It’s a technical change to repair a provision in the original gaming concessions awarded to SJM and MGM China. The provision would have assigned their casino assets, including MGM Macau (l.), to the government come March, when the concessions were to expire. Earlier this year, those expirations were pushed ahead to 2022 to coincide with the rest of the market.
The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR), which regulates gaming in the country, plans to sell three tracts of land in Laguna, Cavite and Parañaque City for about PHP3.14 billion (US$61.8 million). Gaming privileges will not come with a land purchase.
Bookmakers large and small have closed since the government approved a major cut in the amount bettors can wager. If there is no relief, the number of shops out of business could double to more than 2,000. If so, some 11,000 jobs could be lost. The rise of online gaming hasn’t helped the situation.
Bookmakers in Ireland have expressed their discontent with the status quo. They said race planning, intervals between races and fees, require negotiations to right a wrong. Moreover, meets midweek do not draw anywhere near the crowds necessary to sustain bookmakers.
The Swedish Consumer Agency (KO) has issued injunctions to Mr. Green and Karl Casino after concluding that they breached the country's Gaming Act by marketing to self-excluded gamblers. Mr. Green is owned by William Hill, and Karl Casino by L&L Europe Ltd.
The Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland accused Paddy Power of using racist and offensive ads as part of a campaign during a rugby tournament. The ads ran in Irish newspapers and on the sportsbook’s social media pages. In the end, the authority issued what amounted to a warning.
The government of Australia will create an online National Self-Exclusion Register, allowing gamblers to ban themselves from all online wagering sites and apps. Minister for Families and Social Services Anne Ruston (l.) stressed it is a voluntary program and will not prevent anyone from enjoying a punt who doesn’t want to participate.
Researchers at the University of York found the prevalence of loot boxes in video games a troubling problem among children. Their presence has grown dramatically in the past decade. Results could lead to regulation of loot boxes like they are in other nations.
TruNarrative, a single platform solution for fraud detection, prevention, AML, KYC, behavioral monitoring and ID verification, has signed an agreement to provide Gamesys Group Plc with its powerful player on-boarding solution.
Proposed sports betting regulations will be published in Tennessee, the first state to offer only mobile sports betting. The public will have 30 days to comment, then the Tennessee Education Lottery will accept operator applications. No start date for wagering has been set. Also, Jennifer Roberts (l.) was hired as director of sports gaming regulation.
William Hill U.S. added to its growing inventory of sportsbooks by acquiring CG Technology assets in Las Vegas and the Bahamas. Experts say such mergers in the sports betting world could become commonplace as they don’t add much to operating costs.
Both the Seminole tribe and an amendment which requires voter approval for new gaming initiatives could stand in the way of sports betting. But at least one legislator, Senator Jeff Brandes (l.), sees pairing sports betting with the lottery as a potential solution. Whether the legislature can get its act together is another matter.
The voters of Colorado by a narrow margin approved sports betting for the state’s three gaming towns. The Colorado Division of Gaming is working quickly to write and implement new licensing rules that could allow operators to offer sportsbook as early as next May. Mobile sportsbook PointsBet recently moved its U.S. office from New Jersey to Denver.
The 18 tribes who November 13 announced an effort to qualify an amendment to the California constitution for the November 2020 election have given themselves a tight scheduled. They have until next June to qualify the “California Sports Wagering Regulation and Unlawful Gambling Enforcement Act.”
The Montana Lottery Commission unanimously approved sports betting draft rules. Wagering will be allowed at businesses with alcohol and gambling licenses. Approximately 1,400 businesses will be eligible to apply for sports betting licenses. Wagers can place bets on cellphones located inside licensed locations or on kiosks at the locations.
DC Lottery officials began taking applications for sports betting licenses December 3. But the sports betting app, to be developed by Intralot under a no-bid $215 million contract, was delayed again, to first quarter 2020. A small-business consortium wants to create its own app, sidestepping Intralot, so it can cash in on Super Bowl wagering.
In Iowa, revenue from sports betting, which launched in August, rose from $38.5 million in September to $46.5 million in October at 18 of the state's 19 casinos. The 19th casino, Casino Queen Marquette (l.), recently received a sports betting license so revenue is expected to continue to grow.
William Hill U.S. opened a new racebook at Casino Miami. While the book will provide state-of-the-art simulcast races, the hope it that the partnership will be ready if and when Florida approves sports betting. All the legislature has to do is figure a way around the obstacles.
Purses and handle both have increased at Churchill Downs and Kentucky Downs in the past two years as owners continue to add historical horseracing machines and invest in expansions. More than 4,000 of the machines are expected to be added at Churchill Downs (proposed facility at left), Kentucky Downs and Ellis Park in the next three years.
The $125 million Rocksino by Hard Rock proposed for Terre Haute in Vigo County, Indiana would generate up to $10 million annually for local governments and nonprofits and create 600 new jobs, said Spectacle Entertainment Vice President John Keeler. Spectacle and Full House Resorts both are seeking the Vigo County gaming license.
Resorts World New York City (l.) has launched a massive public relations campaign, including TV ads. It’s not an out and out pitch for table games, although Resorts World wants them badly. Instead, the giant racino is stressing its contributions to the borough of Queens, the city of New York and the state.
Mystic Lake Casino Hotel in Prior Lake, Minnesota is rolling out a new Minnesota Vikings-themed gaming area (l.) on its casino floor to. This is the latest collaboration between Mystic Lake and the NFL team.
West Virginia’s Mardi Gras Casino (l.) held a ribbon cutting ceremony last week on its 18-month renovation. The 34-year-old casino added more space, more light, new carpets, a high limit room, new players club, a promotional stage and a grill doubled in capacity.
When Ocean Casino Resort (l.) opened its doors in June 2018, it partnered with Hyatt Hotels Corp. The partnership worked and Ocean has emerged with one of the highest occupancy rates in Atlantic City. As a result, the arrangement will end by the end of the year.
With a study of New York gaming soon to get under way, and proposed tax cuts for privately owned casinos in the mix, it appears the stage is being set for a clash between the state and its Indian tribes. The Oneidas, owners of Turning Stone (l.), in particular are upset because not only was what they consider their territory invaded by at least one of the new casinos, now the state will cut those casinos a break.
Desert Diamond Casino West Valley near Glendale, Arizona is hiring in advance of its planned opening in February 19. The resort is owned by O’odham Gaming Enterprise, an enterprise of the Tohono O’odham Nation.
The Navajo Nation two weeks ago celebrated the 11th anniversary of the opening of its first casino, the Fire Rock Navajo Casino (l.). The casino, which opened in Church Rock, near Gallup, was controversial at first, but today is seen as an unqualified success.
The Mississippi Lottery opened at 5 a.m., November 25 and sold more than $500,000 in scratch-off tickets by 5 p.m. Proceeds will go toward the State Highway Fund. Tickets cost $1 to $5, with top prizes of $3,333 to $100,000. Governor Phil Bryant (l.) expects the lottery to produce $125 million in sales in its first seven months.
The government of France cleared €1.8 billion (US$2 billion) from selling down its stake in the country's lottery operator. President Emmanuel Macron (l.) proposed an initial public offering (IPO) of Francaise des Jeux (FDJ), which operates the country's lottery.
The Morongo Band of Mission Indians has named tribal gaming executive Richard St. Jean as the new chief operating officer overseeing the Morongo Casino Resort & Spa, near Palm Springs, California. St. Jean brings more than 25 years of hospitality and casino experience to the position.
Andrew Klebanow, senior partner at Las Vegas-based Global Market Advisors, announced he had left the company and started his own business, Klebanow Consulting, based in Las Vegas.
Dan Jones, who ran the Oneida Nation Yellow Brick Road Casino in upstate New York since its opening, is leaving for a corporate post with the tribe’s gaming operations. Succeeding him is Lynn Segars (l.), an industry veteran who has worked for MGM in Massachusetts and Mohegan Sun in Pennsylvania.
The National Native American Hall of Fame November 2 inducted 12 honorees, including Ada Deer (l.) of Menominee, at its second annual ceremony. The event honors inspirational achievements of Native Americans in contemporary history.
Aristocrat’s One Link Wide Area Progressive has successfully passed field trials and is now approved in Nevada. Enhanced features of the company’s One Link bonusing solution had previously earned approval in Nevada.
International Game Technology (IGT) debuted its new Cobalt 27 cabinet at SAGSE Buenos Aires in Argentina last month. The company also featured its latest portfolio of player-tested content including Scarab at the show.
Aristocrat Technologies has launched its new MarsX Upright cabinet in Europe, heralding the next generation of core sale games in the region. MarsX is available with five new dedicated games, together with an initial library of proven Gen8 and Gen7 titles.
Danish gaming operator Danske Spil has introduced new identification requirements across its retail shops in an effort to reduce underage gambling. CEO Susanne Mørch Koch (l.) said the card may cause a drop in profits but is necessary to protect children.
The Novomatic Group has deployed a proprietary biometric identification system at its new casino in North Macedonia that allows verification by fingerprint.
The head of sales for Asia for International Game Technology says game approvals have tripled in the region, thank to increased production from local studios.
Illinois VGT terminal supplier Accel Entertainment completed its merger with TPG Pace Holdings Corporation creating a combined company trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
