This week, the GGB Podcast sits down with Andrew Burke, the CEO of Bluberi, an up-and-coming slot manufacturer on how his company is making inroads into North American casinos.
Texans can’t legally place sports bets in their own state, but thousands from Houston and Austin regularly cross the state line into western Louisiana, including Shreveport-Bossier City and Lake Charles, to bet on sports.
The New York Times did a report on the casino industry as the state moves towards awarding up to three licenses in the greater New York area, and it would seem there are more questions than answers for the future of the Big Apple’s casino industry.
The ongoing saga surrounding the licensing of Crown Resorts continues to unfold— Blackstone Group, the firm slated to acquire Crown for $6.3 billion, has now been granted approval to operate from regulators in both New South Wales and Victoria. With the approval, Crown Sydney (l.) will be permitted to open.
Oaktree Capital Management LP, a U.S.-based asset management firm, has acquired Slovenia’s Interblock, one of the pioneers in the electronic table game genre. Interblock will continue to operate as an independent company.
The group backing Kazuo Okada’s takeover of the Manila integrated resort (l.) of the same name claimed it would bring the property to “new heights” even while the former board sued over the “violent and illegal” seizure of the property.
Cherokee Nation Businesses announced it was buying Gold Strike Tunica, a 1,100-room casino hotel previously owned by MGM Resorts. The tribe will pay $450 million in cash for the property.
The racing industry in Queensland has been overhauled by a new funding model recently put in place by the state government. As part of the new model, taxes will increase, but the amount of tax revenue that is funneled back to the industry will be more than doubled.
The Maryland-based property developer Cordish Companies is reportedly trying again to convince the government of Madrid, Spain to support a mega-casino project (l.). It failed in its first attempt in 2016. Cordish proposes a multi-plex casino, dining and hotel project to be called EuroVegas.
Five months before the election, the knives are out in the campaign over whether online sports betting will be legalized in California. The state’s gaming tribes have released ads attacking the operators’ measure that some critics like iDEA Growth partner John Pappas (l.), have called “fear mongering.”
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (l.) says iGaming is and will remain illegal in the country, and offshore operators will be banished. Some 2 million Japanese reportedly take part in online gaming.
Macau Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong (l.) has reassured the city’s satellite casinos that, though they will have to “adjust their operations” under the new gaming law, the sector will endure.
The Press of Atlantic City and ProPublica looked at the casinos' claim that they need tax relief. Turns out, the claim might not hold up to scrutiny. Atlantic County Executive Dennis Levinson (l.) has filed suit to stop the relief.
This week, the GGB Podcast sits down with Leighton Webb, the vice president for iGaming and sports betting for the payment company, PayNearMe, on the diversity of his company’s products in the payments arena.
Macau casinos generated GGR of just $410 million in May—the second lowest total since September 2020, but up 25 percent over April. An analyst wrote that 2022 “should be written off by investors” due to ongoing travel restrictions, but some continue to hold out hope for a summer boost.
The International Monetary Fund says the Philippine gaming industry poses “medium” risk to the country’s global standing, including Manila’s Entertainment City (l.), due to less than robust anti-money laundering efforts.
Ninety percent of Wynn Macau management has agreed to a salary cut in exchange for shares of equal value. But the plan may not comply with local law, which holds that no company can use shares as a substitute for cash.
The government of Gibraltar has issued a draft proposal with the intent to repeal and replace its Gambling Act of 2005. There will be a public consultation on the draft until the end of August. According to the government, gaming today is “unrecognizable” from what it was 17 years ago.
A report issued by the Purpose Coalition for the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) predicts that the British gaming sector will generate 15,000 new tech jobs over the next five years. The report also touts the sector’s effect on “leveling up” the economy outside of London.
The organization that represents Spain’s gaming industry may get its day in court before the country’s Supreme Court. Jdigital and media counterpart AMI have appealed the government’s ban on gaming advertising, saying it is unconstitutional.
The Central European nation of Slovakia has begun revising gaming advertising standards. The Office of Gambling Regulation has announced it will publish a “Concept of Responsible Advertising” document. It will inform operators and the media on what are acceptable practices.
Regulators in Brazil are proposing new legislation for foreign gaming operators that would require them to establish residence within the country in order to assure that they will be taxed accordingly.
Kazakhstan is backing away from its crackdown on gaming that it began two years ago. Instead of restrictive regulations, it is now looking at amendments that will protect consumers. It will seek to create conditions for growing the gaming sector.
The Australian state of New South Wales is beginning the process of updating its gaming laws, which expire in September. It is seeking public comment on the Betting and Racing Regulation and Totalizator Regulation. It will include new provisions on minimizing harm to consumers.
The government of British Columbia is reviewing a report created by the Cullen Commission, headed by Supreme Court Justice Austin Cullen (l.), before releasing it to the public. The commission spent three years inquiring into how prevalent money laundering is in the gaming industry, luxury car market and real estate.
The British Columbia Lottery Corporation and the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA) have signed a vendor agreement that expands BCLC’s PlayNow into the province. Saskatchewan will become the third Canadian province to be served by the PlayNow platform.
Soaring Eagle online casino in Michigan has added live-dealer content from the Evolution Gaming portfolio of online casino brands including Evolution, NetEnt and Red Tiger.
When Ohio wrote the regulations for sportsbooks, the state required taxes to be paid daily by operators. Sportsbooks enlightened the state of the trouble with that approach—a new law will make it monthly.
The Massachusetts legislature passed a sports betting bill, but the Senate and House versions are so far apart, passage this session is unlikely. The uncertainty affected horse racing dates at tracks.
The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement is requiring all sportsbooks to establish two factor or multi-factor authentication for access to sites. The purpose is to reduce the chance of hacking.
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper (l.) has indicated he’d sign a sports wagering bill the state Senate approved last year, but it’s still languishing in the House. The legislative session ends June 30.
The new horse racing app Caesars Racebook, now live in Florida and Ohio, offers a complete horseracing menu, livestreaming from more than 250 international racetracks and player rewards.
Elys Game Technology has signed two more restaurants to house sports betting access in Washington D.C. The two bring the total of Ely locations in the nation’s capital to five.
Barstool Sports and Penn National Gaming have teamed up again to open another Barstool Sportsbook in Pennsylvania, this time at Hollywood Casino at The Meadows. The location is expected to open June 9.
BetRivers now offers an online sportsbook in addition to online casino games in West Virginia. The two share a wallet for wagering and winnings. Winners can use sports wager rewards for free play on iGaming and vice versa.
Petersburg and Richmond vow to fight to bring a casino to their town, like it’s a magical elixir. Petersburg (l.) wants the license because Richmond voters said no, and Richmond wants a do-over referendum.
WarHorse Gaming became the first casino operator to apply to the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission for a license for its casinos in Lincoln (l.) and Omaha. Both venues will open temporary facilities, possibly later this summer.
The list of legislators sponsoring the anti-smoking ban keeps growing but they are still too short on the numbers. It looks like the ban may have to wait until at least after summer.
The new 5-member Florida Gaming Control Commission has tasked Executive Director Louis Trombetta (l). to find a director of gaming enforcement to pursue so-called gray market slots−a growing concern of the Seminole Tribe of Florida.
An anonymous buyer has purchased a 2.2-acre plot on the Las Vegas Strip for just under $13 million. The plot was owned by Lily Funds, a Florida-based firm run by former NFL player Tom McManus.
Caesars Entertainment has lined up a number of projects this summer for its flagship Atlantic City resort (l.). The projects include renovations to a pool in the spa area, the casino floor and its dining options.
The Silver Slipper Casino Hotel (l.) will not admit guests under age 21 starting July 1. Officials said too often employees had to remind parents to look after their children. The venue was cited by the Mississippi Gaming Commission.
Ground was broken on the Wind Creek Chicago Southland casino hotel on the Homewood-East Hazel Crest Border. Owned by the Poarch Creek Indians, the venue will open in 2023 and create 800 permanent jobs.
Ground will be broken June 14 for the Choctaw Nation’s newest venue, the $165 million Choctaw Landing (l.) casino resort in Hochatown, Oklahoma, scheduled to open in 2023.
New York’s Oneida Nation has launched a dealer recruitment program, with incentives that include 50 new apartments in central New York at below-market rates at its Turning Stone Casino (l.).
Connecticut’s Mohegan Tribe is donating $2 million to the Yale University School of Medicine (l.) to help develop new cognitive behavioral therapy to help patients fight problem gambling. This research could lead to a mobile app to widen the availability of such treatment.
On June 3, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sacramento at Fire Mountain opened its new 2,500-seat, 6,000-square-foot stage. The concert venue can be moved to accommodate music, boxing, basketball or corporate events. It is part of a $75 million expansion by the Estom Yumeka Maidu Tribe.
International Game Technology announced its subsidiary, IGT Global Solutions, and the Kansas Lottery agreed to a 10-year contract extension. IGT’s INTELLIGEN central system software offers strategic management and player benefits.
Missouri Lottery Director May Scheve-Reardon (l.), concerned about the impact of unregulated gaming machines on revenue, said she may pull the lottery licenses of businesses that allow the games on their premises.
Last week, the Venetian Las Vegas announced that George Markantonis (l.) will leave his post as president and CEO in August, to be succeeded by industry veteran Patrick Nichols.
Longtime Innovation Group executive Michael Vanaskie was named SVP at partner. His task is to drive Latin American and Caribbean business, and expand project development services
Rush Street Gaming has named Bill Keena (l.) as the new COO for the company and Marc Arndt as CFO, a restructuring of the company following the departure of CEO Greg Carlin in April.
Payment processing company Sightline Payments has appointed two new executives in Canada and one in the U.S., those being Will Hill, Tamara Tenenbaum, and Brian Cottengim (l.), respectively.
Circa Sports, Las Vegas’ expanding sportsbook operator, has brought in veteran bookmakers Richie Baccellieri and Nick Bogdanovich (l.) as director of product development and sportsbook manager, respectively. Both have decades of experience in the Las Vegas sportsbook market.
Alicia Magee has been named as vice president of finance at Hard Rock Atlantic City. Magee has worked in Hard Rock’s upper management team since 2020, and also has experience with Borgata and Caesars.
Accel Entertainment announced the completion of its acquisition of leading slot route operator Century Gaming, adding more than 900 customers and 8,300 gaming terminals to its portfolio.
Mexico’s Caliente Casinos has installed 100 new multi-game slots on Zitro’s new Altius Glare cabinets, completing a total contingent of 250 games at the casinos.
SBC, which has announced that it will acquire the Canadian Gaming Summit from the Canadian Gaming Association (CGA) and MediaEdge Communications, has set the date and location of the 2023 conference. It will be held June 13-15 at the Metro Toronto Convention Center.
