Argentina: Construction of Paseo del Sol casino underway in Río Negro Phil, G3 Newswire · June 16, 2019 at 6:54 pm The governor of Río Negro Province, Alberto Weretilneck has presided over the ceremony to begin the building of a new large scale casino and entertainment complex in the capital. The Paseo del Sol complex will be built in the facilities of the Club Sol de Mayo sports club. Investment in the new complex will amount to around $800m and has a completion time of three and a half years. The new complex, which seeks to improve the hotel and recreational services of the city of Viedma, will encompass a total area of 14,000 square meters including outdoor spaces with parking and green areas.
International Masters of Gaming Law confirmed as global legal partner of Clarion Gaming CDC Gaming Reports · June 14, 2019 at 10:07 am International gaming event producer Clarion Gaming and the non-profit International Masters of Gaming Law (IMGL), which provides a forum for the exchange of knowledge and insight to gaming law, announced Friday that they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which will see IMGL become Clarion’s global legal partner on all legal and regulatory developments. The partnership will see both parties deploying their respective commercial and legal knowledge, expertise and marketing reach to enhance the quality of educational experiences offered to the global gaming industry. “Clarion’s skill lies in our ability to develop, create and organize professional gaming events which have the right chemistry and which engage with our stakeholders throughout the world,” Managing Director Kate Chambers said in a statement. “This also entails collaborating with partners who are experts in their fields. The International Masters of Gaming Law certainly fit into that category. Working in partnership with the IMGL… [continue reading]
Macau gaming labour group urge second bonus for 2019 GGRAsia · June 14, 2019 at 7:37 am A Macau gaming labour activist group delivered on Friday a letter addressed to the city’s Chief Executive, urging the local government to push Macau casino operators into awarding what the group termed a “mid-year” or “summer” bonus to local casino employees. Cloee Chao, head of New Macau Gaming Staff Rights Association, and herself a table games worker, said in comments to local media on Friday, that most of the city’s casino operators had, since 2014, issued employee bonuses twice a year, in each instance equivalent to around one month of salary. “According to what we saw in the past years, the casino operators usually announced in June their mid-year bonus payout to staff. But so far [this year], we didn’t hear anything of that,” Ms Chao stated after her group handed the letter in at government headquarters.
Number of issued casino licenses in Cambodia reaches new high of 163 Inside Asian Gaming · June 14, 2019 at 12:11 am The number of casino licenses issued in Cambodia continues to soar, with the Ministry of Finance revealing another 13 licenses had been issued during the first four months of 2019. The new licenses lift the nation-wide total to a new high of 163, with more than half of those – 91 to be precise – located in Preah Sihanouk province, also known as Sihanoukville. The rapid rate of development in Sihanoukville, primarily relating to new casino resorts funded by Chinese investment, has become a major point of contention in recent years amid concerns over growing violence and widespread pollution.
Marina Bay Sands drops five-year, SG$13 million lawsuit against Australian gambler Inside Asian Gaming · June 13, 2019 at 9:04 pm Marina Bay Sands (MBS) has dropped a lawsuit worth more than SG$13 million against Australian high roller Wang Zhi Cai, ending a case that stretches back to 2013. According to The Straits Times, MBS lawyers filed a notice of discontinuance with the High Court last week, with the matter said to have been resolved amicably. The Singapore casino had been pursuing Wang for a gambling debt of SG$$9,996,250 accrued across two visits to Marina Bay Sands in April 2013 and January 2014, plus interest of SG$3,782,690 and costs of SG$7,398.
Arsenal gamble on VBET deal Tom Bassam, SportsProMedia · June 13, 2019 at 8:41 pm English soccer giants Arsenal have announced that VBET has become their official betting and gaming partner. The partnership, which will run until 2022, will see VBET gain branding across the Premier League outfit’s physical and digital assets, with the company also creating a bespoke content series featuring first team players and club legend Ray Parlour. VBET will also become the official presenting partner of social media video series the Breakdown. The globally licensed online betting company is run and operated by BetConstruct, which renewed its own partnership as Arsenal’s gaming software partner back in February.
New UK gambling tax is moving up the agenda – here’s how it needs to work Gerda Reith, Erika Langham and Heather Wardle, The Conversation · June 13, 2019 at 6:29 pm Gambling has become a talking point in the UK Conservative Party leadership election after the health secretary Matt Hancock called for a £100m-plus annual levy on betting companies. If chosen as the next prime minister, Hancock said he intends to impose a 1% tax on these companies’ profits to pay for treatment and research into this area. Labour have also called for this policy and a radical overhaul of the UK Gambling Act. The party has described gambling as a “hidden epidemic”, and deputy leader Tom Watson has promised that it would introduce a mandatory levy on the industry if elected to government.
Mohegan takes over Canadian casinos, entertainment complex Joe Cooper, Hartford Business · June 13, 2019 at 6:18 pm The tribal operators of Mohegan Sun have officially taken over operations of two casinos and an entertainment complex currently under development in Canada. Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment (MGE), overseers of its subsidiary casinos in Connecticut and Pennsylvania, said it received legal authority Tuesday to assume daily operations of Casino Niagara, Fallsview Casino Resort and the Niagara Falls Entertainment Centre. The 5,000-seat theater, adjacent to Fallsview Casino in downtown Niagara Falls, is expected to debut sometime this summer. Last September, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. selected MGE to become its service provider operating the casinos and newly minted theater, which are known as the Niagara Gaming Bundle.
From casino playboy to slain CIA informant: The rise and fall of Kim Jong Un’s half brother John Hudson and Anna Fifield, The Washington Post · June 13, 2019 at 2:06 pm Before the half brother of Kim Jong Un was killed in a brazen nerve agent attack at a Malaysian airport in 2017, he was known as a playboy and a hustler — not a secret CIA informant. Kim Jong Nam, the exiled firstborn son of the late North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il, lived among the gamblers and gangsters of the Chinese enclave of Macau. Because he was the only high-profile member of the Kim dynasty living outside the territory and employment of the regime, Japanese and South Korean reporters would flock to him on sight. He was a bon vivant who enjoyed expensive watches, wine and cigars. On Facebook, he posted photos of himself outside various casinos and resorts. “Living Las Vegas in Asia,” he captioned one.
Emperor Group to target Macau’s premium mass market after 2019 revenue decline Inside Asian Gaming · June 13, 2019 at 12:04 am Macau casino operator Emperor Group says it plans to boost its customer segmentation by targeting the premium mass market after seeing its revenue and profit fall in the 12 months to 31 March 2019. The group’s gaming arm, Emperor Entertainment Hotel Ltd – which operates flagship peninsula property Grand Emperor Hotel as well as the Inn Hotel in Taipa – saw its FY19 revenue decline 7.8% to HK$1.38 billion and profit attributable to owners of the company by 6.6% to HK$367.5 million. The results included an 8.2% fall in mass table revenue to HK$1.19 billion, comprising 48.1% of group-wide revenue, while the VIP segment saw a 13.8% decline in turnover to HK$19.3 billion and 12.5% decline in revenue to HK$429.4 million, comprising 31.1% of all revenue.
