In one of his last moves as President of the United States, and while dealing with protestors overtaking the Capitol, President Trump has issued an executive order that could ultimately cause issues for some U.S. companies operating in Asia. The order bans eight Chinese payment apps and prohibits any U.S.-based persons or companies from using them, and, as a result, U.S. casino operators with properties in Macau might find it more difficult to maintain their normal business activity. MGM Resorts International, Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts are now trying to figure out what is going to happen next.

As the relationship between the U.S. and China continues to sour, Trump decided to prohibit the use of WeChat Pay, Alipay and others, and also requires that the apps be removed from Apple’s App Store and Google Play in the U.S. The order reads, in part, “The pace and pervasiveness of the spread in the United States of certain connected mobile and desktop applications and other software developed or controlled by persons in the People’s Republic of China, to include Hong Kong and Macau (China), continue to threaten the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.”

The move might never be worth more than the paper it’s written on, since President-elect Joe Biden will have the authority to reverse the move after he takes office on January 20. There is also a strong possibility the order will be contested in court in a similar fashion to what was seen after Trump banned WeChat and TikTok last August. That ban led to lawsuits and federal court discussions that resulted in the order being blocked by judges.

Platforms such as WeChat are used extensively throughout Asia and much of Macau’s casino industry relies on them daily to carry out their normal functions. There will be a lot of resistance to the executive order, just like there was last August. At that time, David Sisk, the chief operating officer for Melco Resorts & Entertainment’s Macau Resorts, stated, “It’s kind of a silly thing in terms of the statement that was made that you’re going to cut that off. You’ve got over a billion people and WeChat is the primary device in which they communicate. [It’s] a primary device in which a lot of commerce is done as well.”

In one of his last moves as President of the United States, and while dealing with protestors overtaking the Capitol, President Trump has issued an executive order that could ultimately cause issues for some U.S. companies operating in Asia. The order bans eight Chinese payment apps and prohibits any U.S.-based persons or companies from using them, and, as a result, U.S. casino operators with properties in Macau might find it more difficult to maintain their normal business activity. MGM Resorts International, Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts are now trying to figure out what is going to happen next.

As the relationship between the U.S. and China continues to sour, Trump decided to prohibit the use of WeChat Pay, Alipay and others, and also requires that the apps be removed from Apple’s App Store and Google Play in the U.S. The order reads, in part, “The pace and pervasiveness of the spread in the United States of certain connected mobile and desktop applications and other software developed or controlled by persons in the People’s Republic of China, to include Hong Kong and Macau (China), continue to threaten the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.”

The move might never be worth more than the paper it’s written on, since President-elect Joe Biden will have the authority to reverse the move after he takes office on January 20. There is also a strong possibility the order will be contested in court in a similar fashion to what was seen after Trump banned WeChat and TikTok last August. That ban led to lawsuits and federal court discussions that resulted in the order being blocked by judges.

Platforms such as WeChat are used extensively throughout Asia and much of Macau’s casino industry relies on them daily to carry out their normal functions. There will be a lot of resistance to the executive order, just like there was last August. At that time, David Sisk, the chief operating officer for Melco Resorts & Entertainment’s Macau Resorts, stated, “It’s kind of a silly thing in terms of the statement that was made that you’re going to cut that off. You’ve got over a billion people and WeChat is the primary device in which they communicate. [It’s] a primary device in which a lot of commerce is done as well.”

The Philippines casino industry could be facing tough times ahead, as the difficulties of operating post Covid-19 will soon combine with rising competition. Several experts predict hard times ahead for the sector, as new players emerge and plans start to emerge.

The New World Manila Bay Hotel and Casino is looking to upgrade its property into a full Integrated Resort (IR). Westside City will eventually finish construction. And the Waterfront Philippines have won a long court battle to go ahead with their own plans. That all adds up to a pretty crowded Entertainment City.

“It’s difficult to gauge the demand of the industry now that we are in a very difficult situation,” Richard Laneda, an analyst with COL Financial, told Asia Gaming Brief. “We also do not know the timing of these new resorts and their respective sizes. Nevertheless, I believe in the short term this will increase competition in the area and will lead to some market share being taken from existing IRs. This will also lead to some margin erosion. But history shows that new IRs are able to grow the pie over the long term.”

That’s not the end of it either. A moratorium on new casino licenses was put in place in 2017, but is set to expire 2022. While many were anticipating that to happen so the casino industry could really explode (or get saturated, depending on your perspective), President Rodrigo Duterte started hinting in 2019 that he may be open to more casinos already.

The AGEM Index had a tumultuous 2020, just like the gaming companies it represents. The index tracks the stocks of many of the leading firms around the world, including IGT, Ainsworth Game Technology and more and, after slipping in October by just over 36 points, November brought an increase of 136.41 points, followed by a 60-point gain to close out the year. Much of the December improvement came as IGT showed a stronger December performance. 

By the end of the year, the AGEM Index was sitting on 691.90 points, having overcome its 2020 obstacles and adding 26.7% to its December 2019 figure. IGT’s stock was the biggest catalyst for the improvement after it added 34.6% in the month to boost the index by 20.13 points. Crane Co., which is behind, among other things, payment solutions, had a strong finish, as well, showing an increase in its stock price of 11.7% and contributing 8.86 points to the AGEM Index. 

In month-over-month terms, the Index improved by 9.5%, which is better than any of the other major stock indices. The NASDAQ finished the year by adding 3.5%, while the S&P 500 saw an uptick of just 1.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) barely moved in the final stretch of 2020, improving by just 0.5%

IGT had seen several key moves in December that allowed it to finish the year strong. At the beginning of the month, it announced that it was preparing to sell its B2C gaming operations in Italy to Gamenet Group S.p.A., an Apollo Global Management affiliate, for $1.15 billion. That gave the gaming technology company a substantial pool of funds from which to draw to pay off some of its debt. Shortly after, it announced that it had signed an exclusive deal to offer its Intellectual Property rights associated with its GALAXIS and SYSTEM2Go solutions to Luxembourg-based Modulus for use everywhere except North America.

There are still a lot of unanswered questions surrounding Imperial Pacific International (IPI) and its Imperial Palace casino in Saipan, with concerns over how it intends to make good on millions of dollars in outstanding debt mounting. That isn’t the only struggle found in the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), though, as the territory’s governor is facing some problems of his own. Governor Ralph Torres has had issues of his own over the past couple of years, facing investigations by the US FBI and others that centered on whether he had been leading some creative financing. One of the investigations led to a subpoena requested by the House of Representatives to explore his expenses, but the House committee in charge of the investigation is throwing in the towel. However, that doesn’t mean that it is going to put the issue behind it.

The Saipan Tribune reports that the committee, the Special Committee on Fiscal Review of Executive Expenditures, has reached an impasse in its investigation, unable to deal with the mountain of data it has received. The chairman of the committee, Representative Ralph Yumul, is uncomfortable with the situation and would prefer to hand the case over to the Office of the Public Auditor (OPA), which he explains has the legal authority to scrutinize all expenses related to public funds. 

Yumul authored a letter that he sent to Jonathan Blas Attao, the CNMI House Speaker, in which he explained, “I, as chairman and given the nature of the matter at hand, find that it would be at risk of acting without any legal authority and in violation of House rules if it proceeded with its investigation.” Attao had created the committee last July following allegations of potential corruption and misuse of public money, and Yumul added that he believes the OPA is better suited to lead the investigation.

In the subpoena that followed the creation of the committee, documents related to Torres and his wife between October 1, 2014, and December 10, 2019, were requested from a number of sources, including Mathilda A. Rosario, Triple B Forwarders station manager Paul Manglona, and Imperial Pacific International (CNMI) LLC chief executive officer Donald Browne, and subpoenaed Finance Secretary David DLG Atalig, Finance Administrative Services director Margaret Bertha C. Torres, and legal counsel to the governor Gilbert Birnbrich. The committee also wanted to see expenses related to security, housing, utility payments and more, as well as any credit card or bank transactions during the same period. 

The Dutch iGaming segment is now just months away from flipping the switch and the race is on to see who will be able to command a larger share of the market once everything goes live. The final touches of the Remote Gambling Act are now being added in preparation of a March completion, and a subsequent September iGaming launch, but operators aren’t waiting for all the rules and regulations to be revealed. Several have already begun to make deals to get in on the action, and Oryx Gaming has stepped up to join in. It has reportedly partnered with a leading commercial gambling operator in the Netherlands, JVH Gaming & Entertainment Group, to become part of the Dutch iGaming market as soon as possible.

Oryx Gaming, owned by Bragg Gaming Group, will offer the Oryx Hub to JVH’s Jacks Casino brand. In addition, it will also provide integration with the Kambi Sportsbook, third-party content and other Oryx-branded content to the operator. JVH Chairman and CEO Eric Olders said in a statement, “The Dutch online gambling market becoming regulated has been some time coming and we are excited about the opportunities now lying ahead. We’re confident that with ORYX’s experience and the quality of their products, we will be able to offer our customers the best level of service and an unrivalled player experience. They have a great team and we look forward to partnering with them as one big team.”

The Oryx iGaming platform will become the foundation of JVH’s online operations and will include CRM and promotional tools designed to enhance the user experience, according to the announcement. It will also include fraud protection and regulatory compliance applications, keeping with the requirements established by gaming regulators in the Netherlands. In addition, the Oryx Hub will give JVH access to over 10,000 casino games and more than 100 third-party game suppliers, including Pragmatic Play, NetEnt, Greentube and others.

In a separate press release by Oryx, Managing Director Matevž Mazij stated, “We’ve anticipated the Dutch market opening for some time, so it’s hugely pleasing to get this partnership with JVH group over the line, a company with an impressive heritage in the Dutch gaming market. They’ve been a leading player in the market in the Netherlands for years now and we are thrilled that they have aligned themselves with us for their online debut. We look forward to achieving high levels of success through a close partnership in this new and extremely exciting online market.”

Things are starting to get serious in the race to add integrated resorts (IR) to Japan’s landscape. After many delays, the country anticipates having its final guidelines in place this year and top contending cities and prefectures are busy preparing their own, local frameworks. The first out of the gate is the Nagasaki prefecture, which has officially launched its Request-For-Proposal (RFP) period today in hopes of finding the perfect casino operator to help it wow local residents and government officials. 

The “Kyushu-Nagasaki Specific Complex Tourism Facility Establishment and Operation Project,” which is a fancy name for the Nagasaki IR project, is progressing smoothly and the local government announced the RFP in an official communication today. The guidelines and requirements are outlined in the RFP documentation, as well as through a video available on the government’s website – make sure you have a grasp of the Japanese language to follow it. Candidate operators interested in getting involved will need to move quickly if they want to be considered, though, as the deadline for submissions is January 28. If any questions or concerns arise over the RFP application guidelines, these will only be accepted for another week, and only via email. 

As Masahiko Kunihiro of Nagasaki’s IR planning department explains, the RFP guidelines are thorough and comprehensive, so there shouldn’t be any issues. Once all of the applications are received, they will be scrutinized under a microscope and the pile of submissions reduced until the IR review board finds the best candidate or candidate finalists. Provided there are no interruptions, such as another massive global pandemic, Nagasaki plans on making its final selection this summer or by the fall, at the latest. 

Once the operator is selected and an agreement reached, the next step will be to create an area improvement plan and to hold public hearings to ensure everyone is on the same page with the process. By next spring, the Nagasaki Prefectural Assembly will have a definitive plan in place, but only after it ensures leaders of Sasebo City, where the IR would most likely be built, are on board. This would be followed by a submission of an area improvement plan to the Japanese national government, which would then need to be certified and returned to Nagasaki. That is expected to happen during the last quarter of 2022.

A backer of MGM Resorts International believes the company would do well to relinquish some of its control in Asia to a China-based entity. Snow Lake Capital, an investment management firm in Asia, penned a letter to the casino operator’s board of directors yesterday, laying out its rationale behind the suggestion and asserting that it would give MGM better power in both Macau and Japan. However, not everyone, including MGM, is convinced the idea has merit. 

Sean Ma, Snow Lake’s founder and chief investment officer, signed the letter, explaining that, as the “largest public shareholder of MGM China,” the firm believes that it would benefit MGM to “introduce a leading Chinese consumer internet or travel & leisure company as a 20% strategic shareholder in MGM China.” He explained that the move would allow MGM to bring more non-gaming resources to MGM China, which would help when the operator’s concession in Macau is being considered next year. It would also give the company additional capital, which could be potentially used to fund its efforts to get involved in Japan’s integrated resort (IR) efforts. 

Ma also has his eye on the perfect potential candidates for the partnership, adding in his letter, “We see several suitable candidates as their businesses are highly synergistic with Macau’s tourism industry as well as MGM China specifically, including Chinese travel and local service focused internet platforms such as Meituan and Trip.com, leading Chinese hotel chains such as Huazhu Group, and leading culture & tourism project operators such as Sunac China.”

MGM received the letter and probably mulled it over for all of three or four minutes – enough time to give it a cursory review – before issuing a response to the suggestion. In its best politically-correct and “thanks-but-no-thanks” voice, it said in a statement, “MGM Resorts remains committed to Macau and will continue to take actions that are in the best interests of its shareholders and stakeholders. We appreciate continued constructive engagement with MGM China shareholders.”

In the fast-moving world of gambling, sometimes you might miss news that could be important to you. To make sure you’re all caught up on gaming industry news, be it online or brick and mortar, we’re rounding up the some of the announcements and partnerships from the last week that you might have missed.

Don’t miss out on all of the latest announcements. Our Press Release section is updated constantly. We also roundup the latest slot game releases for you every Wednesday.

Vivo Gaming Launch new European Studio

Vivo Gaming is proud to announce the launch of a new European Studio. The state-of-the-art studio boasts the latest technology giving players a technically advanced experience coupled with a luxurious look and feel. Offering Live Dealer Roulette, Live Dealer Baccarat and Vivo Gaming’s most recent table addition launched in the first week of 2021 a VIP Live Dealer Blackjack table.

Welcome to 2021, dear CalvinAyre.com readers! I’ve banged out a New Year conference schedule piece every year for as long as I can remember, one as predictable as the next, but not this year. How weird is it without ICE and iGB Affiliate London to prepare for straight after the holiday season???

A lot is up in the air right now and 2021 is proving to be just as challenging as 2020 was in terms of planning ahead. While there is a light at the end of the tunnel with vaccines and warmer weather on the horizon, we don’t know how long it will take to vaccinate the whole planet, nor do we know how effective vaccines will be.

Each organizer is handling the planning challenge in their own way, with some banking on in-person events returning soon, some taking a more conservative approach with a robust digital event schedule and everything in between.

Seeing as we are in the first week in January, all of this in-person conference information is subject to change – especially the Q1 events – and should be viewed only as a loose guideline. Assume that most, if not all, of the scheduled in-person events will include some sort of online element as well, so don’t panic if you can’t even think about traveling just yet.

The Philippine government has temporarily stopped collecting its controversial online gambling turnover tax, while a new controversy swirls over whether 100k Chinese gambling workers received an unauthorized COVID-19 vaccine. 

On Tuesday, the Philippine Department of Finance announced that it will halt collection of the 5% franchise tax on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs). The announcement followed a Supreme Court ruling on Monday granting a temporary restraining order (TRO) sought by 14 POGOs who felt the tax was a violation of their right to equal protection under the law. 

The Philippine government announced the tax last September and began collecting it the following month. The tax was justified as a means of funding the government’s pandemic response but POGOs felt they were being asked to bear an outsized share of this burden. 

The Manila Bulletin quoted Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III (pictured) saying that his department would “respect” the restraining order without indicating the government’s long-term response. The Philippine treasury has been severely depleted by COVID’s impact on the overall economy and the government’s share of gambling revenue fell by as much as 80% last year.

This week’s GGPoker Super MILLION$ final table had more big names at the virtual felt than perhps ever before. At the end of the drama, one man stood alone as the winner, with Darren Elias winning his second Super MILLION$ title in stunning fashion.

The $10,300-entry event always has a good turn-out, but this week’s Super MILLION$ saw a top prize of $448,842 on offer for the winner. Before play kicked off, the betting odds were put up on Poker Shares and quite against the likely probability of Elias taking it down going into play 4th in chips, the American attracted the least money from sportsbettors, despite having pre-final odds of 8.3.

Play got underway with Seth Davies the 6th most fancied player, but he left three places earlier when he lost a big pot with pocket sixes against the pocket tens of Estonian player Aleks Ponakovs. With just a few big blinds left to his name, he was out shortly afterwards when his turned straight was outdrawn by Enrico Camosci’s set of tens that rivered a full house.

It was the turn of Bert Stevens to depart next. Stevens was all-in for 13 big blinds with king-queen, but lost a race against Brazilian Rui Ferreira’s pocket jacks. Next to go was Estonian player Ponakovs, his king-seven of diamonds turning a king but losing to Camosci’s flush which came in on the same card.

Two pulsating Carabao Cup semi-final saw Premier League sides Tottenham and Manchester City both reach the final in dramatic fashion as 2-0 victories on consecutive nights saw a reunion for the 25th April scheduled between two of modern football’s biggest managers as Spurs and Man. City reached the Wembley showpiece. 

With two massive matches to look back on, as well as the odds for the final as they stand, let’s hunt the value as we recap the action and preview the odds for the final.

Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Brentford

The first semi-final took place on Tuesday and saw Mourinho’s men complete the job with relative ease against Championship side Brentford. The Bees were buzzing to be taking part but any sting in their front line was dramatically reduced when Spurs took the lead inside 14 minutes through a Moussa Sissoko header.