Casino operator MGM Resorts plans to reopen its Park MGM property as a smoke-free venue, the first such facility on the Las Vegas Strip to permanently kick tobacco to the curb.

Last week, MGM announced that it would reopen its Empire City Casino in New York on September 21. New York recently confirmed that its commercial casino operators could reopen on a limited basis as of September 9, and Empire City says its slots and electronic table games will be in operation, while bars and beverage service will remain closed for the time being.

On Monday, MGM announced that its Four Seasons Las Vegas property will reopen on September 25 while the Park MGM resort and its affiliated Nomad hotel will follow suit on September 30. These openings will mark the last MGM properties to restart operations since the company was forced to shut down its retail casinos this spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While Park MGM will have certain restrictions on its gaming and non-gaming amenities when it reopens, the company has decided to impose a total indoor smoking ban, making the property The Strip’s “first fully smoke-free casino resort.”

Casino operator MGM Resorts plans to reopen its Park MGM property as a smoke-free venue, the first such facility on the Las Vegas Strip to permanently kick tobacco to the curb.

Last week, MGM announced that it would reopen its Empire City Casino in New York on September 21. New York recently confirmed that its commercial casino operators could reopen on a limited basis as of September 9, and Empire City says its slots and electronic table games will be in operation, while bars and beverage service will remain closed for the time being.

On Monday, MGM announced that its Four Seasons Las Vegas property will reopen on September 25 while the Park MGM resort and its affiliated Nomad hotel will follow suit on September 30. These openings will mark the last MGM properties to restart operations since the company was forced to shut down its retail casinos this spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While Park MGM will have certain restrictions on its gaming and non-gaming amenities when it reopens, the company has decided to impose a total indoor smoking ban, making the property The Strip’s “first fully smoke-free casino resort.”

Philippines-based online gambling operators are facing stiff new tax hikes as the government looks for cash to fund its economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Saturday, Philippine Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon announced that the newly signed Bayanihan to Recover as One (Bayanihan 2) law will more than double its financial collection from Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) by imposing a tax on online gambling turnover rather than revenue.

The law states that POGOs will now be subject to a “five percent (5%) franchise tax on the gross bets or turnovers or the agreed pre-determined minimum monthly revenues from gaming operations, whichever is higher, earned by offshore gaming licensees, including gaming operators, gaming agent, service providers and gaming support providers.”

To ensure operators can’t use foreign currency fluctuations to diminish their tax obligations, the franchise tax “shall be computed on the peso equivalent of the foreign currency used, based on the prevailing official exchange rate at the time of payment, otherwise the same shall be considered as a fraudulent act constituting under-declaration of taxable receipts or income.”

The 8th event of the World Poker Tour World Online Championships saw 490 entries last week on Day 1a, which ended with Dominik Panka, Shaun Deeb and Upeshka De Silva all taking through top 10 stacks as Slovenian player Blaž Žerjav held the chip lead.

Last night, 521 more entries – including re-entries – saw the total field swell to 1,011 entries and surpass the generous $10 million guarantee for the $10,000-entry Main Event Championship.

Top of the shop after around 11 hours of play was the German player Benjamin Rolle, who ended play with 3.6 million chips. With the top prize of $1.7 million now announced by the WPT and another $1.2 million for the runner-up, there’s a lot on the line, and play was of a high standard throughout Day 1b.

Day 1b saw many great names making Day 2, but one former Mike Sexton Champions Cup winner, Matas Cimbolas – although the Lithuanian won the trophy before it was gloriously renamed in the late, great Sexton’s honour – was not one of them. He was all-in late on in a three-way shove-fest with pocket aces, but was outdrawn by the ace-king of diamonds of Benjamin Rolle, who went runner-runner for a flush on the river that sent both Cimbolas and Pascal Hartmann packing.

The eSports industry has exploded over the last decade and is the newest big thing in the gambling industry. GameCo CEO Blaine Graboyes has been one of the pioneers of the video gambling concept, combining his background in film and television with his passion for Esports. He took some time out to sit down with CalvinAyre.com’s Becky Liggero Fontana to speak about the future of the Esports industry in this week’s episode of The Long Con.

Blaine Graboyes shared how he got pulled into the Esports industry as a film and television student at Bennington College in Vermont. “I got exposed to the technology around DVD production and started my first company in New York. I was the first digital producer to represented by ICM in 2002,” he said.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-N637b_0HYY?feature=oembed]

“ICM introduced me to the video game space and I worked with some of the top studios in LA, I started in Esports 10 years ago and it was that industry that led to my ideas in video game gambling.”

After three Grand Slam finals, Austrian tennis pro Dominic Thiem has finally ended the dominance of the ‘big three’ to win the U.S. Open.

There may not have been Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer at the U.S. Open at Flushing Meadow, but Novak Djokovic arrived a fortnight ago determined to clinch his 17th Grand Slam. For a number of reasons, that didn’t happen in spectacular style, but Thiem did get over the line, the most experienced man in the draw from the fourth round onwards finally sealing the deal late in the day last night.

With Thiem earning $3 million, runner-up Alexander Zverev will not be disgruntled at taking home $1.5 million as a consolation prize, but he will wake up today wondering how he let it slip through his grasp, up two sets only to eventually lose 2-6 4-6 6-4 6-3 7-6 (8-6) to the Austrian.

Thiem told reporters afterwards that he had been working towards the Grand Slam victory his “whole life” and consoled his great friend Zverev to be someone who deserves to win a Slam soon. That might be true, but the 27-year-old Austrian will be privately delighted to have got one over his younger German frenemy. He was very respectful both on court after the game and online after the event.

Massachusetts is considering introducing legalized sports gambling in the state, but how the market may be shaped is still up for discussion. The idea of allowing wagers on sports began even before COVID-19, but the coronavirus pandemic has forced the issue to take on a different tone, with the state looking at different ways to recuperate lost revenue. Should lawmakers push forward with a bill that is currently being discussed, House Bill 4887 (HB 4887), a number of colleges and universities in the state want to make sure that college-level sports activity is not included. They authored a letter that was sent to legislators, urging them to allow, in so many words, illegal college sports wagers to continue. 

Harvard University was one of seven schools that signed off on a letter sent last Friday to lawmakers, asking them to think twice before allowing bets on college sporting events. According to the university’s own publication, The Harvard Crimson, the complete list includes the “presidents and athletic directors of Boston College, Boston University, the College of the Holy Cross, Merrimack College, Northeastern University, the University of Massachusetts, and Harvard University signed onto the letter, which was addressed to Massachusetts Senate President Karen E. Spilka, Speaker of the House Robert A. DeLeo, Senator Michael J. Rodrigues, Senator Eric P. Lesser ’07, Senator Patrick M. O’Connor, Representative Ann-Margaret Ferrante, Representative Aaron Michlewitz, and Representative Donald H. Wong.”

This past July, the Massachusetts House of Representatives signed off on HB 4887, allowing it to consider making its way through the legislative quagmire. The bill initially contained a provision for college sports wagers to be included; however, when it got to the Senate, the idea was axed. In siding with the branch in voicing their opposition to the measure, the schools’ representatives said in the letter, “Based on our years of experience, each of us believes that such legislation will create unnecessary and unacceptable risks to student athletes, their campus peers, and the integrity and culture of colleges and universities in the Commonwealth.”

Given that there is no foundation upon which to reach that conclusion, absent a widespread and legal college sports gambling industry, the push to keep college-level sports out of the mix doesn’t have a strong case. Harvard is viewed by most as educated and sophisticated, which makes it a little surprising that it would miss this blatantly obvious conclusion. Gamblers are going to gamble, regardless of whether or not it’s done in a legal, regulated environment or through offshore channels. It’s only through legalization and regulation that the gambling industry can be more transparent and integrity more enforced. If anyone thinks that student-athletes don’t already have the ability to make deals with sportsbooks, they haven’t done their homework. 

The NFL is back, and all those who thought the season would suck because of COVID-19 have been proven wrong. There has been no shortage of interest on the part of fans – the season opener garnered the largest viewing segment of any show of the night and yesterday’s games saw a huge number tune in, based on initial data. The return of the league has also been great news for sportsbooks in the U.S., ready to capitalize on the growing demand for sports gambling action and larger audiences. The Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas has always welcomed the season with its football SuperContest, but has had some competition the past two years. This year, its biggest rival, the Circa Sports Million II, drew a larger crowd that was almost double that of the SuperContest. 

Last year, the SuperContest recorded 3,328 entries, but could only muster 1,172 this year. This was due, in part, to the Circa Sports sportsbook, which saw 3,148 entries sign up for its Million contest, which is in just its second year of existence. Given the fact that the Million II had a buy-in of $1,000 and the SuperContest cost $1,500, there definitely seems to have been a preference to go for the lighter event. 

In 2018, the SuperContest, which was then holding its third event, attracted 3,128 entries. It was the largest field ever, but has now been relegated to second place because of the turnout to Million II. However, Westgate lost on two fronts, as the Circa Survivor, a $1,000 buy-in, weekly single-bet contest that runs throughout the season, picked up 1,390 entries. That contest will award almost $1.4 million to the player who makes the most correct weekly predictions and survives the longest. 

Both the SuperContest and the Million II operate similarly. They center on participants making five NFL picks each week against the spread, with the contestant proving to be most accurate the longest winning the grand prize. Says Jeffrey Benson, Circa sportsbook operations manager, “While we don’t have any overlays, we are overwhelmed by the support of bettors and the gambling community at what we believe are the best two contests in the world. Our motto at Circa Sports is ‘Sports Betting the Way It Should Be’ and we strongly believe both of these contests embrace those ideals.”

The 2020 NFL season is officially here, and yesterday’s card was full of awesome action for football fans. The start also brought with it more sports gambling opportunities across the U.S. than ever before, with plenty of states now offering regulated markets. Illinois entered into the mix earlier this year when the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) laid out the rules of the game, and there hasn’t been any shortage of interest. The latest to join the state is PointsBet, which got its mobile gambling app up and running only one day before most of the NFL action commenced.

The Kansas City Chiefs played against the Houston Texans last Thursday, and PointsBet wasn’t able to capture any activity in Illinois, but it made up for it yesterday. The Australia-based sportsbook teamed up with Hawthorne Race Course to make it possible, sealing a deal that was announced only a few days after the state’s governor, J.B. Pritzker, greenlighted sports gambling in the state. Johnny Aitken, the CEO of PointsBet’s U.S. arm, PointsBet U.S.A, said in a statement about the operator’s launch, “PointsBet possesses competitive advantages by owning our technology environment from end to end, such as unrivaled speed and ease of use on a personalized platform. We, together with our partner Hawthorne Race Course, are thrilled to provide the Illinois consumer with exactly what they’ve been craving.”

PointsBet wasn’t the first to get in on the action – BetRivers, DraftKings and FanDuel are already vying for position. However, its entry was made easier by Pritzker’s decision to allow sports bettors to register online, instead of having to make a special trip to an authorized casino. The governor had flip-flopped on that order before reinstating mobile registration, but, as of this Friday, the mandatory trip might be back on the table.

Should Pritzker decide to force in-person registrations again, PointsBet isn’t overly concerned. It will have a retail sportsbook at the Cicero racetrack, as well as three off-track gambling venues around Chicago. Between the four properties, PointsBet will have access to more than nine million residents, accounting for around two-thirds of the state’s population.

City of Dreams Manila (CoDM) would like nothing more than to swing open its doors and start welcoming back patrons to its casino floor and entertainment options. The Philippines has been working on bouncing back from the coronavirus pandemic and only recently saw movement toward a quasi-resumption of what could be considered normal routines. Casinos and other businesses are desperate to return to their former selves and CoDM is now working on trying to make that happen. GGRAsia reports that the casino resort is now warming up its casino operations in accordance with government guidelines in anticipation of a full-scale relaunch. 

The media outlet talked to CoDM’s chief operating officer, Kevin Benning, who confirmed that the property is actively testing its equipment and internal procedures, and that it’s ready to go full speed ahead as soon as all the proper elements are in place. Benning added, however, that a date for the Melco Resorts and Entertainment-run property to resume normal operations is still not available, but that it is seeing success with the 30% capacity restriction implemented by the government. He explained, “The trial run, as permitted by Pagcor, with invited guests at 30 percent capacity, continues, enabling us to fine-tune our services in compliance with government guidelines.”

CoDM reportedly has 301 table games and 2,273 gaming machines, according to information supplied by Melco Resorts when it reported its second-quarter financials. Because of its strong presence in Manila and Macau, Melco is “well positioned to speed its revenue recovery cycle because it has strong footprints in both Macau and Manila,” according to Smartkarma Innovations Pte Ltd. The investment research firm out of the Singapore made its call in a report released last week on gambling operators.

CoDM has a number of entertainment and dining options, and they all hope to be back in business before too much longer. Four restaurants, Crystal Dragon, Noodle 8, Red Ginger and Wave, are expected to open at 30% capacity once the resort reopens, with other dining options to relaunch after that. The Hyatt Regency, the Nobu and the Nuwa hotels will also be ready to resume normal operations, as will these venues’ stores, on-site banks, swimming pools and other amenities. 

Sands China, the Asian arm of Sheldon Adelson-run Las Vegas Sands, reportedly had around $2.4 billion in liquid assets at the end of May, enough, by some estimates, to allow it to run for a full year without any incoming revenue. This, however, hasn’t stopped the company from continuing to seek different ways to not have to touch its own resources. It decided to issue some senior notes worth $1.5 billion in May to avoid tapping into the piggy bank and also, in March, had talked a lender, Bank of China Limited, into reworking some terms on a revolving line of credit worth $2 billion. It didn’t take long for Sands China to try to renegotiate the renegotiation of those terms, and has now convinced the lender (pdf) to offer it additional waiver extensions for those obligations. 

The casino operator and the Bank of China, through its Macau branch, had agreed to extend waiver periods related to the Sands China’s Consolidated Leverage Ratio on the revolving line of credit. The two arranged to not be strict on keeping that ratio at 4 to 1, and also agreed to be lenient with the 2.5-to-1 ratio in the Consolidated Interest Coverage Ratio. The lender extended the waiver on both covenants until July 1, 2021, pushing it out from the previous limit of January 1, 2020.

Now, however, Sands China will have another six months on the waiver, with the Bank of China agreeing to extend the timeframe until January 1, 2022. It also decided that the company deserved a little more economic boost and would be allowed to increase its commitment by as much as $1 billion if Sands China thinks it’s necessary. In exchange, though, the casino operator won’t be able to declare or issue any dividend payments until the end of the new extension period if it calls on more than $2 billion of the revolving line of credit. 

In the announcement, Sands China brass issued a warning to stockholders. It asserted, “Holders of our Company’s securities, potential investors and readers are advised to exercise caution in dealing in securities in our Company.”

This is a guest contribution by Ron Mendelson, CEO of Fast Offshore. Ron has 22+ years’ experience in corporate online gaming services and licensing, offshore banking and International Business.

Over the last few years, the eSports industry has been growing gradually, making a shift from the underground to the mainstream. Now, we know that it has become one of the most in-demand sports of the year. Of course, when the stakes are high on the outcome of events, gambling inevitably becomes a part of the industry.

As we saw conventional sports taking a nosedive this year due to the current situation, eSports moved to fill the gap. More and more people started betting on the outcome of eSports tournaments or in-game events. The pandemic was something of a catalyst to the success of this once niche industry.

If you want to get involved in this dynamic and rapidly evolving market, now is a great time to consider setting up an eSports company.

Is the digital Triple Crown the future of horseracing?

“The world that we used to know,

People tell me it don’t turn no more… “

― Steely Dan

Two more WCOOP titles were won over an important weekend of WCOOP action as one of the best poker players in the world was denied a record-equaling victory and another bagged his second WCOOP win.

Event #37 – $5,200-entry Pot Limit Omaha 6-Max

Hungarian player Andras Nemeth won $140,506 in taking down this PLO event, which had he won, Shaun Deeb would have equaled a long-standing record in WCOOP history.

The final day begun with Shaun Deeb, WCOOP legend, looking to clinch a ninth and record-levelling title, but he wasn’t the only one desperately chasing the title, and so the early orbits proved. The final table saw some stellar names battling it out in the famously swingy format, and it would be Deeb who left the part in 7th place, earning just $28,596 for his efforts rather than the moment of online poker history that he surely craved.

The US sports betting market has seen a flurry of new operator launches and states reporting handle/revenue figures, so let’s dive right in, shall we?

In West Virginia, sports betting handle hit $40.4m in August, a new record for the state and more than two-and-a-half times the $16m the state reported in July. August’s online handle of $31.1m was nearly twice July’s total, a figure that will only grow larger in September as additional operators go live. August’s betting revenue gained one-quarter to $2m.  

Lest we forget, West Virginia’s fledgling online casino market reported customer spending of $39.6m in August, from which $555k of revenue was held. BetMGM ended DraftKings local online casino monopoly in late August, so September’s figures should see a boost.  

In Iowa, betting handle more than doubled from July to August to $50.3m, of which $35m was wagered online. August’s betting revenue rose more than one-third to $3m, of which $1.6m was earned through digital channels.

Betfair is shutting its New Jersey race betting exchange, following years of fiscal futility and just weeks after the state learned it was getting its first sports betting exchange.

On Friday, Thoroughbred Daily News reported that Betfair had informed its New Jersey customers that the site would officially bid them buh-bye as of October 1. FanDuel Group COO Kip Levin, who’s been overseeing Betfair’s US operations for years, said Friday that the New Jersey exchange “never hit the critical mass needed for it to be viable.”

Betfair received its New Jersey exchange wagering license in 2015 and the exchange product launched on the company’s 4NJBets site the following year. However, it struggled to convince US bettors what all the fuss was about and handled only $12.4m in wagers in all of 2018, the last year for which figures are available.

Levin said the New Jersey exchange’s challenges included “a customer base used to exotic wagers and a reluctance by major US racing associations to embrace the different business model.” California approved exchange wagering way back in 2012 after furious lobbying by Betfair but the state never got around to actually authorizing any betting exchanges due to stakeholder squabbling.

Sweden’s licensed online gambling operators suffered a revenue decline in the second quarter, as government restrictions eliminated the pandemic pump enjoyed in other markets.

Figures released Friday by Sweden’s Spelinspektionen regulatory body show locally licensed online gambling operators generated revenue of just over SEK3.6b (US$411.5m) in the three months ending June 30, up 3.6% from the same period last year but a 1.2% decline from Q1 2020’s figure (which was itself down 1.5% year-on-year).

Sweden’s online casino licensees were blindsided this spring as the government announced tough limits on customer deposits and spending. The government claimed it was acting to protect consumers from excessive gambling while under pandemic lockdown but data showed Swedes hadn’t significantly ramped up their gambling activity.

The state-run Svenska Spel’s lottery and slots hall revenue fell 8.5% year-on-yar to SEK1.3b in Q2 while the company’s Casino Cosmopol land-based casinos were shut for the entire period. All other verticals were also negative, except for charitable lotteries, which rose 2.7% to SEK950m.