Casinos in Louisiana are finding out how strong they in the face of adversity. As if having to deal with a global pandemic that shut down operations for several months wasn’t enough, they are also repeatedly being hammered by Mother Nature that is making it difficult for them to get back on their feet. The latest attack is coming from Hurricane Delta, which is expected to make landfall as a Category 2 or 3 storm sometime later today.

Almost as soon as Louisiana casinos were allowed to get their slots and tables back in action, along came Tropical Storm Marco, which landed close to Baton Rouge with winds of around 40 mph. That was just a prelude of larger problems to come, with Hurricane Laura coming in right behind three days later. Casinos had to be closed in preparation of the Category 4 storm’s arrival, which brought with it wind gusts of over 110 mph and sustained winds above 90 mph. 

That was toward the end of August, and Laura wasn’t alone. Just two weeks later, Hurricane Sally became the next major storm in what would ultimately become a record-breaking 2020 storm season, and threatened several states with its erratic path. Ultimately, the Category 2 storm arrived near Alabama when it made landfall in the U.S., but states around the Gulf of Mexico had already taken precautions ahead of the storm and had ordered businesses, including some casinos, to shut down. The mayor of New Orleans also ordered local residents to evacuate. 

Now, here we are again, only a few weeks after cleanup of the Sally aftermath began. Hurricane Delta is ready to do some more damage to the area, and has already gained Category 3 strength. The latest information says it will hit Louisiana sometime this evening. The National Hurricane Center predicts that a “life-threatening storm surge” of up to 11 feet could be seen in some areas, with the highest surge expected to be “between Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge and Morgan City, Louisiana.”

Even before the fiasco caused by COVID-19, casino operator MGM Resorts needed some money to cover its debt. In March of last year, it announced that it was going to offer $1 billion in senior notes to pay off some bills, with the amount being twice what it initially had expected to offer. The global coronavirus pandemic unexpectedly wiped out the casino industry, and MGM found out that the proceeds from those senior notes weren’t going to carry the company as long as it had hoped. It’s ready to issue new senior notes, according to a press release from yesterday, and is looking for another huge chunk of cash. 

MGM indicates that it wants up to $750 million in return for the notes, which is an increase from the $500 million it initially thought it would need. The notes will offer an interest rate of 4.75%, and the company hopes to have the exercise wrapped up by next Tuesday. Once the cash is in hand, MGM will use it to continue to pay down its debt, as well as to cover existing operational expenses. Part of the funds will go toward short-term interest-bearing accounts and securities that need to be paid.

The casino operator adds that behind the offering, and acting as co-managers, are “BofA Securities, Inc., J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Barclays Capital Inc., Citigroup Global Markets Inc., BNP Paribas Securities Corp., Citizens Capital Markets, Inc., Fifth Third Securities, Inc., Scotia Capital (USA) Inc. and SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc. will act as joint book-running managers and Credit Agricole Securities (USA) Inc., Truist Securities, Inc., Comerica Securities, Inc. and Union Gaming Securities, LLC.”

The senior notes are unsecured and are to be backed by MGM’s domestic subsidiaries in the U.S. These are the same that are already covering other senior notes previously issued by the company, which will thin the overall value even more. However, the notes will carry the same payment rights as those notes, as well as any future “unsecured indebtedness” incurred by MGM or its guarantors. 

The regulator of the Philippines online gambling industry, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) has warned for some time now that online operators could be leaving the country for greener pastures. A consultancy group has now confirmed that those fears could be real.

Alex Gardner, director of Isle of Man-based Affinity Group, has noted an increase in inquiries from Philippine Offshore Gambling Operators (POGOs) looking to get a license. “The Philippines has historically been a jurisdiction chosen by Asian-facing operators but, following the recent negative press surrounding POGO and more recently the tax increase, we have seen an influx of enquiries from operators who are looking for a suitable licence to either continue or start targeting the Asian market,” she said.

Logically, these would be some of the 50+ PAGCOR licensed POGOs looking to change jurisdictions as Philippine legislators crank up taxes on the industry. It wouldn’t make much sense for the NOGOs, or unlicensed operators, to suddenly seek a license to continue operations.

“The Isle of Man is perfect for this having developed an international reputation as being a leader in the egaming industry and is already home to some of the biggest Asian facing operators in the world,” said Gardner. “As a company that has helped many start-ups and established companies through the Isle of Man Licence licensing process it is understandable that many operators are considering moving their operations from the Philippines.”

African betting operators must learn from the VIP servicing program mistakes of their European counterparts. VIP program management was the major talking point at the SBC Digital Summit Africa, with a panel hoping to see a clear direction on VIP programs in Africa.

BetbBonanza West African Managing Director Ilze Jansone believes there are plenty of takeaways from the European market that could be applied to Africa. “Europe has been the testing ground and there’s no need to repeat the same mistakes,” she said. “There are a lot of good things that have come out of the European experience and could be adapted to the market.”

Brad Williams, Head of VIP at Bet.co.za, says that the African market needs to start setting some clear market parameters on the definitions of a VIP player in Africa. “Firstly, you need to define what is going to be a VIP,” he said. “And it’s kind of pointless to just base your opinion on face value as a customer has deposited X amount which makes him a VIP.”

“There’s a fair amount of market research and competitor analysis that needs to be done to get an idea of what is expected from you as a company and the standard of VIP within the area that you are operating in,” Williams added. “There is so much more that goes into this. There are behavioural patterns, there’s the longevity of the account itself, once you have determined what makes a VIP you need to move into what kind of promotions and offers you as a company are willing to extend. In my opinion, to ensure that your VIP programme is a success, you need a dedicated VIP team or department.”

Saipan casino operator Imperial Pacific International (IPI) has bought itself six more months in which to craft new excuses for not paying its bills.

On Thursday, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Lottery Commission voted to allow IPI to defer for six months its required $20m payment to the Community Benefit Fund (CBF). The payment was (over)due October 1, meaning IPI will now have until April Fools’ Day – a little on the nose, guys – to come up with another reason for not paying.

For the record, the $20m annual CBF payment is a condition of IPI’s CNMI casino license, yet the company – which pays zero tax on its gaming revenue – appears to have made little effort to honor this modest commitment. Records are sketchy, but CNMI pols claim the company was already $37m in arrears before this latest payment came due.

IPI has been bleeding red ink for years now, as most VIP gamblers lost interest in traveling to IPI’s unfinished Imperial Palace resort, while the few who did show tended to skip town without paying their sizable credit markers. The pandemic-related closure of Imperial Palace in March merely poured gasoline on an already raging dumpster fire.  

“Heaven must be a Kentucky kind of place.”

― Daniel Boone

Sometimes it’s very difficult to explain why a particular US court ruled a particular way, unless you’ve been infected with a legal education. People in general, and the press in very particular, tend to look at legal decisions and their effects in terms of results only. That is, they think if a court rules against the proponents of a particular law or measure, it must be because the judge or judges are against that law or measure, especially on sensitive or controversial subjects. But as Sportin’ Life said in Porgy and Bess, “it ain’t necessarily so.”

Procedure and precedent are every bit as important to a court as the facts of the case under review. Put simply, sometimes actions or laws are called down not because their aim is wrong, but because they’re not doing things the right way. Setting a bad precedent to get a “good” law or regulation is, to the judicial mind, every bit as bad as reaching a decision that is wrong altogether.

This is a guest contribution by Ron Mendelson from Fast Offshore. If you would like to submit a contribution please contact Bill Beatty for submission details. Thank you.

The world of blockchain is booming and now is the time to open a blockchain or cryptocurrency-based business providing innovative solutions to business, or private customers. Current trends and forecasts predict that the industry is going to continue growing exponentially over the next few years as demand for the tech continues to increase. We can expect to see blockchain and crypto integration in every aspect of society including governmental, business, the economy, finance and banking, marketing, healthcare, and eCommerce. 

If you have an idea for a blockchain business, there has never been a better time to make it a reality. In this article, we bring you the lowdown on how to get your company off the ground.

Draft your business plan

Spain’s gambling operators boosted their advertising spending over 10% in 2019 but it was the state-owned lotteries who spent like drunken sailors.

On Wednesday, the Spanish Association of Advertisers (AEA) released its Advertising Observatory in Spain 2020 report, which ranked gambling and betting 11th among the list of top-spending industry sectors with a combined outlay of €145.6m in 2019.

That sum represented a 10.6% increase from 2018’s ad buys, even as the overall market’s ad spending fell 0.6% year-on-year. Gaming was one of only two sectors to post a noticeable increase in spending last year (the other being ‘industrial, material and agricultural,’ which spent 29.3% more).

In terms of ‘notoriety,’ defined by the AEA as “the number of people who remember having seen or heard advertising for a brand,’ gaming ranked 15th, just behind ‘home’ and just ahead of ‘personal items.’

An odd Twitter row broke out between some of poker’s great and good after Phil Galfond revised his opinion on fellow Phil of the Hellmuth variety from good to great.

It’s widely recognized by fans that Phil Hellmuth is a living poker legend. With 15 World Series of Poker bracelets, almost $24 million in the bank from live poker tournaments alone, ‘The Poker Brat’ is a self-styled pantomime villain but also a world champion par excellence.

Phil Galfond wanted to catch everyone up with his opinion on the great man, however and that included crediting him with some kudos after he won two High Stakes Duels against Antonio Esfandiari. 

We so often criticize the plays we see on TV from the comfort of our couches. I think it’s only fair to also give credit where credit is due.

Ireland’s National Lottery operator has been spanked for misleading its customers, while Czech operator Sazka Group is gunning for Camelot’s UK National Lottery crown.

On Thursday, Ireland’s lottery regulator slammed Premier Lotteries Ireland (PLI) for breaching (a) three provisions of the National Lottery Act 2013 and (b) PLI’s lottery license with the government.

National broadcaster RTE reported that the breaches involved three scratch card products in which “the stated number of top prizes available did not match the number approved for each originally.” Two of the games were available last year while the third ran in 2015.  

While PLI came forward last December after discovering its mistake, the company was heavily criticized due to its decision to keep the products in circulation without immediately informing customers. 

Myanmar’s sketchy online gambling hub has lost a Singapore-based fintech firm over concerns that it could be facilitating illegal cross-border payments for Chinese gamblers.

On Wednesday, Singapore-based crypto and fiat currency app Fincy announced that it was withdrawing from a ‘smart city’ development project in Shwe Kokko village in Myanmar’s southeastern Karen state, near the city of Myawaddy on the border with Thailand.

The project, known as Yatai New City, recently came under fire after its Chinese developers claimed to be part of China’s Belt & Road Initiative. China not only denied these reports but also said it supported the Myanmar government’s efforts to determine if the development is a hub for unauthorized casinos and China-facing online gambling sites.

Fincy, which is only about a year old, added cryptocurrency support in August, just weeks before reports surfaced of dodgy activity within Shwe Kokko. Fincy’s Wednesday statement noted reports that its app was accused of preventing Myanmar’s “law enforcement from tracking financial transactions” in Yatai.

Australian casino operator Crown Resorts appears headed for a structural shakeup as its largest shareholder admits he might have to sell down to ensure the safety of its Sydney casino license.

Thursday saw day three of James Packer’s testimony to the New South Wales Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority (ILGA) inquiry into Crown’s suitability to hold a state gaming license for its AU$2.4b Crown Sydney property, which is scheduled to open in December.

Packer (pictured), who once again appeared via video link from his yacht, acknowledged that Crown Sydney had been conceived as a means of attracting high-rolling gamblers from China. The property had forecast up to one-third of profits coming from VIP gamblers but Packer said Thursday that it was “highly doubtful that we’re going to go anywhere near our original figures.”

Last month, Crown halted all dealings with junket operators after embarrassing revelations involving the company’s anti-money laundering (AML) compliance failings. Packer said Thursday that he’d been assured that Crown only worked with “junkets of good repute” but admitted under questioning that it was “fair” to say Crown had dealings with junkets accused of having ties to organized crime.

When one of the craziest poker players in the world, Daniel Cates, a.k.a. ‘Jungleman’ asks about everyone else’s craziest experience within the game, you know that the replies are going to be some kind of poker wildfire.

Quite how good they are is a testament to the creativity and recollection of poker fans sat at home reminiscing about their best experiences in the game while the COVID-19 pandemic keeps most away from the live felt.

What are your top five craziest moments in poker?

— Daniel Cates (@junglemandan) October 1, 2020https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

The U.S. elections are now underway, having seen the introduction of a more exhaustive remote voting option because of COVID-19. November 4 marks the official date of the elections, and this is set to be one of the most controversial times in recent history for determining the next President of the United States. This is also an opportunity for those who support legalized online gambling to make their voices heard, electing to get rid of politicians who have repeatedly thwarted efforts to introduce the activity on the state or federal level. In many cases, the decision to block those efforts was made based on personal gain, not on voters’ will. 

PokerNews looked into a list that had been created by the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) in 2014 to explore politicians who had worked to prevent online gambling. Comparing the state of affairs then with what is currently seen, there are still several anti-gambling politicians whose time has come and should be shown the door. Most notable among these is South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, who had introduced legislation six years ago to ban online gambling at the federal level. 

The Florida sun has a tendency to cause mental games. This may or may not be the case with Rick Scott, the state’s former governor, who became a Senator in 2018. The Sunshine State has a large gambling presence that is partially responsible for Florida residents not paying annual state taxes. However, Scott has been opposed to online gaming, especially online poker, and has said previously that he would support a federal measure to prevent the activity. However, the anti-gambling stance stops with retail operations, exposing the hypocrisy of his values. In 2012, Scott had received $250,000 from Sheldon Adelson to support one of his political action committees.

There is also James Lankford, a Senator out of Oklahoma and co-sponsor of the Restoration of America’s Wire Act in 2014. That bill, among other things, sought to enforce the Wire Act on all forms of interstate gambling transactions, making it impossible for states to operate beyond their own borders. The legislation, and the Department of Justice’s stance on the Wire Act, are now the subject of a heated argument between states and the federal government. Other co-sponsors of the bill who are still in office and up for re-election include Representatives Emanuel Cleaver from Montana, Cedric Richmond from Louisiana, Louie Gohmert from Texas and Jim Jordan from Ohio.