Pennsylvania’s dozen casinos reported table game revenue up nearly 12% in February, despite a wave of bad weather that neighboring Atlantic City cited for its casino revenue decline.

Table game revenue hit $63.9m, an increase of 11.8%. That’s a far better performance than the state’s slots revenue, which gained a mere 1.1% to $183.2m in February. The month’s total gaming revenue haul of $247.1m is up 3.7% over February 2014.

Sands Bethlehem was the clear winner in the table games stakes, with its 207 tables generating revenue of nearly $15.3m, up 21% from the same month last year. Parx Casino was up over 20% to $11.7m, despite its number of tables falling by 11 to 154 from last February. SugarHouse ranked third with $7.5m (+4%), Rivers placed fourth with $6.3m (+2%), narrowly edging out Harrah’s Philadelphia’s $6.1m (flat).

CASINO OWNERS DEMAND MORE BOOZE

UK-listed online gambling operator Bwin.party digital entertainment has inked a prospective online deal with an unnamed casino in Pennsylvania.

On Wednesday, eGaming Review reported that Bwin.party had confirmed its inking of a Pennsylvania land-based partner to be first in line if and when the state gets around to passing intrastate online gambling legislation. Bwin.party CEO Norbert Teufelberger said the company had “identified a market access partner” and hoped to be “first to market” if Pennsylvania legislators can get their ducks in a row.

There are currently two online gambling bills being considered in the current session of the Pennsylvania legislature. Rep. Nick Miccarelli’s HB 695 is a poker-only bill while Rep. John Payne’s HB 649 would also permit online casino games. The legislature plans to hold a public hearing to discuss online gambling on April 16.

Payne, who chairs the state’s Gaming Oversight Committee, recently told OnlinePokerReport’s Steve Ruddock that Gov. Tom Wolf was “open minded” on the issue of expanding gaming options in the state. Wolf, who assumed office in November, had said on the campaign trail that he was agin’ gambling expansion of any kind. Payne says Wolf’s current position is more like “go show me, what it is, how it would work and what the revenue numbers are.”

The UK government has confirmed its plans to impose a ‘racing right’ that would require bookmakers to ante up a percentage of race betting revenue to the racing industry.

In December, Chancellor George Osborne announced that the government was consulting on the introduction of a Horserace Betting Authorization to replace the much-loathed annual race betting Levy. On Wednesday, just six days after that consultation closed, Osborne delivered his 2015 budget, which says the new Horserace Betting Right will “apply to all bookmakers wherever located, who take bets from British customers on British racing and will be administered directly by the racing industry.”

The racing industry has long complained that UK-facing online bookies based in jurisdictions like Gibraltar weren’t compelled to contribute to the Levy scheme. The new betting right closes this loophole, much as December’s introduction of the 15% online point-of-consumption tax eliminated much of the financial advantages of a Gibraltar online gambling license.

No info was offered as to the rate of this racing right, but the consultation document envisioned three possible scenarios: 10.75% (equal to the current Levy scheme), a ‘central’ rate of 30% and a high rate of 50%. Should either of the latter rates be implemented, bookies will pass on the costs to consumers, who will invariably seek out more cost-effective alternatives with online bookies not holding a UK license, thereby depriving racing of the extra revenue it so desperately craves. So, er, well done, racing.

South Korea’s gambling revenue rose in 2014, the ninth consecutive year of annual growth, but the rate of growth has been slowing over the past couple years.

Total sales of all legal gambling products – casinos, lotteries, racing (horse, cycling and boat) and bullfighting – hit KRW 19.87t (US $17.6b) in 2014. That figure is up 1% from 2013’s tally, which was up only 0.6% from 2012. The previous two years had enjoyed growth of 6.5% and 5%. The Yonhap news agency quoted government officials saying the expectation is for gambling revenue to top KRW 20t in 2015, driven largely by the lottery and casino sectors.

Horseracing earned the lion’s share (KRW 7.64t) of 2014’s gambling revenue, but this was down 0.7% year-on-year. Betting on cycling and boat races also fell for the third straight year. Lottery ticket and sports betting revenue each topped KRS 3.28b, up 1.4% and 6.5% respectively.

The nation’s 16 foreigner-only casinos reported revenue up 0.3% to KRW 1.36t ($1.2b). South Korean casinos have become increasingly popular with Chinese tourists, prompting Chinese media to quote government officials complaining that casino hubs like Jeju Island were becoming the “new haven” for Chinese gamblers.