Expired five-star category certificates have caused two onshore casinos in India to shut down.

On Thursday, the state government of Goa ordered the closure of Grand 7 Casino at O Hotel in the town of Candolim, and the Casino Pearl at the Bogmallo Beach Resort in Bogmallo.

The Times of India reported that the validity of the five-star category certificates for these two hotels have already expired. According to the state home department, licensed operators can only operate games and machines at a hotel that has a valid five-star certification.

According to the order obtained by the media outlet, the casino operators were “directed to stop the casino operations with immediate effect until such time fresh five star classification certificate is produced before the government.”

Macau casino junket operator Iao Kun Group Holding Company Limited (IKGH) has narrowed net loss to $23.8m in the second quarter from $56.7m in Q2 2014 and $6.7m for the six months ending in June 30th, from $53.5m over the same period last year.

Iao Kun said that the lower net loss was attributable to the change in contingent consideration related to the acquisitions of King’s Gaming, Bao Li Gaming and Oriental VIP Room; lower administrative expenses for Q2 due to the costs incurred in application to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2014; as well as lower commission to junket agents as a result of significantly lower rolling chip turnover.

Rolling Chip Turnover for Q2 was down 63% year-on-year to $1.7b, from $4.7b and 58% decrease in H1 to $3.9b from $9.4b in 2014.

Despite lower net loss, IKGH recorded a revenue of $21.9m for the second quarter, a 56% decrease from the same period of 2014, in line with the overall decline of gaming revenue in Macau.

Vietnam is after your junk folders. No, really.

The government has launched a major crackdown on companies that sent spam messages promoting gambling. Local news outlet Viet Nam News reported that six companies have already been fined a total of VND535 million ($23,732) since the beginning of August.

Of these six, three companies—BiBo Communication Limited Company, Viet Nam Telecommunications and Digital Entertainment Joint-stock Company, and NetViet Technology and Services Joint-stock Company—were fined VND 120 million ($5,323) each.

Officials of the Ministry of Information and Communications’ inspectorate agency said the three companies were charged with sending spam messages, not providing information on fees or how to cancel services, and providing gambling services, according to the report.

Connecticut officials were granted extension to respond to MGM lawsuit over favoring tribes to develop a third casino in the state, barring out-of-state competitors.

MGM Resorts International filed a lawsuit earlier this month in U.S. District Court in New Haven with Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy as a defendant, saying a law he signed that could lead to a third tribal casino, gives the two tribes— the Mashantucket Pequots and the Mohegans—preferential treatment.

The lawsuit also said that the Connecticut bill violated the constitution’s Equal Protection Clause, which bans discrimination based on racial preferences, as well as the Dormant Commerce Clause by favoring a pair of in-state tribes while banning any bids by out-of-state competitors.

MGM President Bill Hornbuckle claimed that his company applied for a casino license in the state after the passage of the act but was rejected.

The Treasury and Jupiter casinos in Queensland are about to get a “star” makeover.

Echo Entertainment, which operates the two casinos, said Friday it will phase out the Treasury and Jupiter branding as part of the company’s plan to rebrand as The Star Entertainment Group.

“The intention is to change the parent company name to The Star Entertainment Group Limited with the properties to be known—via a staged rebranding process—as The Star, Sydney; The Star, Gold Coast; and The Star, Brisbane,” said Echo Chairman John O’Neill in a statement.

According to a Sydney Morning Herald report, Echo’s current name was created after its parent company—Tabcorp Holdings—decided to split its casino and wagering operations in 2011.

This is a guest contribution by Wink Bingo & Winkly Magazine’s Marketing Manager Eitan Gorodetsky. If you would like to submit a contribution please contact Bill Beatty for submission details. Thank you.

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Asian casino operator Donaco International Ltd. posted a net loss in fiscal 2015 after its new Vietnam casino had a “difficult first year.”

The Australian-listed Donaco said revenue from continuing operations in the 12 months ending June 30 fell 12% to AUD 17m (US $12.2m), while earnings fell 41% to AUD 6.4m. Donaco posted a AUD 2.9m loss for the year versus an AUD 6.8m profit in FY14.

Donaco’s year was undone by costs following the May 2014 opening of its new Aristo International Hotel in Vietnam’s Lao Cai province on the border with China. Unforeseen events also played a role, as China issued a travel warning in December and an earthquake hit China’s Yunnan province, which is Aristo’s target market.

The Aristo also suffered from an average VIP win rate of just 1.93%, well below the theoretical range of 2.7% to 3%. Donaco says the Aristo currently lacks sufficient volume in its main floor gaming business to offset the effects of VIPs getting luckier than usual, but the company is working to address this imbalance and recent trading suggests these efforts have had “a positive effect.”