Monthly Archives: January 2016

Nevada sportsbooks set new revenue record for third straight year

Nevada casino gambling revenue was up slighly in 2015 despite a slight decrease at Las Vegas Strip casinos.

Figures released Friday by the Nevada Gaming Control Board showed that the state’s casinos earned $11.1b in gambling revenue last year, 0.9% higher than 2014’s total. Strip casinos reported annual revenue down less than 1% to $6.35b, while downtown Vegas casinos gained 6% to $542m and Reno casinos were up 3% to $571m.

Total slot machine revenue came to just over $7b in 2015, up 3.8% from 2014. Baccarat remained the state’s top table game earner in 2015 at nearly $1.29b, although this was down 14.3% year-on-year. Blackjack closed the gap by rising 3% to $1.09b.

Nevada sportsbooks set a new annual revenue record – their third in a row – with $231.8m, up 2.1% from 2014, while handle was up 8.4% to $4.23b (also a record). The gains came despite football winnings falling 27.4% to $82.5m, in large part due to a poor comparison with the 2014 Super Bowl, which earned the books a record $19.7m, while the 2015 game netted a mere $3.3m.

Macau expects slight tourist growth in 2016

Macau intends to lure about 30 million visitors this year and Beijing is willing to give a helping hand.

In 2015, the number of Macau’s visitor arrivals was down 2.6% year-on-year to 30,714,628, said Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO). The decrease is attributable to a number of external factors such as the instability of the international economic environment, China’s stock market drop, and exchange rate movements.

Despite the decline, the figure was still in line with MGTO’s forecast of over 30 million.

Head of the MGTO, Helena de Senna Fernandes, said during a press conference that the agency wants to maintain the goal of 30 million visitors and will focus on diversifying the origins of visitors.

Las Vegas Sands wants stadium for UNLV, possibly Raiders

The billionaire owner of the Las Vegas Sands casino company wants to help build a professional-grade stadium at the UNLV campus and is meeting with the owner of the Oakland Raiders. Sands spokesman Ron Reese said Thursday that the company envisions a public-private partnership to build a $1 billion domed stadium that could be shared by a professional team as well as UNLV.

Rank Group reports revenue growth across all channels in fiscal H1

Bingo club and casino operator Rank Group has set its sights on further growth after posting year-on-year increase across key financials in the first half of its fiscal year.

The company enjoyed a 3% increase in group revenue to £374.3 for the six months to December 31. Like-for-like basis revenue grew by 5% to £370.1 million.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) is up 1% to £62.7 million while net debt decreased to £52 million from £94.9 million over the same period a year ago.

Rank’s brick and mortar business Grosvenor Casinos saw revenue rise 7% to £219 million, while Mecca’s retail bingo business was up 2% to £143 million.

Rank Group reports revenue growth across all channels in fiscal H1

Bingo club and casino operator Rank Group has set its sights on further growth after posting year-on-year increase across key financials in the first half of its fiscal year.

The company enjoyed a 3% increase in group revenue to £374.3 for the six months to December 31. Like-for-like basis revenue grew by 5% to £370.1 million.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) is up 1% to £62.7 million while net debt decreased to £52 million from £94.9 million over the same period a year ago.

Rank’s brick and mortar business Grosvenor Casinos saw revenue rise 7% to £219 million, while Mecca’s retail bingo business was up 2% to £143 million.