Monthly Archives: October 2016

Trump Taj Mahal closure leaves Atlantic City with just seven casinos

Atlantic City is officially down to seven casinos following Monday’s closure of the Trump Taj Mahal.

The Taj Mahal officially closed its doors at 6am on Monday, following a weekend of staggered shutdowns of its various entertainment offerings. The property is the fifth AC casino to close since four venues closed in 2014. Monday’s closure spells the end of over 2,800 local jobs, bringing the total casino job loss since 2014 to over 11k.

The Taj Mahal closed after two years of squabbling between the property’s last owner, billionaire investor Carl Icahn, and its unionized employees, who couldn’t come to an agreement that would have allowed the struggling property to continue operating.

The Taj Mahal filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September 2014, after which Icahn assumed ownership of the property. But Unite Here Local 54 refused to accept a court ruling that allowed Icahn to scrap the unionized employees’ pension and health benefits.

Philippines says 76 applications for new ‘offshore’ online gambling licenses

The Philippines has received 76 applications for its new ‘offshore’ online gambling licenses, the first of which should be issued this month.

On Monday, Andrea Domingo, CEO of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), told local media that 76 online gambling firms had filed applications for the new licenses, plans for which PAGCOR had originally announced in mid-September.

Business World Online quoted Domingo saying PAGCOR expected to give initial approval to the first 25 online licenses “before the end of October” and that these licenses would be valid for one year. Domingo said applicants understand that PAGCOR “might be changing the rules and regulations” prior to the expiry of the one-year licenses.

Speaking following a meeting with the House of Representatives’ Committee on Games and Amusements, Domingo noted that PAGCOR would use the first three to six months of the new licensing regime to “study” the activities of approved online gambling operators and adjust its regulatory approach accordingly.

Heavy regulations for prepaid debit cards open doors for bitcoin cards

Starting October 2017, prepaid debit cards in the United States will be subjected to tighter regulations.

The standard of regulation for prepaid debit cards, proposed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, is expected to match “that of bank accounts and bank-issued credit cards in terms of loss compensation, fee disclosure and overdraft fees,” said National Consumer Law Center Associate Director Lauren Saunders.

In an interview with the New York Times, Saunders said, “The rules bring prepaid cards out of the shadows, with protections that in many ways are stronger than those for traditional bank accounts.” The National Consumer Law Center lobbied the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for the new rules.

Under the new regulations, prepaid debit cards—typically sold in convenience stores—will have to start carrying a standardized disclosure of the card’s monthly fee, and detail the charges for cash withdrawals, customer service calls, reloading and other debit card-related activities. Prepaid card companies are also required to offer liability protection “on par with the coverage that applies to credit cards.”

Tabcorp shells out big money to protect horse racing broadcast rights

Wagering giant Tabcorp is bringing out the big guns in its bid for horse racing broadcast rights in Australia and New Zealand.

The gambling operator is facing stiff competition from Racing Victoria, which formed a joint venture with Seven West Media to create Racing.com. So in order to protect its broadcast rights, Tabcorp has “shelled out big money to maintain access to vision in Western Australia and is currently locked in talks with racing authorities in South Australia and New Zealand to extend deals,” the Australian Financial Review reported.

If the negotiations succeed, Tabcorp will have to pay as much as AUD26 million in the next six years in exchange for broadcast rights in West Australia. According to the news outlet, the amount is “10 times more” than what Tabcorp has been paying in the past years.

Tabcorp is also reportedly negotiating to extend the broadcast rights on West Australia’s country thoroughbred, harness and greyhound racing.

Gaming Industry News Weekly Recap – Stories You Might Have Missed

THE AMERICAS

Nevada sportbook operator CG Technology paid $22.5m to resolve illegal gambling and money laundering charges; Washington state officials warned Valve Corp to halt eSports skin betting or face the consequences; New York’s daily fantasy sports legislation was hit by a legal challenge; Full Flush Poker and the Equity Poker Network abruptly went offline after losing their Curacao gaming license; former Amaya Gaming CEO David Baazov was a no-show at Quebec’s insider trading hearing; Scientific Games acquired Karma Gaming’s interactive game portfolio; New Jersey asked the Supreme Court to hear its sports betting appeal; powerful new DDoS software source code was posted online in a hackers’ forum; Oulala.com targeted Latin America’s daily fantasy sports market; 888Poker teamed with the World Series of Poker Circuit and Calvin Ayre explained why Bitcoin is the single biggest positive development in online gambling.

EUROPE and AFRICA

William Hill and Amaya Gaming revealed they were talking about a “merger of equals”; Bet365 loosened its grip on Italy’s online sports betting market; South Africa proposed new penalties for online gamblers; French politicians approved their online poker operators sharing liquidity with other EU markets; London’s Ritz Club posted a £12.8m net loss due to outstanding VIP debts; an Italian court ordered a lottery operator to pay €3k to a player who never won; DMI’s Magnus Jern offered hints on improving the mobile gambling experience; affiliate content provider Martina Danelaite explained how to make cold calls work for your site; Empire Legal’s Lionel Iruk filed his second installment of identifying the best banking jurisdictions for online casino operators; Duncan Patman wondered if gambling self-exclusion was doing more harm than good and Ed Pownall turned his Industry Eye on the US presidential race and Motorhead.

Extra $21.5m in bad VIP debts force Iao Kun Group to boost Q2 loss to $125.8m

Macau casino junket investor Iao Kun Group Holding Company (IKGH) has alerted investors that its dire Q2 financial numbers were actually even more dire than originally reported.

Late last month, IKGH announced a net loss of $104.4m in the three months ending June 30. On Friday, IKGH announced that it was boosting these losses by a further $21.5m, bringing the total net loss for Q2 to $125.8m.

IKGH says the extra $21.5m came from a further study of the $159.2m in outstanding VIP debts the company is carrying on its books. IKGH says that the $21.5m is at “an elevated risk of collectability.” IKGH director Jim Preissler said last month that around $40m of its VIP debts were over 180 days outstanding.

IKGH has been in a financial tailspin for the past two years, a downturn that accelerated rapidly in September. The company closed all but one of its Macau VIP rooms and saw its highly publicized acquisition of a South Korean casino come to naught when it couldn’t raise the necessary financing on time.

Extra $21.5m in bad VIP debts force Iao Kun Group to boost Q2 loss to $125.8m

Macau casino junket investor Iao Kun Group Holding Company (IKGH) has alerted investors that its dire Q2 financial numbers were actually even more dire than originally reported.

Late last month, IKGH announced a net loss of $104.4m in the three months ending June 30. On Friday, IKGH announced that it was boosting these losses by a further $21.5m, bringing the total net loss for Q2 to $125.8m.

IKGH says the extra $21.5m came from a further study of the $159.2m in outstanding VIP debts the company is carrying on its books. IKGH says that the $21.5m is at “an elevated risk of collectability.” IKGH director Jim Preissler said last month that around $40m of its VIP debts were over 180 days outstanding.

IKGH has been in a financial tailspin for the past two years, a downturn that accelerated rapidly in September. The company closed all but one of its Macau VIP rooms and saw its highly publicized acquisition of a South Korean casino come to naught when it couldn’t raise the necessary financing on time.

Macau casino stock rally to be short-lived, analysts warn

The bulls have kept pushing Macau casino stocks higher in the past few days thanks to the better-than-expected Macau casino gaming revenues but analysts warn that the rally will be over in a blink of an eye.

CNBC News reported that traders are still in a wait-and-see mode in terms of betting on Macau casino stocks despite Macau’s September gross gaming numbers rising 7.4 percent from last year.

“Although the global backdrop for the overall economy is decelerating, these stocks have moved higher based off of the fact that they believe that China has stabilized,” Chad Morganlander, a portfolio manager at Stifel Nicolaus, said on CNBC’s “Trading Nation.” “We don’t believe that to be the case.”

According to Morganlander, the persisting Chinese economic malaise will continue to affect Macau’s economic performance in general.