Monthly Archives: March 2017

No, Las Vegas Sands is not buying Wynn Resorts

Casino operator Wynn Resorts had a bit of a roller coaster day on the New York Stock Exchange after rumors spread of a takeover bid by rival Las Vegas Sands.

Around 11:15am on Thursday, Wynn stock suddenly shot up 3%, hitting $108.60 per share, a peak the stock hasn’t seen since last September. But the rally began to fade at around 1:30pm and the stock closed out Thursday’s trading at $106.17.

Wynn’s stock surge came after a number of Twitter users began circulating rumors that Sheldon Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands was mounting a takeover bid of his frenemy Steve Wynn’s company. Sands was reportedly preparing an offer in the $120 to $125 range, with the latter figure representing a 19% premium on Wynn’s Wednesday closing price.

But a Wynn spokesperson subsequently told Bloomberg News that there was “zero truth” to the rumors, prompting much speculation as to where the chatter originated, and how much of it was intended to artificially inflate Wynn’s share price to benefit some day traders out to make a quick buck.

Dafabet launch Kenyan site as springboard to rest of Africa

Asian-focused online sports betting operator Dafabet has opened an office in Kenya’s capital Nairobi from which the company hopes to expand across the African continent.

This week, the Philippines-licensed Dafabet officially launched its Kenyan sports betting service, which will offer local punters the ability to wager on a variety of international sporting events and daily live greyhound racing from the UK. Dafabet’s Kenyan customers can wager via the Dafabet.co.ke website, a new mobile betting app as well as SMS text messaging.

Dafabet’s Kenyan market interest was made public in January when the company registered the @DafabetKenya Twitter handle. Louis Watts, director of retail and regional operations for Dafabet Kenya, told Business Daily Africa that putting down roots in Kenya was a necessary precursor to the company’s plan to launch operations in other African countries.

Watts called the Kenyan betting market “mature and respected due to its sports betting savvy” and it will give Dafabet a “stable base from which to grow” its African presence. Other operators currently making waves in Kenya are domestic operator Sportpesa, as well as Betway, Betin and Elitebet.

Fortuna boosts Romania presence with Penta acquisitions

Eastern European betting and lottery operator Fortuna Entertainment Group says it’s close to sealing another major deal that will further boost its Romanian market presence.

On Wednesday, the Czech Republic-based Fortuna announced it was in the process of negotiating the acquisition of Romanian companies Bet Active Concept SRL, Bet Zone SRL, Public Slots SRL and Slot Arena SRL from Fortbet Holdings Ltd.

Fortbet is a subsidiary of Penta Investment Group, Fortuna’s majority shareholder. In 2015, Fortuna inked a licensing deal with Penta that allowed Bet Active Concept and Bet Zone to use the Fortuna brand in Romania.

Fortuna says the acquisition’s share purchase agreement is still being finalized but expects the purchase price will come in around €47m, of which around €15m will be deferred for up to 48 months. Fortuna said the price tag was supported by a third-party evaluation. Fortuna has also promised to refinance around €3m of Fortbet’s loans.

MGM Resorts, Fonbet battle online cybersquatters

Casino operator MGM Resorts has asked a court to shut down a cybersquatter’s MGM-branded online gambling site.

Last week, MGM filed a trademark infringement suit in a Nevada federal court against the unidentified operator behind Korean-language online casino Livemgm.com. The site makes liberal use of MGM’s iconic ‘lion head’ logo and even includes a bogus copyright notice referencing MGM Resorts International.

MGM’s suit notes that it owns the copyright on both the MGM trademark and the lion logo. The suit accuses the unknown Korean operator of “impersonating MGM and trading off of the substantial fame, goodwill and consumer recognition” of the MGM brand to “lure gamblers to gamble at its illicit website.”

MGM is asking the court for injunctive relief, including transferring the domain name to MGM’s control, compensatory and punitive damages and attorneys’ fees and costs. The domain transfer is likely, given US registrar control over all dot-com sites, but enforcing any financial penalties will prove slightly more challenging.

Lottoland disrupting lottery monopolies in Germany, Ireland

Lottery betting operator Lottoland is seeking to disrupt the German market by applying to become the country’s first privately run lottery operator.

This week, Lottoland announced that it had filed applications in “several” German states to operate a ‘major lottery’ product – so dubbed because it offers high jackpots – that would resemble popular local lottery product Lotto6aus49 or the Euro jackpot multi-state lottery.

Lottoland spokesperson Dr. Rolf Stypmann said the company’s experience in Italy, the UK and Austria had demonstrated that “organizationally, private companies are able to handle lotteries at the level of state lotteries.” Stypmann said his company was “excited to see the outcome of this application and hope at the very least to be informed about the requirements for such a license.”

The Gibraltar-licensed Lottoland already offers bet-on-lottery services in Germany and the country is one of Lottoland’s core markets. Lottoland has paid over €44m in prizes to German customers since Christmas 2015, including a record €22m prize to a winner from Berlin.

Execs to explore the future of Entertainment City at ASEAN Gaming Summit

It’s no secret that the Philippines is hoping to capture a slice of the world’s casino market.

In 2002, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) started turning a stretch of reclaimed land along Manila Bay into what is now known as the Entertainment City—the Philippines attempt to create a Las Vegas Strip-like cluster of casino resorts.

The zone is now hosting three integrated resorts, Bloomberry Resort’s Solaire Resort and Casino, Melco’s City of Dreams Manila, and the newly opened Okada Manila. A fourth casino, Genting Group’s West Side City Resorts World, is targeting a 2020 launch.

Next week, four executives from the Entertainment City will sit down at the ASEAN Gaming Summit to discuss the key opportunities and challenges faced by integrated resorts in the Philippines and their operators.

Playtech co-founder offloads $139M shares

Playtech co-founder Teddy Sagi has sold 4.1 percent of his stake in the world’s largest gambling software company.

The Financial Times reported that Sagi unloaded 13 million shares worth £113 million (US$139 million) as he ventures into the British property sector.

Sagi said that he sold his shares to French firm Boussard & Gavaudan Investment Management at 872.5p, as he wanted “to further develop my London property portfolio and be at the vanguard of the co-working revolution.”

As part of a “lock-up” agreement that will expire on May 29, the Playtech co-founder and Boussard have agreed not to sell any shares in gaming tech firm.

Political uncertainty in the Philippines spooks potential Cebu casino investors

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s iron fist has sent a group of potential investors carrying a US$1.4-billion casino investment scurrying away from this Southeast Asian nation.

The potential investors were supposed to fund the Mactan Leisure City casino in the Cebu City, which would be spearheaded by Calata Corp., a Philippine-listed agricultural products firm.

But in a letter to the stock exchange on Wednesday, management consultancy RiskWise Global Capital Group, LLC said that the talks between its client Calata along with Sino-America Gaming Investment Group, LLC and Macau Resources Group Limited (MRG) and another group of foreign investors broke down.

The management consultancy pointed out that the prospective funders who backed out from the multi-billion casino project in Cebu were wary about perceived political risks and other issues.

Polish authorities launch probe into Bitcurex shutdown

Authorities in Poland are investigating the closure of Bitcurex, a long-running bitcoin exchange in the country.

Launched in 2012, Bitcurex has processed over $50 million worth of bitcoin in Poland in 2016. But last October, the bitcoin exchange suddenly went offline. In a statement, Bitcurex informed its users that it has “encountered problems with an update,” prompting the company to “temporarily suspend the exchange as they work towards restoring service.”

At the time, the company did not mention a hack or loss of funds. But a week later, the exchange confirmed that its IT system was “damaged by an external interference,” resulting in the loss over 2,300 bitcoins worth more than $1.5 million at the time.

Bitcurex said it had already notified the authorities of the incident, which could be a potential crime.