UK-listed bookmaker William Hill expects its 2018 profits to come in 15% below the year before, despite its expanding US market opportunities.

On Monday, Hills issued an unaudited trading statement covering the 53 weeks ending January 1 that forecast the company’s adjusted operating profit from continuing operations to come in around £234m, a 15% decline from 2017’s annual result. The company will release its final audited report on March 1.

Hills noted that its profit projection was in line with its previous guidance, and claimed underlying operating profit would have risen by around 4% absent (a) the need to enhance its online customer due diligence measures to avoid further spankings by UK regulators and (b) the rise in costs driven by its US market expansion efforts.

Speaking of, the company celebrated “excellent growth” in its William Hill US division last year, which saw the company expand its presence outside its Nevada base to an additional seven states. Hills said its US operations “broadly broke even” despite those additional costs, which sounds suspiciously like a case of damning with faint praise.

Finland’s Veikkaus gambling monopoly plans significant payroll cutbacks along with the demise of its restaurant gambling division.

On Monday, Veikkaus announced plans to trim its payroll by around 400 positions and said it had commenced discussions with around 1,300 of its 2,000 staffers to identify likely candidates for redundancy. Most of the affected staff are said to be located in the Helsinki area.

Veikkaus CEO Olli Sarekoski said the Finnish gambling market had undergone “structural changes” in recent years as more and more consumers shift their gambling activity online. Around 45% of Veikkaus’ sales now come from its digital channels.

As a result, Sarekoski said Veikkaus was “planning significant overhauls of our gaming locations and an end to the restaurant gaming table business.” The restaurant division currently consists of 187 tables in 162 restaurants and bars across Finland.

Uganda’s gambling operators are living on borrowed time after the government declared it would stop issuing new gambling licenses and decline to renew existing licenses.

On Monday, Ugandan media quoted finance minister David Bahati announcing that the government would issue no new gambling licenses and that licenses already issued to gambling operators would not be renewed once they expire.

Bahati, who said he was acting on a directive from Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, said the government’s new anti-gambling view was a response to public concerns over the spread of gambling, particularly among Ugandan youth.

Bahati delivered the government’s message at a religious conference and specifically mentioned the concerns of religious leaders in justifying the new policy. Bahati joked that the leaders in attendance should praise God because their prayers had been answered.

Melco Resorts and Entertainment has been given approval to expand its operations in Macau. The city’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (known by its Portuguese acronym DICJ) has acknowledged in an email to GGRAsia that the gaming operator will be allowed “40 new-to-market mass-gaming live-dealer tables.” The new tables are reportedly already in the process of being fitted.

According to the DICJ response, Melco had “applied for new gaming tables with us and we already granted 40 new-to-market mass gaming tables to [the firm] on January 1.”

MGM China Holdings was also given approval for more tables. The DICJ acknowledged that it was authorized 25 new tables for its MGM Cotai project, but didn’t specify if the tables were for the VIP or the mass-market segment.

The addition of the tables falls in line with a previous agreement for MGM Cotai. Just prior to the resort’s opening last February, the Secretary for Economy and Finance in Macau, Lionel Leong Vai Tac, stated that the resort would receive 125 new-to-market gambling tables, 100 of which would be available for the resort’s launch. He added that the other 25 would be authorized this month.

Minnesota is one of the latest states in the U.S. said to be considering legalizing sports gambling. Introduction of legislation on the subject is always a sensitive issue, but this is compounded in states that have a substantial Native Indian population. Invariably, the tribes have been given federal and local authorization to offer all types of gambling, which often creates issues when lawmakers try to expand any type of gambling. The same is going to hold true for Minnesota, as the tribes have already said they will fight any legislation seeking to offer sports gambling – despite the fact that they acknowledge having no interest in offering the activity.

Roger Chamberlain is a Minnesota Senator who is optimistic about the future of sports gambling in the state. He is also the chairperson of the state’s Senate Taxes Committee and has been a strong proponent of expanded gambling operations. He feels certain that 2019 will be the year for sports betting in Minnesota, even though he recognizes that changes need to be made to bills if they’re to receive approval.

One of these changes is in regards to how to tax the activity. Some efforts have sought to introduce a 1% tax on all sports wagers, but there has been concern that it may not be enough. An amount too high could keep operators out of the industry and an amount too low could prevent the state from making a profit.

In addition, some argue that the Gaming Control Board, which is already in place for other gambling activity, should oversee the industry. Others, however, want a new group formed specifically for sports gambling oversight.

The largest casino in the northern Quang Ninh province of Vietnam is finally back in the black. Royal International Corporation, which operates Royal Casino in Quang Ninh, has said that its revenue grew 48% year-over-year in 2018, reaching $12.39 million. It added that its after-tax profit had come in at $731,263 for the year – the first time since 2015 that it has seen earnings.

Casino operations at the venue accounted for $7.66 million of the profit, with the remainder distributed between its hotel and villas, as well as its hospitality-related services. The growth in casino revenue was attributed to a substantial increase in customer traffic as a result of a new expressway being opened last September that connects the provincial town of Ha Long with Hai Phong City. That expressway connects to the Hanoi-Hai Phong expressway and allows travelers to reach Ha Long from Ha Long in half the time – 90 minutes – as before the expressway opened.

Additionally, Royal Casino has worked hard at reducing its operating expenses. Royal International stated that the company was able to save $688,192 last year by cutting sales and management costs. Part of that reduction came as the result of a lighter workforce with the company having let go 80 employees throughout the course of the year.

Vietnam appears to be increasing its reliability on casino revenue. A 48% increase in revenue is impressive by any standards, but the recently opened Corona on Phu Quoc Island has the ability to have an even larger impact. The casino opened this past Saturday, becoming the first in the country to allow locals to gamble.