Italy’s sports betting operators started 2019 off on the wrong foot, as January’s betting revenue fell by one-sixth year-on-year.

Figures released by Italy’s Agenzia della Dogane e dei Monopoli (ADM) regulatory body show Italian-licensed sports betting revenue totaling €124.6m in January, a 17.2% decline from January 2018’s €150.5m total.

The slowdown was primarily due to Italy’s Serie A football league staging its winter break in January rather than December. And January’s total was not only greater than December 2018’s result, the rate of decline was significantly better than December’s 55% year-on-year insult.

January’s online betting revenue was down only 4.4% to €58.1m, and UK operator Bet365’s Italian site retained its place atop the revenue throne with a nearly 18% share of the online betting market. Runner-up SKS365 slipped a few points with a 12.8% share, while Playtech’s Snaitech brand ranked third with 11%.

This Chinese New Year proved to be better for Macau than last year. Data provided by the city’s Public Security Police, as relayed by the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), indicates that there was an increase of 26.1% in visitation over the first four days of the period, which ran from February 4-7.

The first week of the Chinese New Year is typically strong for the gaming industry in Macau, with hundreds of thousands of mainland Chinese taking advantage of the long holiday to travel to the city. This year, the official holiday period for the Chinese New Year drew to a close yesterday, February 10.

However, an uptick in visitation does not necessary mean that gambling revenues are higher. This is due, in part, to the fact that high-stakes action by a small group of gamblers comprises an important part of the market. However, the visitor information is still important to casinos, as it allows them to see trends in movements.

Over the first four days, 628,811 visitors flocked to Macau. Of these, 71.2%, or 447,768, were from mainland China, which represents an increase of 26.5% over the same period last year.

Two long-time executives with Resorts World Casino New York are updating their LinkedIn and other social media profiles. Brian Reynolds, who was previously the resort’s VP of Finance and Administration, has been promoted to Senior VP of Operations and Brad Egnor, the VP of Marketing, is going to become the Senior VP of Marketing.

According to the resort’s president, Scott Molina, “These promotions underpin Resorts World Casino’s commitment to a strong executive team as we continue to grow and expand this year. Both Brad and Brian have proven to be impactful leaders, and they are uniquely suited to help pilot Resorts World Casino into our next phase of growth. They have become integral parts of our team and I look forward to continuing to work with them both.”

Reynolds started with the company in 2012, serving as its Director of Operational Accounting before being tapped for the VP of Finance and Adminsitration role. Before his tenure with Resorts World, he worked in the finance department of Seneca Gaming Corporation and has also held high-level finance positions with Mohegan Sun Pocono and Valley Forge Casino.

The executive said in a statement, “It is a privilege to be given the opportunity to serve as Senior Vice President of Operations. As I enter my seventh year with Resorts World Casino, I am eager to help grow revenue and ensure the casino’s continued financial success.”

A government committee in South Dakota recently approved a sports gambling bill by a narrow 5-4 margin. The bill, Senate Joint Resolution 2, goes next to the Senate floor and gaming operators in the state are anxiously watching to see how the legislative piece progresses. Even if it is approved by South Dakota’s legislative officials, there is reportedly a huge roadblock ahead and it is positioned at the last stop any legislation has to make before becoming law.

Unfortunately for South Dakotans, they elected a governor, Kristi Noem who is opposed to any gambling expansion in the state. Her stance isn’t too surprising, given that she said in May of last year, “Personally, I’m opposed to expanding gambling, but this issue will ultimately be decided by voters since it will require a constitutional amendment.” Then, she became governor.

The South Dakota Revenue Deputy Secretary, David Wiest, participated in a hearing prior to last week’s committee vote where he talked about sports gambling. He said that the projections of $184,700 in tax revenue for the state were inflated because they were based on what is seen in Nevada. However, he emphasized that Nevada already has a mature sports gambling industry, whereas South Dakota would be building its own.

To that end, Wiest believes the tax revenue would only be around $80,000 – much less than what would be needed to cover the cost of employees to regulate the industry. After voicing his position, Governor Noem commented that he had done an excellent job expressing exactly how she feels about sports gambling in the state.

Despite rumors to the contrary, casino tycoon Stanley Ho is resting comfortably in a Hong Kong hospital. This news comes from his third wife, Ina Chan Un Chan, and daughter Laurinda, who spoke to the media on February 9, reports the South China Morning Post.

On February 8, the 97-year-old Macau casino magnate was reported to be in failing health with possible organ failure, with doctors advising family members to stay by his side. He’s reportedly resting at the Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital in Happy Valley, Hong Kong.

Chan rejected these reports, telling the media, “He is in good shape. I don’t know why there were such rumours.” They added that he can still eat and talk with his visiting family, and made a Lunar New Year wish for his children to remain obedient.

The reports of his failing health apparently upset the family quite a bit. His daughter added, “Touch wood! There are such rumours in the new year.”

The company behind the Solaire Resort and Casino in Manila, Bloomberry Resorts, is getting listed on the Philippines Stock Exchange (PSE) Index. The move comes as Bloomberry is set to replace another company on the index and take its place on February 18, according to a press release on the PSE website.

Bloomberry will be seen in lieu of Petron Corp., which is being removed “based on the review of listed companies covering trading activity from January to December 2018,” according to the PSE. Companies qualify for listing if it has a free float of at least 15% of outstanding shares, as well as other “relevant financial criteria.”

According to the PSE’s Edge website from last Friday, Bloomberry was first listed in October 2000. It currently has a market capitalization of around $2.44 billion and a free-float level of 25.37%. When trading began Friday morning, shares opened at $0.22 and increased to $0.23 by the end of the day.

According to Ramon S. Monzon, the president and CEO of the PSE, “The regular review of indices reflects the dynamic changes in company performance vis-a-vis the standards set by the Exchange. In turn, these indices represent the investment opportunities in the Philippine stock market.”

Despite plenty of bad press around the Okada name, Okada Manila keeps chugging along. Monday brings some undeniably good news for the Philippines casino, as they report they’ve doubled their January gross gaming revenue (GGR) year over year.

Universal Entertainment Corp, the Japanese gaming company that owns the resort, reported GGR of PHP3.84 billion ($73.7 million) for the first month of the year, improving on PHP1.65 billion in 2018.

VIP players can be thanked for the big bump. “The increase in gross gaming revenue was primarily due to higher win rates in VIP and mass table games; volumes in VIP rolling, mass table drop and gaming machine handle remained strong as well,” the firm reported on Friday. GGR for VIP games alone represented PHP2.29 billion.

Non-VIP revenues also showed very healthy growth. Table games had a 66.9% increase when compared to 2018, and gaming machines brought in a 55.3% increase as well.

Scientific Games Corporation has bolstered its presence in the regulated European gaming market. The company, which formed a partnership with National Lottery Bulgaria (NLB), launched nine online slot games and it took less than 24 hours for those titles to generate over $560,000 in sales. 88 Fortunes, Giant’s Gold, and Rainbow Riches are just a few of the slot titles that were initially offered to Bulgarian customers. Scientific Games and National Lottery Bulgaria plan to introduce many more games during Q1 2019.

Managing Partner for National Lottery Bulgaria, Milen Ganev, stated, “Scientific Games’ digital products have proven an excellent fit for National Lottery Bulgaria.” He went on to say that their expectations were surpassed within 24 hours of launching, noting how Bulgarian players started playing the games immediately after the launch and demand and repeat gameplay has risen daily.

Chief Commercial Officer of Scientific games, Steve Schrier, added that his company’s success in the European market has been made possible because of partners like National Lottery Bulgaria. Schrier praised NLB for being committed to giving their players a “world-class and responsible gaming experience.”

Recent deals with Germany’s Lotto Brandenburg, Norway’s Norsk Tipping, and Sweden’s Svenska Spel Sport & Casino have made Scientific Games a major player in the European and Scandinavian markets. The company provides games and technology to over 150 lotteries in over 50 countries.