The ZEAL Network, a lottery brokerage operator, has revealed the details of their all-share voluntary takeover offer for Lotto24, their former subsidiary.

Lotto24 shareholders are being offered 1 Zeal share in exchange for 1.604 shares of Lotto 24. They have until April 10 to decide on the offer.

This is pretty much a done deal, as Zeal claims to control approximately 65% of Lotto24 shares already. The German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority has also pre-approved the offer prior to the details being revealed.

Zeal is excited about the deal, as they’ve previously noted they expect it to be of great value to their shareholders. Dr. Helmut Becker, CEO of Zeal, is urging Lotto24 shareholders to accept the offer so they can be welcomed back into the fold, and called it an “exciting journey.”

According to a report by the Financial Times, Paddy Power Betfair now owns a huge piece of the largest online gambling company in Georgia. The gambling giant has purchased a stake in Adjarabet, which will give the bookmaker a significant amount of exposure to the eastern European gambling market.

Paddy Power has purchased 51% of the company through a deal reported to be worth £101 million (US$131.87 million). Adjarabet controls 40% of the online gaming and gambling market in the country, as well as 10% of the market in its neighbor to the south, Armenia.

Paddy Power CEO Peter Jackson states of the deal, “This bolt-on acquisition is in line with our strategy of establishing podium positions in attractive online markets. Adjarabet’s leading brand presence and strong management team has established it as the clear number 1 in the fast-growing, regulated online Georgian market.”

The online gaming market in Georgia has picked up speed over the past couple of years. According to the sportsbook, the industry grew 40% from 2016 to 2018 and is currently generating revenues of around £180 million ($235.03 million). Last year, Adjarabet reported revenue of around £64 million ($83.56 million) and EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) of £20 million ($26.11 million).

After the Macau Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ, for its Portuguese acronym) revealed that the number of junkets in the city had fallen for the sixth consecutive year, it appears that things could get even worse. The head of a junket-sector trade body told GGRAsia that there could be a continued decline of the junkets throughout the year.

The individual, Kwok Chi Chung, pointed out that a number of small- and mid-sized junkets face significant challenges to their operations and could consider completely exiting the VIP gaming market, one of the fundamental markets to Macau’s gambling success. Kwok is the president of the Macau Association of Gaming and Entertainment Promoters, which represents the majority of the local junket market.

In a phone interview with the media outlet, Kwok stated, “In future we may see even fewer licensed junkets, because the operating environment now gets tougher – especially for those small- and mid-sized junkets.”

He added, “Some of the operational difficulties of these [small- and mid-sized junkets] stem from more challenges met in collecting [gambling] debts, or simply the quality of their clientele is not good. So they find it difficult to meet the [revenue] target imposed by casino operators.”

Melco Resorts and Entertainment was the first casino operator to offer its employees a winter bonus. That bonus, to be given to eligible non-executive employees, is equal to one month’s salary and is expected to be delivered in any moment. Now, Melco employees have received more good news after the company announced that it will start handing out pay raises to certain non-management employees.

In a press release from the company, Melco stated that the salaries for eligible employees will increase between 2.5-7.5%, depending on current salaries, and that they will take effect as of April 1. Melco is now the second casino operator in the city to offer the increases, after Sands China announced that eligible employees will receive an increase beginning March 1. Sands also offered its employees a winter bonus.

The Melco increase is based on a scale. Those eligible employees who earn a monthly base salary, including tips, of more than $1618.80 will receive a 2.5% increase. Those who earn under that amount will receive an increase of MOP600 (US$74.23).

Melco chairman and CEO Lawrence Ho stated in the announcement, “We thank our colleagues for their continued dedication. Together as a team, we strive to bring world-class, memorable entertainment, hospitality and dining experiences to our guests in Macau.”

A recent survey conducted by the Kyodo news agency revealed that only three locations in Japan had positively confirmed their desire to host an integrated resort (IR). These include Osaka, Wakayama and Nagasaki, while others were either “considering making an application” or had no interest. One of those that was said to be considering vying for an IR was Nagoya, which has now confirmed that it is contemplating whether or not to place a bid, adding that it will make a decision by this summer.

The mayor of the city has acknowledged that his administration is preparing to hold exploratory discussions on the subject with consultants and resort operators. GGRAsia states that one of its correspondents learned that Kawamura expects any IR to be located within no more than 30 minutes from the city’s main railway station and could possibly cover between 12.4 and 24.8 acres.

If Nagoya waits too long to make its decision, it might be too late. Japanese officials have already indicated that they would start reviewing bids by the summer and a serious amount of schmoozing between casino operators and target cities began more than a year ago. Given the popularity of the three cities that have already confirmed their interest, Nagoya may have a hard time competing unless it can provide a plan that would blow the others away.

For any local government to submit an IR bid, it must first find a gambler partner. This would most likely only occur following a lengthy study into the logistics of hosting an IR, as well as research into suitable partners.

When New York gaming regulators recently approved sports gambling, left out of the equation was any possibility to offer online wagers. This was an intentional omission, as the segment would reportedly require an amendment to the states constitution, which could only happen through a public referendum. Now, a couple of lawmakers in The Empire State believe they have found a loophole and are pushing forward online sports gambling legislation that could allow mobile bets in the very near future.

Senator Joseph Addabbo and Assemblyman Gary Pretlow, who previously sponsored an online poker bill, believe that online sports gambling could be completely legal without constitutional intervention if all components of the activity were controlled within the state. This means that everything from the Internet servers on up would need to be within New York’s Borders. The only other stipulation would be that gamblers would need to first register in person in one of the designated casinos.

The lawmakers must prove their stance within the next 60 days, which is the amount of time given for a public consultation period prior to the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) making its final decision. Pretlow adds, “[The NYSGC] didn’t do what I wanted them to do, which was to validate mobile betting. I’m advocating for this and so is the Senator. It may be helpful if the governor’s office got an onslaught of letters and emails from New Yorkers saying they want mobile betting, and without it their betting dollars are going elsewhere.”

In a way, the loophole may have been uncovered thanks to the quizzical opinion reversal on the Federal Wire Act recently offered by the U.S. Department of Justice. The Federal Wire Act states that interstate gambling is illegal and places limitations on money transfers across state lines when those are conducted in relation to gambling activity. However, if a state offers online gambling activity that is 100% controlled within its own borders, it shouldn’t run afoul of the opinion.

Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) reported January gross gaming revenue (GGR) of MOP24.94 billion ($3.08 billion), 5% lower than the same period last year.

This was the first year-on-year decline of monthly GGR in the Special Administrative Region (SAR) since July of 2016, and points to reduced growth for the year, as earlier projected by analysts.

In just the previous month of December, GGR had risen 16.6%. Total GGR for 2018 was $37.57 billion, 14% higher than in 2017.

At the start of the year, Union Gaming’s Grant Govertsen had said he was expecting a “flattish” January, with single-digit growth in February partly driven by Chinese New Year, taking place on February 5.

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) reported income from gaming operations of PHP67.85 billion ($1.30 billion), and a net income of PHP31.49 billion ($604.41 million) for 2018.

Compared to the agency’s 2017 audited figures, the latest results represent a significant increase, with net income rising 536.6% from P4.95 billion ($94.93 million) the year before, in part due to reduced expenses.

Whereas total expenses in 2017 amounted to PHP55.21 billion ($1.06 billion), 2018 expenses fell 33.2% to PHP36.86 billion ($707.58 million).

The state regulator also benefited from the PHP37.3-billion ($710.8-million) sale of two parcels of land to Solaire Resort & Casino’s operator Bloomberry Resorts Corporation, finalized in June last year.