Japan’s largest pachinko hall operator announced that the company recorded a 4.2% increase in profit over the last six months period of time. Dynam Japan Holdings reported the increase which ended on September 30, 2019, adding that the company also saw a decrease in overall operating expenses as well. This, according to a filing the company made with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

The total net profit for the six-month period of time reached a total of JPY8.7 billion ($80 million), while total revenue reached JPY74 billion ($680 million). This was a 0.5% increase over the same period of time last year.

Dynam Japan operates two types of halls which focus on offering customers low-cost games. During the last six months, the company operated 449 pachinko machine halls throughout Japan. Of this total, 177 high-cost machine halls are in operation to go along with 272 low-cost machine halls. The company closed one of its high-cost halls in 2018.

One of the factors leading to increased profit was a decrease in overall hall operating expenses. However, this was not the only factor driving the increased profit. In a statement, Dynam Japan’s chairman and chief executive officer, Kohei Sato, explained that “Apart from the dedication in excelling in our pachinko business, we will also strive to expand our new businesses by purchasing more aircrafts as well as developing new casino machines.”

Pansy Ho Chiu King, co-chairperson and chief executive director at MGM China, has sold 4.5 million shares in the company’s U.S.-based parent company, MGM Resorts International over a five days period of time.

According to a recent disclosure, from November 11 through November 15, the co-chairperson sold her shares and grossed an aggregate of $140.2 million. Prior to the sale, Ho owned 3.13% of the stock in MGM Resorts. The sale reduced her total control of the stock to 2.26% according to the disclosure. Each share was sold for an average of $31.15.

Ho became one of the dominant shareholders at MGM in 2016 when the company boosted its shares in China by 56%. She gained control of 22.5% of the MGM China stock.

At the time, MGM released a statement that explained, “As consideration for the MGM China shares, the Company issued to Grand Paradise Macau’s (GPM) subsidiary Expert Angels Limited 7,060,492 shares of its common stock and paid consideration of $100 million.”

The Ukrainian parliament is making news as it was announced that six new bills will be considered involving the regulation of gambling. This includes two draft amendments to the current tax and budget laws related to gambling as well as one rule change regarding illegal gambling. These bills have already been submitted to the parliament.

Of the nine total bills and amendments, only five have currently been made available to the public. The other four are expected to be released after a thorough examination to determine how they meet the regulatory framework.

The bills are backed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has been pushing to legalize gambling within the country since being elected. However, these newly submitted bills are expected to act as a form of protection and were introduced by the People Party back in October. Each of these bills was created to establish a regulatory framework surrounding gambling, including the four most significant segments of the industry: online gambling, lotteries, sports betting, and casinos.

The bills were submitted by Taras Tarasenko, who also authored one of the bills. According to Tarasenko, any group applying for casinos in the capital city of Kiev would be required to pay $3.2 million as part of the application process.

Sweden’s government is praising a court ruling that upheld complaints of overly ‘aggressive’ advertising by Global Gaming’s Ninja Casino brand.

On Friday, Sweden’s Patent and Market Court upheld all 20 complaints brought against Global Gaming subsidiary Elec Games by the country’s Consumer Ombudsman (KO). The watchdog had taken exception to Ninja Casino’s online and offline promotional efforts, including claims of speedy withdrawals of winnings and suggestions that customers could “take home millions” by gambling with the site.

Sweden’s online gambling regulations contain a vague requirement for licensees to exercise ‘moderation’ in advertising material and the Court found that Ninja Casino’s promos had fallen short of that mark through the use of ‘intrusive’ pop-up ads and exhortations for customers to “Play Now!”

Court chairman Alexander Ramsay said “there is a link between gambling advertising and gambling problems and [the Court] has paid special attention to how marketing is perceived” by vulnerable individuals. Companies that fail to exercise moderation in future will be subject to fines of up to SEK500k (US$52k) per incident.

Online gambling technology provider/operator Playtech says its 2019 earnings won’t match its forecasts due to its struggling financial trading division.

On Friday, Playtech issued a trading update for the four months ending October 31, during which its TradeTech financial services unit – which offers forex and contracts for difference (CFD) via Markets.com – had experienced “highly challenging” trading conditions during September and October.

These challenges will result in TradeTech performing “well below management’s expectations” and Playtech warned investors that its overall adjusted earnings for 2019 are “now expected to be a little below current consensus.” Investors frowned at the news, pushing Playtech’s share price down 2.5% by the close of Friday’s trading.

Playtech added that it is “evaluating all options” for its TradeTech unit, which like other firms offering CFDs, binary options and forex trading has come under increased regulatory scrutiny in recent years. Playtech is also considering the sale of its Casual and Social Gaming business in an effort to streamline its overall structure.

Atlantic City casinos defied expectations by posting a rise in their third-quarter operating profits, the market’s best showing in years.

Figures released Friday by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) show AC’s nine casino operators generated net revenue of just under $929m in the three months ending September 30, up 2.7% from the same period last year.

Operating profits shot up 12.5% to $239.4m, the first overall profit gain since AC welcomed two new operators – Hard Rock Atlantic City and Ocean Casino Resort (OCR) – in June 2018. However, year-to-date operating profit remains down 4.5% at $484.6m due to the profit declines in both Q1 and Q2, with Q1’s nearly 30% decline weighing particularly heavy on the year-to-date results.

A good chunk of Q3’s profit rise was due to those two new casinos, which were still snowed under with opening costs in Q3 2018. Hard Rock reported its Q3 profit up 195.4% to $24.4m while OCR’s profit soared 1,660% to $10.2m.