The Philippines’ gambling regulator wants permission to resume online gambling and VIP casino operations to help fund the government’s anti-coronavirus fight.

This weekend, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) chair Andrea Domingo asked the government’s Interagency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases to authorize her to lift the suspensions of several “high-earning” gambling operations that were imposed in response to the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.

These include the PAGCOR-licensed Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) who were instructed last week to suspend all operations after initially receiving permission to carry on provided staff could work from home. Domingo compared POGOs to business process outsourcing (BPO) operations that have been permitted to continue operating on a work-from-home basis.

Domingo also wants to see the resumption of VIP casino activity, whether on an in-person basis or via telephone (proxy betting). PAGCOR ordered all casinos to suspend operations on March 15 but Domingo says VIP operations can exist within ‘social distancing’ protocols given that high-roller tables usually accommodate only one or two players at a time.

South Korea’s casino operators are protesting their ineligibility for a government bailout of retail businesses negatively impacted by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

Last week, South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced that it would provide KRW100b (US$79m) in emergency loans from its Tourism Promotion Fund to businesses whose operations had suffered as tourist traffic dried up following the coronavirus outbreak.

However, casinos were ruled ineligible to draw upon these loans, despite (a) their businesses having been dealt a significant blow from the evaporation of international tourist traffic, and (b) casinos contributing more than one-fifth of the funds from which these loans were being made available.

All but one of South Korea’s 17 casinos are forbidden from allowing local residents to access their gaming floors, meaning they rely entirely on foreign passport holders. With numerous Asia-Pacific countries and airlines imposing travel restrictions, operators have seen their business dwindle to virtually nothing.

Australia’s gambling operators are in full damage control mode after the government ordered their venues to close for up to six months to contain the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak.

On Sunday, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison ordered all bars, restaurants, clubs and casinos to close their doors by noon on Monday. The closure, which is intended to minimize further spread of the coronavirus, is set to last “at least six months,” dealing a possibly mortal blow to the nation’s casino firms.

Crown Resorts, which was forced to close its Melbourne casino’s main gaming floor this weekend after losing its exemption from coronavirus-related containment measures, said Monday that its hotels would continue to operate “in a reduced capacity” but all other activities were effectively toast.

Crown suspended trading in its shares last weekend ahead of its Melbourne announcement, a move that was followed on Monday by rival The Star Entertainment Group, which said its trading halt would last until Wednesday. Reports emerged this weekend that customers at The Star’s flagship Sydney casino weren’t abiding by the company’s stated social distancing policies.

In the fast moving world of gambling, sometimes you might miss news that could be important to you. To make sure you’re all caught up on gaming industry news, be it online or brick and mortar, we’re rounding up the some of the announcements and partnerships from the last week that you might have missed.

Kronoverse joins ESIC in shared goal to increase the integrity of the esports industry

Kronoverse Inc., today announced its new membership with ESIC (Esports Integrity Commission) as part of Kronoverse’s focus on greater gaming integrity within the esports industry. Kronoverse is using Bitcoin SV to build its platform due to the benefits Bitcoin SV provides to the world of esports. Bitcoin, namely, scalability and transparency.

“We’re excited to be a part of ESIC and its mission to be the recognized guardian of the integrity of esports,” said Adam Kling, CEO and founder of Kronoverse. “We fully support ESIC’s work with esports stakeholders keep high-level gaming safe, honest, and competitive. We’re fully committed to ESIC’s fight against corruption in any form and will be integrating ESIC’s integrity program into our platform.”

Plenty of gambling firms are taking a look at blockchain technology, and considering their options for upgrading to an on chain future. If they want to do it merely for payments, or are considering the benefits of a completely on chain world, there are plenty of options to consider. Thanks to research conducted by nChain, the best choice is pretty clearly Bitcoin SV (BSV).

In their privately commissioned research study, 14 blockchains were assessed across 23 different areas. This included a healthy mix of public blockchains, like BSV, BTC and Ethereum, as well as several permissioned, or private offerings, like Hyperledger.

Amongst the public blockchain options, BSV is clearly king. As the only blockchain to embrace unlimited on chain scaling, it achieves 1000-6400 transactions per second (tps), and is projected to reach 4 million tps.

That ability to handle volume has vast implications. With large block sizes, there is no risk for congestion. Fees remain very low, transaction times stay fast, and operators can serve all of their volume on the blockchain without worrying about sudden network congestion slowing them down.

Kronoverse Inc., today announced its new membership with ESIC (Esports Integrity Commission) as part of Kronoverse’s focus on greater gaming integrity within the esports industry. Kronoverse is using Bitcoin SV to build its platform due to the benefits Bitcoin SV provides to the world of esports. Bitcoin, namely, scalability and transparency.

“We’re excited to be a part of ESIC and its mission to be the recognized guardian of the integrity of esports,” said Adam Kling, CEO and founder of Kronoverse. “We fully support ESIC’s work with esports stakeholders keep high-level gaming safe, honest, and competitive. We’re fully committed to ESIC’s fight against corruption in any form and will be integrating ESIC’s integrity program into our platform.”

Established in 2016, ESIC is taking the lead and responsibility for disruption, prevention, investigation and prosecution of all forms of cheating, including, but not limited to, match manipulation and doping. ESIC has created its own Integrity Program that includes a clearly defined code of ethics, code of conduct, and an anti-corruption code.

Kronoverse adds value to ESIC’s mission to be the guardian of esports integrity in different ways such as the use of blockchain technology and native-cash tournaments. Kronoverse’s use of blockchain technology opens up ways for government regulators to enforce gaming standards since all actions taken in a blockchain game are public and auditable. Native-cash tournaments hosted on the Kronoverse platform also make it easier for cheaters to be caught since all matches happen within one contained network. Players are regularly screened through Kronoverse’s technology in order to build a community of ethical gamers. These steps taken by Kronoverse to improve the esports industry through greater integrity initiatives will encourage growth in the world of esports.

Jim Murren had a dream. The now-former CEO of MGM Resorts created a plan, aptly called MGM 2020, that would see the casino operator take common-sense, as well as drastic, measures to reduce expenses and put the company in the black by the end of this year. However, he decided not to stick around long enough to see his dream come true, announcing last month that he was quitting his post and moving on. A replacement has already been tapped, and it comes in the form of someone qualified to captain the ship, in the form of MGM president and chief operation officer Bill Hornbuckle, now appointed as the company’s interim CEO.

Hornbuckle is going to have his work cut out for him. He will continue to serve as president of the company – Murren’s former spot as chairman of the board goes to Paul Salem – and will grab the helm just as MGM is suffering, like all casino companies, from the global coronavirus pandemic. COVID-19 has essentially decimated Murren’s MGM 2020 dream, and it’s going to be up to Hornbuckle to put the pieces of the company back together. He’s up for the task, though, saying in a statement, “We have a talented leadership team, the best employees in the world, and a loyal customer base. I have every confidence that MGM Resorts will remain the global entertainment leader once this crisis is contained and it is safe to operate. I look forward to working with Paul and the entire Board of Directors as we plan for the future.”

Salem’s aptitudes should come in handy as MGM fights off further losses. He is already the chair of MGM’s real estate committee and is a senior managing director emeritus for a private equity firm with a Master’s degree from Harvard Business School. Salem knows there’s a long road to recover ahead and added in the statement, “Once the threat to the public health has subsided and we are ready to reopen our resorts and casinos, it will take an incredible effort to ramp back up… We believe continued steady, skilled leadership is needed in this time of great upheaval and uncertainty.

Murren didn’t give any explanation when he suddenly announced his departure last month. The news caught everyone off guard, especially since he was supposed to stay with the company until his contract expired next year. While he told MGM’s board that he’d stick around to help with the transition, he isn’t sticking to that promise and is going to jump ship now to team up with Steve Sisolak, Nevada’s governor, to fight COVID-19.

While the gambling industry waits to see how, and when, Japan’s integrated resort (IR) scene develops, a small handful of casino operators have already backed off plans to become part of the nascent industry. Others are more than happy to wait patiently on the sidelines as the country deals with more important issues, and one of these is Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment. The company behind the Mohegan Sun casino and others is biding its time, but may not stick around for forever.

Mohegan Gaming CEO Mario Kontomerkos corresponded with GGRAsia through email, providing a little bit of insight into the company’s plans. The company announced a year ago that it was targeting the Hokkaido prefecture as a possible preferred location for its IR, but it is now willing to consider other destinations, as well. Kontomerkos told the media outlet, “While we are unable to confirm specific regional locations, Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment is a company that specializes in large-scale master-planned resort development in global destination markets, including a new, world-class integrated entertainment resort… located at one of the busiest airport hubs in Northern Asia.”

The reference to the resort at an airport hub is specifically about Inspire, an IR Mohegan Gaming is building in Incheon, South Korea. Construction on that venue has begun, with the first phase expected to open sometime in 2022. That phase includes a foreigner-only casino, a 1,256-key five-star hotel and a large arena for public events.

Kontomerkos and Mohegan Gaming will have to consider locations other than Hokkaido if it expects to be involved in one of the first three IR initiatives in Japan. The prefecture’s government decided last November that the timing isn’t right for the area to host a casino, and explained that it doesn’t intend on participating in the eventual bidding war that will take place. This doesn’t mean that it wouldn’t consider becoming involved at some point, as business groups in the area apply pressure on the local government, but it might move more slowly.

Real estate investment trusts (REIT) had the perfect gig. Buy casinos, or the land beneath them, and then lease the venues back to the casino operators. Since gambling is an established business that could never go away, the business model means guaranteed income for decades, if not centuries, to come. At least, that’s what the REITs thought. The coronavirus has shown that nothing is immune from catastrophic losses, and, as entire states like Nevada and New Jersey shut down their casinos, the trusts are beginning to realize that the plan wasn’t as fool-proof as they thought. With casinos not seeing revenue coming in, there’s no way to cover expenses, and REITs are going to suffer, as well.

The first casino-based REIT was seen in 2012. That was when Penn National Gaming saw the creation of Gaming and Leisure Properties (GLP) as the first of what would become known as REITs. Since then, two others have been created, MGM Growth Properties (MGP) and Vici Properties. Based on the timeline of their creation, none has had to suffer through a recession, with the last major decline in economic activity having occurred about four years prior to GLP’s creation.

Fortunately for the REITs, they had foreseen, to a certain degree, what might transpire and learned lessons from previous recessions. The lease agreements are complicated vehicles that make it difficult for casinos to step away from their contractual obligations, since they typically cover multiple properties in a single agreement. As a result, there’s no simple way for an operator to abandon a lease, as it would impact several properties at the same time.

The co-founder of asset manager Fundamental Income, Alexi Panagiotakopoulos, told Casino.org, “They do have highly sophisticated lease structures, structured as cross-collateralized master leases (meaning all properties are under one lease, as opposed to multiple individual leases, essentially protecting the REIT from the tenant picking and choosing to close bad assets). Since the gaming REITs tenants are public, the REIT has a highly transparent tenant, with large corporate guarantees on what the industry calls ‘mission critical real estate.’”

On March 20, off-Strip Silverton casino in Las Vegas announced that over 600 workers have been furloughed.

Craig Cavileer, the CEO of the 300-room hotel-casino, explained that the Hyatt Place Las Vegas at Silverton Village will remain open. This 150-room Hyatt-branded non-gaming property opened last October, and operates an essential license business, allowing it to stay open under Governor Steve Sisolak’s executive order to shutter non-essential businesses.

The CEO explained in a statement, “Conforming with communications of the governor and other authorities as to essential and non-essential categories, we operate in both the gaming and non-gaming environment and the governor’s made it clear on how we operate in those circumstances.”

He added that all “mission-critical employees” will remain on the job. This includes security, surveillance staff, and a skeleton crew for operations. But with business down and safety top of mind, between 600 and 800 employees have been furloughed.

MPs in the United Kingdom are urging online gambling firms to set a temporary cap on all bets to £50 per day. They hope this measure would limit the risk of bettors who have little else to do.

With major sporting events, such as the Premier League and Grand National, suspended at the moment, many gambling companies are promoting international and obscure sporting events, computer-generated “virtual” sports, and online casino games. A senior manager at William Hill sent an internal email advising staff to “talk to your customers about what other things they can bet on – table tennis and Japanese baseball are proving very popular.”

32Red has been encouraging customers to participate more in their online casino games. Betway and MansionBet have been promoting “virtual” events on Google, where customers can place wagers on computer-generated football matches.

This is causing concern with lawmakers. MPS of a cross-party group have expressed their concern to the Betting & Gaming Council (BGC) about the impact that these kinds of gambling offers may have. Labour’s Carolyn Harris, the Conservatives’ Iain Duncan Smith and SNP MP Ronnie Cowan explained in the statement, “We are deeply concerned that as we go deeper into this crisis, more and more people will turn to online gambling as a distraction.”