Tag Archives: the daily vice

Ladbrokes online operations improve but overall profits fall

UK betting operator Ladbrokes profit fell hard in 2014 despite significant improvements in its much-maligned online offering.

Full-year revenue (excluding high-rollers and exceptional items) rose 3.8% to £1.16b but earnings fell 9.3% to £125.4m and profits fell 13.4% to £93.1m. The statutory numbers were much harsher, with earnings falling 71% to £66.2m and profit down 61% to £41m. Despite the carnage, Lads’ shares rose nearly 6% on Thursday to 121p.

Ladbrokes’ overall digital revenue rose 22.9% to £215.1m and operating profit rose 70.7% to £14m. That latter figure is nearly double the 2013 figure but still well short of the £31.8m earned in 2012, the year before Ladbrokes undertook its infamously prolonged transition to a Playtech-powered online platform.

UK online operations reported revenue up 7.5% to £178.5m while online profit rose 17.7% to £17.3m. The 2014 FIFA World Cup helped push online sports betting revenue up 21% to £84.8m, but the company experienced its “worst ever football daily loss on record” on Boxing Day, which cost the company £8m.

Mobile sports betting stakes were up 110% from 2013, representing 63% of Lads’ digital sports wagers, while desktop stakes declined. Outgoing CEO Richard Glynn said the numbers support Lads’ decision to switch its desktop front end to a Playtech-powered Mobenga mobile platform, although the back end will continue to be powered by OpenBet technology. The transition is scheduled to take place in H2.

Ladbrokes exchange wagering products also had a good year, with revenue up 36% to £13.2m. The other verticals weren’t as fortunate, with casino falling 1.6% to £66.4m and bingo falling 6.7% to £11.1m although Lads said gaming returned to growth in Q4 following the completion of its transition to a full suite of Playtech casino products.

Online poker revenue fell a whopping 56.5% to £3m as unique active poker player ranks fell 40% while average monthly active player days fell 48.5%.

Becky’s Affiliated: Jersey- the new iGaming jurisdiction on the block

 

ICE 2015 kicked off the year for the gambling industry and it was an exceptionally successful event for Jersey, the latest iGaming jurisdiction on the block.

The Jersey Gambling Commission was established in 2010, but the UK’s whitelist greatly restricted the island’s ability to attract iGaming operators as Jersey was not on the list.  Now that the whitelist has been abolished and the POCT is in place, Jersey has emerged as the latest tier one global iGaming jurisdiction and the reception of the industry has been overwhelming.

To get a feel for why Jersey is an ideal jurisdiction for online gambling operations, I sat down with Andy Jarrett, Director for Digital Jersey, an organization supporting local businesses, attracting new businesses and inspiring innovation on the island.  During our discussion, Jarrett covered the key benefits of obtaining a license and basing a business on island, Jersey’s relationships with other jurisdictions and crypto-currencies.

Becky Liggero: Jersey is a jurisdiction I’ve known about for several years but I haven’t seen much from the jurisdiction.  Now that the POCT has been passed and we have an abolished whitelist, Jersey is back and can you start by telling me how these new laws in the UK have put Jersey back on the map in terms of serving as a jurisdiction for iGaming?

Andy Jarrett: We set about putting the laws in place in Jersey and the latest draft was finished in 2012 and passed in ’13 – that was with the understanding that we’d get on the whitelist.  But I think the UK knew where it was going with the POCT and we were just making no progress because the operators and the businesses we were talking to really wanted us to be on the whitelist.  So we took a step back and thought, lets just pause.  Lets have a look at what’s out there jurisdiction-wise.  Lets talk to a whole bunch of operators and businesses to see what they would really like and then look to launch something in January when POCT comes in – that means that taxes are going to go up and the whiltelist is going to be going away, so that barrier’s been removed.

So I think those things coming together, we felt on the island that companies would look at different jurisdictions.  If they’re UK only, then why be anywhere other than the UK- they’re just going to relocate to the UK- but we thought this might provide a catalyst for people who might look for a new global hub. 

Indians take to virtual gambling to bet on Cricket World Cup

Unbeknownst to most fans who don’t live in any of the countries that are participating in a certain international sports tournament that’s currently on-going as we speak, the 2015 Cricket World Cup is playing. It’s a pretty big deal for participating nations, but for the rest of the world, not so much. The issue surrounding the lack of worldwide popularity of the Cricket World Cup and the sport of cricket for that matter is a topic for a different day.

What’s important is that those who love cricket are fully invested in the tournament, more so for those whose national team is currently competing in it. One such country is India, and it would be the understatement of understatements if I said that our friends in India love cricket. Actually, obsession might be a better word to describe it, akin to how Filipinos are obsessed with basketball.

Go anywhere in India these days and you’re likely to hear more conversations about the Cricket World Cup than any other available topic that’s relevant in the country these days. Such is the love Indians have for the sport and that love has even extended to the realm of gambling where mock betting sites – sports betting is illegal in India – have been bombarded with Indian sports fans playing for a chance to win non-cash prizes.

According to the Economic Times India, local sites like Betmockers, India Bet, and Lagai Khai, are all experiencing unprecedented levels of site visits, most of whom coming from cricket supporters rooting for their beloved national team.

These sites, according to IndiaBet.com managing director George Oborne told the newspaper that these sites (and apps)  “provide a safe alternative to unregulated forms of gambling on offer in India.”

The surge in visits is largely attributed to general interest from residents of India, but Betmockers CEO Tabrez Sheikh pointed out that even Indians living abroad are getting in on the action too. “Where during IPL (Indian Premier League) we clocked 13,000 visitors a month, with World Cup, even before it began, we started clocking around 22,000 visitors a month.”

Those numbers are expected to increase even more as India continues its run in the tournament. The national team currently sits atop Group B with a 2-0 record and if their recent form is any indication, India could have an extended run in the tournament that might even end up with a run to the title. It would at least make for a great story considering that India entered the tournament as fourth favorites with its odds at 6/1 to win the tourney.

Maryland pushes for legal poker home games; Indiana updating antiquated laws

Legislators from Maryland are preparing two bills that would decriminalize acts of hosting and playing in poker home games. Senate Bill 184 and House Bill 59 are authored by Sen. Nancy King and Delegate Kirill Reznik, respectively.

Should both bills get the requisite number of votes, any person who runs a home game based on chance or skill that involves betting real money will no longer be inconvenienced by a maximum fine of $1,000 or potential jail time. The existing law isn’t enforced all that strictly, but the new law would draw a distinct line between what’s legal and what isn’t.

“What makes a casino a casino is that a cut of the winnings is saved for the house,” Reznik said at the House Ways and Means Committee Thursday, as quoted by the Capital News Service. “The laws are so restrictive now that a person’s home is deemed a casino.”

The two bills come with their own set of restrictions, most notably the illegalities of enforcing a rake system in any of these home games or using online electronic devices for placing real money bets.

Reznik has discussed details of the two bills with state and local police, who failed to voice any strong objections, and over 20 state lawmakers have signed off on the proposals. Should the bill get all the votes it needs, the changes could be enforced as early as October 2015.

INDIANA MULLS LOOSENING GAMING LAW RESTRICTIONS

Over in Indiana, the state’s House of Representatives has voted in favor of changes to existing casino laws, much to the dismay of Gov. Mike Pence.

Interview with Geoff Read of DAB Gaming Limited

Rebecca Liggero talks to Geoff Read, Founder and CEO of DAB Gaming Limited on how to create the best possible user experience on mobile and tablet devices.

Read was full of useful information from a social gaming side and contributed a lot to the panel discussion.  “All the innovation is happening in social.  The best games are in social in my mind at the moment”, Read said.  At the same time, he added that the social gaming industry is only three to four years old and the industry is still learning- everything is a constant experiment, he said.

Reed shares the his top-three tips on how to create the smoothest and best possible user experience for players for mobile and tablets.

“First you have to have the right technology and then we use the native application, primarily and that creates the best experience. It just provides the smoothest interface. We also use HTML5, which we ran on android devices but it’s not quite the slickest as the native, so I think the first is to get the technology right.”

“The other aspect for user experience to look at what it is that the user wants to do with your game…what the user wants to experience in your game.”

“The third point of user experience is how to engage the customer in all of their friends. How do you access and get viral. Things don’t just go viral o their own. You have to build aspects on to the game. So you have to invite Facebook friends, you have to share things with friends; when you get stuck, you have to ask your friends.”

According to Read, an area for improvement with social would be to ditch the clutter on the screens- social companies keep adding and adding features and he thinks this is confusing for players.  “Social is going to have to figure out how to make the experience a bit easier for the arriving player”, he said.

May 2, 2015: Biggest sports gambling day of the year

May 2, 2015 is shaping up to a big day in the world of sports and sports gambling, and I say that without a speck of hyperbole. We already know that the day will be dominated by the Floyd Mayweather Jr. – Manny Pacquiao fight. Sportsbooks are already preparing for that day three months in advance. That’s how big the fight is going to be.

But if you’re a sportsbook, you’re also probably sweating at the amount of work you’ll be doing that day. If the fight isn’t already reason enough to keep your head spinning throughout the day, the fact that a number of other sporting events will happen on that same day might cause a lot of heads to explode.

Believe me. I checked the calendars of a lot of sports leagues and sports happenings for that day and as it turns out, all you sports fans who love to gamble might need to prepared your divorce papers, too. I honestly don’t know how you can spend more than an hour away from your TVs with what’s on tap. But if you somehow find a way to finagle your way into an agreement with your wife, girlfriend, or partner, enjoy this day because it doesn’t happen very often.

Not counting the fight for obvious reasons, here are the other sporting events happening on May 2, 2015, otherwise known as “Sportmaggedon”.

NBA/NHL Playoffs

At this time of the year, both the NBA and NHL playoffs are already in full swing. The NHL playoffs start a week earlier than the NBA, April 11 to April 18, so you could be watching a bunch of second round games on that end. As for the NBA playoffs? Early May is usually when a bunch of first round Game7s happen. In case you need a refresher, there were three – THREE! – Game 7 games that were played in May 3, 2014. If any of these first round series goes to seven games, there’s a reasonable chance that some of them, maybe even all of them, will be played on May 2.

European football conclusion

Atlantic City casino to launch online gambling; Betfair pays out biggest New Jersey jackpot

Atlantic City’s Resorts Casino Hotel has received permission from the state Division of Gaming Enforcement to conduct full internet gambling on Wednesday, following a successful five-day test period wherein state inspectors verified that the casino’s equipment and systems are working properly.

Casino President Mark Giannantonio said that the casino’s website, www.ResortsCasino.com, will begin several weeks of beta testing to learn what its customers want and is expected to have its full launch few weeks

“During our beta period, we will invite players to sign up and provide feedback on the user experience, while we add additional features before our official launch,” Giannantonio said. “Real-time feedback will be an important aspect of our beta period as we further enhance the gaming content and features to produce the best casino experience in New Jersey,”

Atlantic City’s Resorts Casino Hotel has been partnered with PokerStars since July 2013 but due to the online poker website’s legal troubles, the resort has been approved and will offer online gambling through one of its partner Sportech NYX Gaming. It still plans to add PokerStars to its lineup once Amaya Gaming is approved to operate in New Jersey.

The resort is the sixth of the eight Atlantic City’s casinos to offer Internet gambling, along with the Borgata, Golden Nugget, Tropicana, Caesars and Bally’s.

Trump Plaza closed Sept. 16, and Trump Taj Mahal, which continues to operate, lost their Internet gambling operations last year.

Meanwhile, Internet betting operator Betfair announced that a player from Union County won just over $1.5 million on “Let It Ride,” a variant of traditional poker available on BetfairCasino.com.

Hard Rock International Appoints Jon Lucas As Executive Vice President of Hotel & Casino Operations

ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 25, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Hard Rock International – owner of one of the world’s most-recognizable and iconic brands – announces the appointment of 30-year hospitality veteran, Jon Lucas, as EVP of Hotel & Casino Operations. In this new position, Lucas will be instrumental in further igniting the brand’s transition into a world-class, full-service hotel and casino management company.

Lucas originally joined Hard Rock in 2013 as the president of the Hard Rock Rocksino in Northfield Park, where he managed everything from site design and construction to the hiring and onboarding of key executives. During his tenure at the Rocksino, Lucas’ efforts led to the venue quickly becoming a dominating market share leader in Ohio.“Jon Lucas is a seasoned executive with the proven unique ability to see operations from both the brand and operators point of view,” says Hamish Dodds, chief executive officer for Hard Rock International. “We look forward to seeing our business continue to grow under his leadership.” Prior to joining Hard Rock, Lucas was the president and general manager of the IP Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi for six years. Lucas also spent four years as regional president at Caesars Entertainment where he was responsible for the oversight of three properties, including more than 1,700 rooms and full-service gaming facilities, encompassing over 5,200 slots and 150 table games.Internationally recognized as a world-class entertainment and lifestyle brand, Hard Rock Hotels & Casinos offer stylish and contemporary design, unparalleled service and the thread that unites them all – music. Hard Rock’s portfolio of Hotels and Casinos are located in the world’s most enviable resort destinations, as well as urban gateway cities. Hard Rock Hotels cater to the evolving and distinctive needs of today’s cosmopolitan, modern travelers, who seek a reprieve from traditional, predictable properties, whether for business or leisure travel. For more information or to book a stay at any of the Hard Rock Hotels & Casinos, please visit www.hardrockhotels.com.    About Hard Rock InternationalWith a total of 198 venues in 63 countries, including 152 cafes, 21 hotels and 10 casinos, Hard Rock International (HRI) is one of the most globally recognized companies. Beginning with an Eric Clapton guitar, Hard Rock owns the world’s greatest collection of music memorabilia, which is displayed at its locations around the globe. Hard Rock is also known for its collectible fashion and music-related merchandise, Hard Rock Live performance venues and an award-winning website. HRI owns the global trademark for all Hard Rock brands. The company owns, operates and franchises Cafes in iconic cities including London, New York, San Francisco, Sydney and Dubai. HRI also owns, licenses and/or manages hotel/casino properties worldwide. Destinations include the company’s two most successful Hotel and Casino properties in Tampa and Hollywood, Fl., both owned and operated by HRI parent company The Seminole Tribe of Florida, as well as other exciting locations including Bali, Chicago, Cancun, Ibiza, Las Vegas, Macau and San Diego. Upcoming new Hard Rock Cafe locations include San Juan, Rio de Janeiro and Marrakech. New Hard Rock Hotel projects include Daytona Beach, Dubai, Los Cabos, Dallas-Fort Worth, Tenerife, Abu Dhabi, and Shenzhen and Haikou in China. For more information on Hard Rock International, visit www.hardrock.com. 

Chinese gamblers most unruly but Hong Kong gamblers most annoying

A new study says mainland Chinese gamblers lack social graces but the problem may also lie with Macau casino dealers’ prejudicial outlook.

The School of Hotel and Tourism Management at Hong Kong Polytechnic University interviewed 300 veteran Macau casino staffers to determine if there were discernible differences in the behavior of different Chinese subcultures.

The study involved casino staff’s perceptions of mainland Chinese gamblers versus those from Hong Kong and Taiwan. Study author Dr. Samuel Seongseop Kim said the intent was to see whether Chinese subcultures that had “lived through different pasts” displayed common behavior while at the baccarat tables.

Participating staff all had at least three years experience on Macau casino floors, while nearly one-quarter had at least six to eight years service. The staff were asked to rate gamblers in seven areas, including how passively they participated, how disruptive they got, how much they complained, their chip/money holding and how cautious they were.

Chinese gamblers were found to be the least tidy and the most disruptive. Most of the time, they want what they want. They’re not completely against the introduction of any novelty into their game, but only if its preceded by detailed explanation.

The study’s authors believe the staff shared “negative perceptions” of mainland Chinese and – given that mainland China is Macau’s biggest traffic source – suggested sensitivity training. The casino staff interviewed for the study were 81.3% ethnically Chinese, with the rest comprised mainly of Portuguese (11.7%) and Malaysians (6%).

Hong Kong gamblers were deemed most likely to complain and ask for favors or comps, but they were also most likely to respond to a dealer’s guidance. They exhibit a “peak and valley” betting pattern and enjoy trying new games, provided the service is good. If not, staff will hear about it. If you want to attract more of them, good promotions are key.

Indian Online Poker Site Adda52 Create Pro Team Roster

Indian online poker has their first professional poker team after Adda52 unveiled Team Spades. A group of four players hired to spread the game as a professional sport both in India and internationally.

The ambiguity over whether online poker is legal in India doesn’t seem to be bothering Adda52. The site that claims to be the first to ever offer online cash games in the South Asian country, has set another record by creating the first-ever Indian professional poker team.

Amit Jain, Kunal Patni, Aditya Sushant and Muskan Sethi will now be collectively known as Team Spades. They will represent Adda52 both online and live. Part of their job description will be to promote the game as a professional sport, both in India and the rest of the world.

That job was made a little easier, a few days ago, after the Indian Supreme Court sided with printing firm Parksons Graphics, who were arguing that a 1% tax rate should be lopped off their bottom line because poker is a physical sport.

Whilst Chief Justice HL Dattu may believe holding cards in your hands creates physical exertion, the jury is still out over the debate that poker and gin rummy are games of skill. It seems Fifty Shades of Grey is not only a term used to define a really crap movie.

Team Spades have so far won $160k between them in live tournament earnings. Only Patni has a decent score to talk of after winning a side event at the Asian Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) in Oct last year.

“Poker is truly a game of skill. It requires its players to have a highly calculative and methodical mind,” said Anuj Gupta from Adda52.

Churchill Downs profit falls as Big Fish acquisition costs mount

Racing, casino and social gaming operator Churchill Downs Inc. saw profit fall 16% in 2014 as acquisition-related interest costs spiked.

CDI enjoyed record revenue of $812.9m in 2014, up 4% over the previous year, while earnings were up 15% to $202.5m. But profit fell to $46.2m as interest payments more than tripled, in part due to CDI’s $885m acquisition of social gaming operator Big Fish Games late in the year.

For the three months ending Dec. 31, revenue from CDI’s casino operations was flat at $78.7m while earnings rose 21% to $22.7m. The gains were partly attributable to a full quarter’s contributions from the Miami Valley Gaming joint venture in Ohio, which launched last December. Business was up 7% at the Oxford Casino in Maine but single-digit declines at CDI’s other casino properties erased these gains.

CDI’s online advance deposit wagering site Twinspires.com reported essentially flat revenue of $40.9m while earnings fell 5% to $10.1m, which CDI blamed on new online pari-mutuel taxes in New York. Twinspires’ betting stakes rose 4%, outperforming the nationwide thoroughbred racing handle, which fell 4%. VSI aka Velocity Wagering Services, the company’s Isle of Man-based high-roller online business, saw revenue nudge up 1% to $8.6m.

CDI’s core racing operations fell 21% to $30.4m thanks to the cessation in July of pari-mutuel operations at Florida’s Calder Race Course. However, that event also cut costs, which helped narrow racing’s earnings loss by 33% to $5.4m.

Big Fish Games contributed $13.9m in revenue and $3.8m in earnings during the brief period following the acquisition. For the fourth quarter as a whole, including the pre-acquisition period, Big Fish bookings were up 33% year-on-year to $95.4m. Of this sum, $46.9m came via Casino, $32.3m via Premium Paid games and $16.2m from Free-to-Play Casual games.

Big Fish’s Casino category was up 94% year-on-year, driven by a 77% increase in average paying users and a 9% gain in average bookings per paying user. The Premium category was down 23% year-on-year as customers shifted from paid PC games to mobile free-play. Free-to-Play was up 200% thanks to the launches of Gummy Drop! on iOS in Q3 and on Android in Q4.

Jose Montes Wins the Heartland Poker Tour Main Event in Black Hawk

Jose Montes takes down the Heartland Poker Tour Main Event at the Golden Gates Casino & Poker Parlor, in Black Hawk, after defeating Joe Serock, in heads-up action, to take home the first prize of $240,523.

Not many people have started 2015 like Jose Montes.

The man from the Bronx has picked up his second major title, in the first two months of the year, after picking up the victory in the Heartland Poker Tour (HPT) Main Event at the Golden Gates Casino & Poker Parlor in Black Hawk.

In January, Montes topped a field of 1,363 players to win the first major title of his career, after beating Benjamin Keeline, in heads-up action, to take the $352,669 first prize in the World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) Main Event in Choctaw.

That’s a fine year right there.

[Image Credit: PokerNews]

Montes wasn’t done.

Confessions of a Poker Writer: The Four C’s

Lee Davy continues his confessions series with a little ditty about reaching forty, the changes that are happening in his life, and the importance of the four c’s.

I’m changing.

I can feel it.

It started when I quit alcohol. That was five years ago. Drunkenness changed to sobriety-sobriety changed to holistic health. In those five years everything has changed.

I fell out of love, I got divorced, I left my home, I moved back in with my parents, I lost the intimacy of fatherhood, I quit my job, I created a new job out of thin air, I fell in love again, I remarried, I found the intimacy of fatherhood again, I moved out of my parents, I created a new home, I started traveling, I stopped gambling, I got out of debt, I started investing, I became a vegetarian, I became a vegan, I started a daily yoga practice, I started a daily meditation practice, I started a daily running practice, I stopped watching pornography, I started a daily journaling practice, I started a daily gratitude practice, I started reading one book per week, I wrote my first book and I started to donate money to charity.

That’s a lot of change.

But that’s nothing compared to the feelings I have in my mind, body and soul as I turn 40. I’m not sure if it’s wisdom, but I feel this pull towards those less fortunate than me. I feel a pull towards the earth. Like the salmon and the birds. I feel like I am being pulled along by a force that is unknown to me.

Pennsylvania gets new online gambling bill, committee hearing

Pennsylvania has a new online gambling bill courtesy of Rep. John Payne (pictured, on the left), who chairs the House of Representatives Gaming Oversight Committee.

The full text of Payne’s HB 649 has yet to be published, but a memorandum posted to the House website said the bill would restrict internet gaming to the state’s current gaming licensees. License fees would go for $5m apiece while online gaming revenue would be taxed at a rate of 14%. The bill’s use of the phrase “internet gaming” rather than “internet poker” suggests the bill would adopt a New Jersey-style menu of gaming options.

In a statement announcing HB 649, Payne said he hoped internet gaming revenue would help at least partially close the state’s projected $2b budget shortfall. Payne referenced a 2014 study that identified online gambling as the largest potential new revenue source for the state’s gaming industry. Payne believes the market could generate $120m in revenue in its first year, about $3m shy of what New Jersey’s market earned in its first year.

Payne told Philly.com that Pennsylvania didn’t want to be “the last ones coming to the game.” Payne said it would be a mistake “to sit here and wait until Ohio has it, Maryland has it, New York has it … We’ve got to be up and running and be able to compete with the surrounding states.”

Payne’s committee has scheduled an April 16 hearing on the issue of online gambling. Previous hearings have featured staunch opposition from Las Vegas Sands, which operates Sands Bethlehem, one of the state’s top brick-and-mortar casino operations. One can only hope that Sands ‘VP of No’ Andy Abboud (pictured right), whose stock tactic is to pull out his cell phone and call it a casino, varies his routine slightly this time around by showing up dressed as an iPhone 6. (Would make a hell of an entrance.)

Even assuming Payne’s bill doesn’t go down to defeat like previous attempts, there’s the question of whether new Gov. Tom Wolf would sign it. Wolf, who was sworn in as governor in January, stated on the campaign trail that he was against any expansion of the state’s casino industry, whether online or off. On the plus side, he’s a Democrat, so he’s not beholden to Sheldon Adelson, who was caught improperly funneling money to Wolf’s opponent Tom Corbett.

News of Payne’s bill was warmly received by Harrah’s Philadelphia GM Ron Baumann, who believes online gambling “could certainly enhance overall revenues.” Bob Green, chairman of the state’s market-leading Parx Casino, was similarly receptive, although he cautioned that “the first priority must be to protect the bricks-and-mortar casino industry.”

Deutsche Telekom’s online betting plans under fire from German betting operators

Germany’s lottery and betting association has asked the federal government to put the kibosh on Deutsche Telekom’s new online betting site.

On Monday, telecom giant Deutsche Telekom (DT) announced it had acquired a 64% stake in Deutsche Sportwetten (DSW), which operates Austrian-licensed online sports betting operator Tipp3. While DSW was one of the 20 lucky recipients of Germany’s federal sports betting licenses, those licenses haven’t been formally issued due to ongoing legal challenges. In the meantime, DT says it will begin targeting German punters using Tipp3’s Austrian license by the end of the current quarter.

Not so fast, say Deutsche Lotto and Totoblock (DLTB), an association of Germany’s lottery and pool betting operators, who say DT is attempting a “vile trick” to circumvent German regulations. The aggrieved operators say DT’s plan is “on par with providers of tax havens” in terms of illegality and DT’s Austrian license justification is “absurd and cannot be accepted.”

What really gets under DLTB’s skin is the fact that the German government owns a 14.3% stake in DT while the state development bank holds a 17.4% stake. DLTB believes this should be sufficient leverage for the government to compel DT to back off its plan and wait in the queue with everybody else.

DLTB says DT is far from the only company that “longs” for a resolution of the lengthy and convoluted German licensing process. But if DLTB has to “adhere to law and order,” it believes DT ought to be subject to the same restrictions.

DLTB also said it has written to the country’s Bundesliga football league to protest the “massive expansion of sponsorship activities of private gambling providers.” DLTB says the Bundesliga is providing “a platform for clearly illegal offers” from internationally licensed operators, including live betting and casino games, neither of which are permitted under the German federal state treaty on gambling.

Committee proposes New Mexico-tribe gambling compact

The new gambling compact proposed by Gov. Susana Martinez’s administration and five New Mexico tribes—pueblos of Jemez and Acoma, the Navajos, Jicarilla Apache and the Mescalero—is presented to state’s legislators on Tuesday.

The revamped state-tribal agreement, if approved, would allow up to four new Indian casinos in the next 23 years and casinos can offer credit as well as free lodging and food to some high rollers and operate 24/7.

Some members expressed support for the agreement but others raised some questions especially about the state being saturated with casinos, given that New Mexico already has 23 casinos, and possibly hurting the horse-racing industry.

“At what point do we reach market saturation?” asked Rep. Larry Larrañaga, R-Albuquerque, after probing on Hernandez on the number of new tribal casinos that might be built as a result of the proposed compact.

Martinez’s Deputy Chief of Staff and lead negotiator Jessica Hernandez also highlighted that the compact would provide stability to gambling market in New Mexico and revenue to the state would increase in exchange to exclusivity rights for the tribe.

“It’s a very carefully negotiated agreement that balances a lot of different interests,” Hernandez said.

New Mexico received nearly $16 million gambling revenue in Q4 2014 from American-Indian tribes that operates in the state.

SJM Holdings 2014 profit falls 13% as mass market gains fail to offset VIP decline

Macau casino operator SJM Holdings saw profit fall nearly 13% in 2014 as mass market gains failed to offset serious VIP gaming declines.

SJM, Macau’s largest casino operator, reported full-year gaming revenue down 8.8% to HKD 79.3b (US $10.2b). SJM’s annual earnings fell 10.5% to HKD 7.76b while profit slipped 12.7% to HKD 6.73b. SJM blamed the declines on Macau’s ongoing struggles, and while the company says it has no idea how long the “conditions which inhibited gaming revenue growth” in 2014 will continue, it remains bullish about SJM’s future.

SJM’s mass market revenue rose 8.9% but the VIP sector fell 17.3%. The VIP segment’s share of SJM’s overall gaming revenue fell to 60.9% from 67% in 2013, while the mass market rose from 31.3% to 37.4%. SJM’s share of Macau’s overall VIP revenue fell from 25.2% in 2013 to 23.4% last year. SJM’s average number of VIP gaming tables fell 7.9% in 2014 while mass market tables rose 3.4%.

Revenue from slots and other electronic gaming machines fell 4% to HKD 1.34b. The average daily net win per machine rose 11.2% but the average number of slots in operation fell 13.7%. SJM features slots at 11 of the 20 casinos that operate under its license.

Non-gaming revenue fell 22.4% to HKD 971m despite a 4% rise in average room rates. Occupancy at SJM’s flagship property Casino Grand Lisboa fell 3.2 points to 93.2%.

The Casino Grand Lisboa’s individual revenue numbers mirrored the whole, with overall revenue down 8.3% to HKD 29.6b. VIP revenue fell 14.2% as turnover fell 5.7%, while mass table revenue gained 16% and slots rose 7.5%. The average number of VIP tables fell 8.7% while mass tables increased by 12.4%. The property saw visitors fall 6.1% to 13.6m.

Despite the tumble, SJM says it managed to maintain its position as Macau’s market leader, controlling 23.2% of the special administrative region’s casino business. However, that’s down from 24.8% in 2013 and from 26.7% in 2012.

Paddy Power accused of encouraging ethnic minorities to masturbate

Irish bookmakers Paddy Power have been accused of encouraging ethnic minorities to use the fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBT) in the company’s betting shops.

The Campaign For Fairer Gambling (CFG) – aka the bureau of suspect statistics – says its research shows 61% of Paddy’s UK betting shops are located in areas with “above average levels” of residents born outside the UK. CFG consultant Adrian Parkinson says the figures make it “blatantly clear” that Paddy’s strategy is to target areas with “a high number of ethnic minorities, particularly Asian and Chinese.”

A Paddy Power spokesman told the Independent that the company didn’t “target areas based on ethnicity.” Paddy has comparatively few shops compared to retail giants like Coral, Ladbrokes and William Hill and thus the company has opted to place its shops in “urban areas with dense populations.” Paddy insists that “like every other retailer, our shops are located where there is high demand for our services.”

Or just some seriously horny people. In a debate in the UK’s House of Lords on Tuesday, Labour’s Lord Lipsey offered a “rather racy analogy” comparing FOBT use to masturbation. Lipsey claimed betting on a horse race represented “the full sexual intercourse of betting and gambling, with foreplay when you select your horse and mounting excitement as the race goes on – we know what happens after that, when the result comes.” (Emphasis added.)

By comparison, Lipsey said betting shops were full of “sad-eyed blokes – it is always blokes – in front of porn-like machines … shoving in pounds for momentary pleasure.” However, while Lipsey admitted that he was “not very fond” of FOBTs, he has no desire to ban their use, saying if people want to whip their skippy in this fashion, “that is their affair.”

As for the prevalence of betting shops in certain areas, Lipsey said that’s because “no one else wants the premises.” Lipsey said people were “deluding themselves” if they thought a crackdown on betting shops would mean the return of the vanished high street brands. Lipsey said he preferred “well maintained betting shops than ill maintained, ramshackle, empty shops that are falling down.”

Sun International eyes Asia expansion; Best Sunshine training center gets approval in Saipan

South Africa gaming operator Sun International is setting its sights on an Asian expansion as soon as it completes its business in Latin America, specifically the merger of the company’s casino operations in the region with local casino operator Dreams.

As soon as that deal is settled, Sun International will turn its attention in the East with the hopes of gaining a foothold of the growing casino market in Asia. Sun CEO Graeme Stephens told South Africa’s BusinessDay Live that the merged entity in South America would create a platform for the company to embark on its plan to enter the Asian gaming market. He also noted that there are plenty of opportunities in that region that Sun International, although he also admitted that saying it is the easy part. Doing it is a little bit trickier.

“We are up against the gaming giants, so we might look at a casino operation as part of a large mixed-use development or take a small piece of a larger casino entity,” he said, as quoted by the South African Daily.

If Sun International is serious about venturing into Asia, the Northern Marianas could be a suitable destination. Speaking of the Pacific island, the Commonwealth of Northern Marianas Lottery has given the green light to Imperial Pacific International Holdings’ plan to create a live training center concept in Saipan that will be used to train casino workers as it waits for its integrated resort and casino to be constructed.

The training center will cost Imperial Pacific local subsidiary Best Sunshine $25 million to construct the facility and fill it up with equipment and employees. Once the facility is up and running, employees will use it for their six-month training on all the casino games Imperial Pacific plans to put inside its casino. In addition, newly hired employees will also be able to use the center to undergo non-live training and subsequently, live training of working inside a casino.

All these employees are likely to need as much training as it can get to efficiently run Imperial Pacific’s $7 billion resort and casino project. Once completed, the integrated resort and casino would become the first large-scale integrated resort on Saipan, the largest island in the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

I See Your “Entrepreneur” and Raise You an “Intrepreneur” – Getting Stuff Done

I am going to spice it up in my column today and discuss something a bit out there. Love it or hate it, it has some validity.

Specifically now how this nifty term “The Intrepreneur” may be a key to unlocking some innovation in online poker marketing and business development in North American and Western European markets.

What a mouthful but hear me out.

But First, My Change Anecdote from Massive Tech Company

I like to drop ‘I worked at massive tech pioneer company’ anecdotes sometimes. I started doing this way back in the 2000s. Since those days I have been both driven and fortunate enough to become part of some of the big ships sailing out to sea during their explosive growth periods.

So what?

So these blue chip tech companies made changes every day to try new things. Complete reversals from the day before, even.