Online Casino News, Dezember 2006

[Newsflash]

Malta's euro2 billion gaming industry
The Maltese online gaming industry is generating 'upwards of euro 2 billion' in turnover according to new financial reports from the country. The turnover, which is exclusively generated by non-resident customers, was responsible for the creation of nearly 500 new jobs last year and over eur 4.5 million in taxes.

Macau marks 'significant' opportunity for Aristocrat
Aristocrat Leisure's chief executive Paul Oneile said that Macau marked a 'very significant' opportunity for the company's growth. He added that the company would be disappointed if Aristocrat did not own at least 40 per cent of the poker machines inside Melco PBL's two new casino developments in the Chinese province.

Antigua files restraining order against BetonSports
The Financial Services Regulatory Commission (FSRC) of Antigua and Barbuda has filed an application for a restraining order against BetonSports. The order is asking the High Court to stop the online betting firm from, among other things, entering into any agreement or arrangement to sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of cash and assets within or outside of Antigua and Barbuda without the consent, management and supervision of the FSRC.

BISL expresses concern over smoking ban
Business In Sport and Leisure has expressed 'huge concern' over the lack of guidance from the Department for Communities and Local Government over the upcoming UK smoking ban. Brigid Simmonds, chief executive of the umbrella organisation, said the Department of State for Communities and Local Government had refused to meet with representatives of the industry to discuss planning guidance to local authorities.

Booth appointed to BIG board
UK culture secretary Tessa Jowell has appointed Sir Clive Booth as Chair of the new Big Lottery Fund (BIG) board, which will be responsible for the distribution of the lottery's award money. Booth said that he was 'fully committed to making sure the organisation's funding programmes had the desired impact.

ATEI 'Arrival Lounge'
The organisers of ATEI have laid on a special 'Arrivals Lounge' for attendees to the London show which takes place from January 23-25. Located on Level 1 of the Earls Court Exhibition Centre, early arrivals will have access to a range of facilities including news-stands, free-access internet pods, cloakrooms and a cafe. Registration is Free.

Paddy Power sees potential in Talarius
Irish bookmaker Paddy Power has emerged as a potential buyer of Talarius PLC after amassing a near-10 per cent stake in the gaming operator. Analysts are suggesting that Paddy Power could 'swallow' Talarius and convert a number of the 200 adult gaming centre sites into betting shops.

Canadian province sued for gamblers losses
A Canadian man is suing the province of Nova Scotia for negligence, claiming that it was responsible for his gambling losses of $500,000. Paul Burrell is arguing that the casino broke the Gaming Control Act law by not having applications and procedures in place to identify and remove problem gamblers.

Gala chief issues industry warning
Gala Coral's chief executive Neil Goulden warned that even a 15 per cent drop in business caused by the smoking ban could translate into a 90 per cent drop in profits for smaller, community-based bingo halls. Goulden added that the impact on the larger bingo clubs' profits could be as little as 10 per cent.

SNP calls for online cap
A Scottish National Party MP has called for a cap to be placed on the amount of money that can be wagered on internet gambling sites. Mike Weir, the SNP's representative for Angus, said that credit card companies should only allow players to spend £1,000 a week on gambling sites.

Euro Disney takeover company investigated
France's stock market regulator Autorite des Marches Financiers has issued an ultimatum to 'leisure specyclopcasinots' Center-Tainment, which last week announced a bid for Euro Disney SCA. A spokesperson for the AMF said that the Swiss-based company would face a six-month ban on bidding for Euro Disney if it did not submit its proposal by December 4.

Melco eying $1 billion Nasdaq offering
Asian casino developer Melco PBL Entertainment is looking to raise around $1 billion in an offering of American depositary receipts on the Nasdaq. Melco PBL is planning to offer 53 million American depositary receipts at around $16-$18 a share and plans to trade under the symbol MPEL.

Violent video game ban overturns
A US court in Louisiana has labelled a law banning violent video games as 'unconstitutional' and had it overturned after finding that there was little evidence that they encourage violent behaviour in children. Judge James Brady called the relationship between real world violence and video game violence "tenuous and speculative at best".

ICE rewarded for co-operation efforts
Clarion ATE has been presented with the SAGSE Award for International Co-operation for its co-marketing and sales efforts between ICE and the South American SAGSE show. Clarion's head of marketing, John Fenna called the award a "great honour" and said that it could only reflect well on ICE, which in itself was a "truly international event."

Banned champion jockey not quitting
The legal team representing Kieren Fallon have denied rumours that the banned champion-jockey is ready to quit horseracing. Fallon has been hit with an automatic six-month ban for testing positive for a prohibited substance, understood to be the principal metabolite of cocaine Benzoylecgonine, in France.

Bidding war brewing for Rank Group
William Hill has declared its interest in a potential takeover bid for the Rank Group, which has caused analysts to speculate that a bidding war for the leisure organisation is about to begin. Hill joins fellow bookmaker Ladbroke and US investment group Fidelity as possible buyers.

New York amusement park sold
New York's Astroland amusement park has been bought by developer Thor Equities, who plan to make the Coney Island attraction into a $1.5 billion year-round resort. Current owners, the Albert family, will continue to operate the landmark Cyclone rollercoaster under an existing agreement with the city.

[Casinonews]

German Premiere Win shut down
Paybox Premiere has ended its partnership with U.S. gaming firm Magnabet and shut down their gambling channel Premiere Win. The German-based mobile solutions company said that legal uncertainty of gambling offerings in the country had necessitated the move.

Greene King posts 20 per cent profit rise
Brewer and pub group Greene King has reported a 20 per cent rise in first-half pre-tax profits, largely due to food sales and the purchase of 300 Scottish pubs. Chief executive Rooney Anand said that the group remained 'cautiously optimistic' over continued good trading despite continued fears over the country's smoking ban.

Bond table heads to Ireland
Limerick's Fitzpatrick's Sports Emporium has purchased the poker table used in the latest Bond movie Casino Royale for a 'small fortune'. The table, made by TCS John Huxley, was bought at an auction of the movie props after filming was completed.

eCOGRA to unveil gambling report at ICE
ICE 2007 will host the launch of fair gaming watchdog eCOGRA's eagerly anticipated Global Online Gambler Report. ICE takes place at the Earls Court Exhibition Centre, London across 23-25 January.

Rank close to £496 million Hard Rock sale
The Hard Rock Cafe chain is close to being sold to the Seminole Hard Rock Hotels and Casinos group in a deal worth close to £496 million, according to reports in the Financial Times newspaper. The article, citing unnamed sources, said the deal could be announced early next week as details were still being finalised.

Jowell faces lottery board controversy
Culture secretary Tessa Jowell is facing controversy over her selections for the new Big Lottery Fund board after it emerged that almost half of the 12 chosen were Labour Party members. The opposition Conservative party accused Jowell of 'cronyism', while other opposition MPs called it another attempt by the government to control lottery spending.

Sands' online venture provokes European reaction
Las Vegas Sands' planned online casino venture with Cantor Gaming has been called hypocritical by the European gambling industry. The European Betting Association's head of public affairs accused the US of discrimination, while rival Sportingbet said it doubted the seriousness of the deal.

ICEi reaches half-century mark
ICEi has received its 50th exhibitor booking for the 2007 show, breaking previous records for the remote gaming event. Organisers Clarion ATE said they were now focused on reaching the next milestone of 1,500sqm (16,140sq.ft) total net exhibit space for the show, taking place across 23-25 January at London's Earls Court Exhibition Centre. Registration is free .

Tracinda makes MGM cash offer
Tracinda Corp said that it had begun processing a previously announced cash tender offer of $55 per share for up to 15 million shares of MGM Mirage. If the offer is fully completed billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, owner of the Tracinda investment company, would up his stake in MGM from 56 per cent to 61.1 per cent.

Kennedy heads domestic sales at Brent
Mick Kennedy has been promoted to the position of head of sales - UK and Ireland at distributor Brent Sales. The move follows the announcement that John McKenzie is stepping up to the role of managing director at Namco Europe from January 1st.

Sega signs with Sunshine
Sega Amusement USA and fellow American amusement category specyclopcasinot Sunshine have established a joint venture company called Sega Amusement Works, aimed at expanding both their presences in the US amusement machine market. For a full analysis, read this week's Coinslot, available Thursday.

Cammegh to deliver Shufflemaster to the UK
Cammegh has signed a deal with Casinos Austria Research and Development to become the UK distributor for Shufflemaster and its subsidiary CARD's utility products. Under terms of the agreement, which is effective from January 1st, Cammegh will be Shufflemaster's exclusive sales agent throughout the country and will be responsible for promoting and servicing its products within the territory.

Aristocrat appoints Honney as sales director
Aristocrat Technologies has appointed Marcus Honney as its new sales director for Europe. Honney, who left TCS John Huxley after a 10-year tenure to take the position, will initially work at improving and expanding the Australian-based company's slot sales throughout Europe.

Genting confident of Singapore success
Genting's chairman and chief executive Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay said that the casino company is confident about winning the bid for Singapore's second casino licence, expected to be announced later this week. He added that the team at Genting had worked hard and he would be surprised not to win the licence in the island resort of Sentosa.

First phase of Gala's PET project completed
The Edward Thompson Group has completed the first roll out phase of its PET handheld terminals across the Gala Bingo estate. A spokesperson for the group said that the initial phase saw 6,500 units dispatched to 120 sites, adding that the next phase was already 'well underway'.

32Red appoints two to board
London-listed online gaming group 32Red has announced the appointment of Martin Saunders and Jonathan Hale to its board of directors as trading director and group finance director respectively. Saunders will assume responsibility for online sportsbook trading at the company's 32Red sportsbook and BetDirect operations effective immediately.

Italian lottery company posts drop in sales
Lottomatica reported a fall in November game receipts of Eur 64 million to Eur 527.5 million compared with the same period last year. The Italian company declined to give a reason for the drop, pointing out that the number represented an increase of nearly Eur 28 million from October.

US bingo halls sue over smoking ban
A group of bingo halls in Louisville, USA and the Kentucky Charitable Gaming Association have filed a lawsuit claiming the state's new smoking ban is unconstitutional. The suit argues that the smoking exemption violates equal protection and due process clauses of the U.S. Constitution, and that the ban deprives owners of their property without compensation.

Industry launches initiative against technical threats in Act
BACTA has launched a new initiative to fight the potential threats many low stake/low prize machines face under the auspices of the Gambling Act 2005. Chief executive Keith Smith said the trade association was reacting to the recent Technical Standards consultation, which meant that, potentially, all fruit machines would need to be replaced by August 2009.

[Casinonews]

Bodog cuts US advertising
Bodog is cutting all of its US-facing gaming related advertising, but confirmed that it would still be accepting US players to its real money online poker site. Founder Calvin Ayre said the company would now be focusing its advertising budget on the European and Asian markets.

Genting awarded second Singapore licence
Singapore has granted Genting International the island's second casino resort contract, beating competition from Kerzner International and Las Vegas-based Eighth Wonder. Government officials said that Genting's £3.38 billion bid was chosen largely because of its ability to attract 'new and repeat tourism' as well as raising Singapore's profile as a family destination.

Funderworld faces Blizzard of criticism
The UK's Blizzard Funderworld has been facing criticism from Welsh parents who are complaining about its policy of charging customers according to height, rather than age. Edward Mellors, Funderworld's event co-ordinator, said that the system had been implemented so that customers would only be paying for the rides they could get on.

Greenway and Grogan to miss out on next election
Two coin-op industry supporters in Parliament, John Greenway and John Grogan, are unlikely to stand at the next election after boundary changes to their constituencies. Conservative MP Greenway's Ryedale constituency is disappearing, while Labour's Grogan has decided not to stand as it now incorporates several Conservative supporting villages.

Ladbrokes to purchase 888
Ladbrokes are reportedly close to purchasing 888 Holdings for £490 million according to the UK's Daily Mail newspaper. The two firms have been talking for over two months according to unnamed sources, and could announce the deal as early as this week.

Arena signs with BAGS
Arena Leisure has signed a £55 million deal with the Bookmakers Afternoon Greyhound Service (BAGS) to supply live horseracing pictures to British betting shops. The group, which stages almost 25 per cent of British horseracing fixtures, is the second major company to sign with BAGS this year, after Northern Racing signed a £25 million deal last month.

Football gambling on shirt sponsors
UK sports minister Richard Caborn said that the Gambling Commission would investigate whether gambling sponsorship on football shirts was allowed under laws that prohibit the targeting of children by gambling advertisements. He called it a 'grey area' and promised that an inquiry would be launched soon.

Camelot announces Operation Child results
The North West of England has topped lottery operator Camelot's underage purchase refusal rates chart with a 96 per cent score. Greater London's refusal rate improved to just over 92 per cent, from 85 per cent the year before, while retailers in the South West came bottom of Operation Child with an 88.8 per cent refusal rate.

GTech fires 200 staff
Lottery systems supplier GTech announced that it had fired 200 people from across its worldwide operations in an effort to cut costs. A spokesperson said that the lay-offs were unrelated to the sale of GTech earlier this year to Italian lottery company Lottomatica.

Rank Group finalises Hard Rock sale
The Rank Group has sold the Hard Rock Cafe chain to the Seminole Tribe of Florida for £460 million. Chief executive Ian Burke said that the company would now turn the leisure company into a pure gaming group, focusing on Britain's plans to open up its casino market next year.

BT moving towards interactive gaming
BT Vision and Two Way TV have entered into a joint interactive venture, to offer games on the telecom company's broadband TV service. A spokesperson for BT Vision said that although the initial offerings were soft gaming, it planned to add fixed odds betting products in the near future.

Consortium lines up international investors for Tote bid
The UK Racing Consortium looking to buy the Tote has reportedly lined up South Africa's Phumelela and Australia's Tabcorp as backers for a renewed bid. The news comes days ahead of a government meeting, which will outline how the Department for Culture, Media and Sport plans to proceed with the sale.

Boylesports manager ends Irish drought
Michelle Fox of Boylesports in Ireland has won the 2006 Racing Post Betting Shop Manager of the Year award, finally ending a 19 year drought for Irish managers. 24-year old Fox runs Dublin's Capel Street betting shop and has already been honoured as the Regional Champion for Ireland.

ATEI 2007 promises every conceivable piece of coin-op equipment
The 63rd edition of ATEI, held at the Earls Court Exhibition centre in London, is promising to have 'every conceivable piece of coin-op equipment', according to the organisers. The exhibition, which caters for more than 60 product sectors, takes place across the 23-25 January. Registration is Free.

Skybet awarded GamCare certification
Skybet has been awarded certification from charity GamCare in acknowledgement of its achievement in implementing the GamCare Code of Practice for Remote Gambling. The UK betting firm will now carry the GamCare Certification across all its operating platforms, including interactive TV, online and mobile phone services.

Betex signs Chinese scratchcard deal
The Betex Group is launching scratchcards in China after announcing a £4.75 million deal with the country's Hebei Provincial Sports Lottery Management Centre (LMC). Under terms of the 10-year agreement, Betex will deliver marketing consultancy and provide the investment for the roll out of the product into a network of sales points.

ICE praise the virtues of international suppliers
ICE organiser Clarion ATE has cited the 'international spread of suppliers' as one of the key components to the Earls Court show, which takes place from the 23-25 January, 2007 in London. Of the 237 confirmed exhibitors, 67.5 per cent are drawn from 41 territories, including the USA (26), Slovenia (11), Spain (nine), Austria and the Netherlands (eight each), and Italy (seven). Registration is Free.

Ye Olde arcade set for Great Yarmouth
Yesterday's World has confirmed that its new 'emporium of the past' attraction in Great Yarmouth would include a historical amusement arcade. General manager Andy Glynn told Coinslot that the machines at Ye Olde Arcade would likely consist of vintage penny slots and children's rides.