The Ameristar Casino is set to begin a top-to-bottom renovation to improve player experience today.
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Days after reports emerged that Ocean Resort Casino, formerly Revel, will open doors on June 28, the property’s owner, Bruce Deifik, revealed important details about their plans of how to prevent it from failure.
The former Revel launched in 2012 to much fanfare, but survived in the highly competitive East Coast casino landscape for just over two years. The property was shuttered in 2014 to become one of four Atlantic City Boardwalk casino properties to close doors that year.
Revel was purchased by Florida developer Glenn Straub in 2015. The businessman announced back then plans to reopen it as a casino resort but missed several self-imposed deadlines, while bickering with the owners of the power plant that serviced the property and with city officials and casino regulators over whether he needed a casino license or not.
Mr. Straub eventually accepted a $200-million offer from Mr. Deifik late last year after previously being approached by several other interested parties with similar bids. It became known earlier this year that the property will reopen doors as Ocean Resort Casino sometime this summer.
A Difference Maker
According to reports from local news outlets, the property might open on June 28, along with Hard Rock’s redesigned and rebranded Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City, or the former Trump Taj Mahal. In his conversation with The Associated Press, Mr. Deifik did not confirm those reports. However, it became clear that the property is still targeting a summer 2018 opening, just as previously announced.
Mr. Deifik said that they have been paying close attention to what people have to say about Revel, both positive and negative and transfer that into their work on turning Ocean Resort Casino into an attractive destination. Listening to what people say and treating them with respect, Mr. Deifik believes, will be the difference-maker.
The property’s new owner will look to learn from mistakes and to broaden Ocean Resort Casino’s accessibility to different groups of visitors. For instance, there will no longer be a two-night stay requirement, a wall that previously blocked access to the casino floor from Atlantic City’s Boardwalk will be replaced by stairs that will welcome foot traffic, and there will be more facilities dedicated to children.
Customers of the former Revel have said that they felt unwelcome there and that higher-end visitors and guests were seemingly treated with more respect. Mr. Deifik said that customers and gamblers of all levels will be welcome to Ocean Resort Casino.
There were previous complaints that smoking patrons felt unwelcome at Revel as they were not able to smoke at the property. Mr. Deifik said that while he is not a smoker himself, he understands that group of customers deserves to be treated respectfully and that it will be welcome at Ocean Resort Casino, once it opens doors this summer.
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Canadian poker pro Sam Greenwood was the first player to register into the 2018 EPT Monte Carlo €100,000 Super High Roller event and, in the early hours of Sunday, he became the last man standing after besting a field of 30 of the world’s best high rollers.
Greenwood collected €1.52 million after a lengthy final day of play, which included an action-packed heads-up battle against Germany’s Christoph Vogelsang. The German received €1.046 million for his runner-up finish.
It was in fact Vogelsang who led the final six players into Day 3 of the Super High Roller tournament. He had a massive chip lead over the rest of his opponents, but it should be said that all six survivors were running quite deep at the start of the day.
The first elimination of the day occurred quite quickly. Isaac Haxton fell out in sixth place, after clashing against Vogelsang. The player collected €313,000 for his performance.
It then took hours before another player left the final table. The remaining survivors were all careful during those several hours, playing small pots and trying not to get themselves into trouble. Justin Bonomo, who was vying for his second EPT Monte Carlo Super High Roller title was the next to leave, good for €401,000.
Bonomo was followed by the other former EPT Monte Carlo Super High Roller champion at the final table, Germany’s Ole Schemion. His share of the prize pool totaled €513,000. The elimination of recreational player and businessman Ali Reza Fatehi in third place marked the beginning of the heads-up match. Fatehi meanwhile scooped €669,920 from the tournament.
Greenwood vs. Vogelsang
An action-packed four-handed play which involved all four players taking the lead at some point was followed by an even more exciting heads-up duel. The match began with Greenwood holding 7.61 million in chips to Vogelsang’s 3.89 million.
However, the German spotted an opportunity to even and then take the lead which he played beautifully. At one point, Vogelsang was just a river card away from the title, but that river card went Greenwood’s way to save him from busting out in second place.
It was a lengthy heads-up battle which extended into the early hours of Sunday. It was half an hour past midnight when the job was finally done and the EPT Monte Carlo Super High Roller had its new champion.
On what turned out to be the final hand in play, Vogelsang’s [Ah][5h] clashed against Greenwood’s [Ks][Jc]. A [Js] on the flop and a [Jd] on the river sealed it for the Canadian player. Vogelsang received €1.046 million for his excellent performance and deep run.
Last night’s victory marked Greenwood’s largest live tournament win. It is also interesting to note that the Canadian player came into the EPT Monte Carlo festival fresh from two tournament wins earlier in April. The player first topped the field of the partypoker Millions Grand Final Barcelona €50,000 Super High Roller for €1 million in prize money and then won the WPT Amsterdam €6,000 High Roller for €125,785.
Including his latest in-the-money finish from last night, Greenwood’s live tournament winnings currently exceed $11 million.
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UK’s Century Casino Bath is expected to open its doors to the public on Friday, May 25th.
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The EPT Monte Carlo is among the most exciting festivals on the poker calendar. This year the excitement is doubled as the festival is making its comeback under the EPT brand after a two-year hiatus.
And the highest buy-in event on what is currently officially running as the PokerStars and Monte-Carlo Casino EPT is under way at the host venue. The €100,000 Super High Roller has always drawn poker’s finest talent and this year makes no difference.
Day 2 of the major event was played on Friday. It started off with 24 players, including Orpen Kisacikoglu and Daniel Dvoress who re-bought into the tournament shortly before the beginning of the second day of play. This year’s EPT Monte Carlo Super High Roller attracted a field of 46 entries, including 16 re-entries, to create a prize pool of €4,462,920. The top six places are paid, min-cash is worth €313,000. Aside from the very prestigious title of a Super High Roller victor, the winner will also receive a first-place prize of €1,520,000.
It was a rather short day at the host casino on Friday. Half of the 24 players who entered Day 2 of the Super High Roller were eliminated within the first four hours of action. Play lasted until the final six players were determined. Mikita Badziakouski, who bagged the largest stack into Day 2 and thrived for a big part of the day, eventually became the unfortunate bubble boy. He was knocked out in seventh place by German poker pro Christoph Vogelsang. The latter thus cemented his position as the overnight chip leader.
Aiming for Another Big Title
Vogelsang has recorded more than $15 million in live tournament earnings since October 2013, when he cashed for the first time in a live tournament event. Last year, the young German took down the highly competitive field of the $300,000 Aria Super High Roller Bowl for a first-place prize of $6 million. It is also important to note that back in 2014, he finished third in the $1,000,000 Big One for ONE DROP, leaving it to Dan Colman and Daniel Negreanu to square off for the title. Vogelsang collected $4,480,001 for his deep run in that event.
The player now has the chance to win big on European soil. Vogelsang ran quite well during Day 2 of the Super High Roller. The player emerged as the chip leader at some point in play to become the first to crack the 2 million mark. He then lost some of his momentum to regain it towards the end of the day and become the first and only player to crack the 3 million mark.
Vogelsang is thus leading the pack of six Super High Roller finalists into the final day of play with a stack of 3.02 million, well ahead of Sam Greenwood, who bagged the second largest stack last night (2.065 million) and Isaac Haxton (1.68 million), who rounded out the top three stacks.
Ali Reza Fatehi (1.84 million), Ole Schemion (1.49 million), and Justin Bonomo (1.405 million) are the other three players who are still in contention for the title and the first-place prize. It is important to note that Schemion and Bonomo are former EPT Monte Carlo Super High Roller winners.
Schemion won his title in 2016 for €1,597,800, while Bonomo became a Super High Roller champion back in 2012 for €1,640,000.
Super High Roller Action is set to resume at the host venue today at noon local time. The remaining contenders will play down to a champion.
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Located in one of the most spectacular parts of the Adriatic coast, the recently renovated Maestral Resort & Casino near Budva, Montenegro is just weeks away from swinging its doors open to one of this year’s hottest poker events – the Triton Super High Roller Series 2018.
The thrilling poker festival will run from May 12-18, 2018 at the resort and will feature four different events. It will represented the highly anticipated continuation of the extremely successful Triton Super High Roller Series 2017 poker extravaganza that took place at the same resort last July.
The festival is set to kick off with a two-day HK$250,000 (approximately $31,859) buy-in Short Deck Ante-Only tournament. Another tournament with a buy-in fee of HK$250,000 is set to start on May 13. It will, too, take place over two days and will feature a 6-Max structure.
There will be one more Short Deck Ante-Only event to be played within the festival. However, players will have to pay HK$1 million (approx. $127,435) in order to be able to enter it. The tournament will be played on May 17-18 and will actually mark the end of the festival.
Main Event Action
As in its previous edition last summer, the Triton Super High Roller Series Main Event will take place over three days starting May 15. The buy-in for the tournament amounts to HK$1 million, which provides for the creation of a massive prize pool and an attractive first-place prize for the winner, in addition to great excitement for both tournament entries and viewers who will be following the action from the host casino’s rails or from home.
German poker pro Manig Loeser topped the event’s field last year to collect more than HK$16.8 million (approx. $2.16 million) and the accompanying champion’s trophy. Loeser was the last man standing from a field of 52 fellow entries, who created a prize pool of HK$48,921,600.
Winners of other Triton Super High Roller Series events over the years include Fedor Holz, another German high roller super star, Daniel Cates, Dan Colman, the winner of the 2014 WSOP Big One for ONE DROP, and John Juanda.
It is also important to note that the upcoming festival will be the first one of the Triton Super High Roller Series to be livestreamed on Twitch. Organizers have previously revealed that there will be separate streams in English, Chinese, and Russian. It has also been understood that Randy ‘nanonoko’ Lew and Kane Kalas will host the English-language stream.
The Short Deck Ante-Only format will be another innovation to be introduced during the series in May. The format has gained quite some popularity in Asia and now has the chance to make its debut on the European poker scene. It features a smaller deck comprised of 36 cards. The 2s, 3s, 4s, and 5s are removed from it and the Aces double as 5s. Aside from that, the game is played as a traditional Texas Hold’em.
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At least three video games featuring loot boxes have been breaching Belgian gambling laws, an investigation by the Belgian Gaming Commission has shown. The news about the regulator’s position on the widely publicized issue comes shortly after its Dutch counterpart released its own findings regarding the virtual items just days ago.
Loot boxes gained broad attention with the fall 2017 release of the Star Wars Battlefront II video game. The latest installment of the popular Star Wars: Battlefront series quickly became the subject of major controversy due to the fact that it included a loot box monetization scheme.
Generally speaking, loot boxes are special items can be purchased in-game. They contain further items that can be extremely helpful to a player within the game, but can also be of little value. Each loot box includes a random selection of items and its contents only become known to a player after its purchase is completed.
The Belgian Gaming Commission was among the gambling regulators to question the nature of loot boxes. The regulatory opened a probe into the matter, the results of which were made public earlier today.
The Gaming Commission investigated four video games – Star Wars Battlefront II, FIFA 18, Counter Strike: Global Offensive, and Overwatch. The regulator found out that loot boxes in three of the games – FIFA 18, Counter Strike: Global Offensive, and Overwatch – violated Belgium’s gambling law. The Commission said that developers of Star Wars Battlefront II have addressed the issue following the controversy the game was embroiled in and that its loot box system no longer violated Belgian gaming regulations.
Under the country’s gambling law, spending real money on an item that could influence a player’s performance in a game constitutes a game of chance if the contents of such an item are determined by chance.
Teenagers at Risk
The Commission expressed concerns that loot boxes in video games and their gambling nature are putting vulnerable players at great risk. Video games are often played by players under the allowed age for gambling but being exposed by products that resemble gambling risks normalizing the activity.
The gambling regulator said today that developers of games with paid loot boxes violate Belgium’s gambling law and can be fined or even sentenced to prison for such a violation. They thus must remove the controversial in-game items or can otherwise face fines of up to €800,000 and or prison time of up to five years.
In a similar move, the Netherlands Gambling Authority, Kansspelautoriteit, announced last week the results from its own probe into loot boxes. The regulator investigated ten video games that featured loot boxes and were available to Dutch players.
Kansspelautoriteit found that four out of the ten games violated the Dutch Betting and Gaming Act as their loot box systems incorporated elements of games of chance into skill-based games. The provision of games of chance without the necessary authorization from the Dutch gambling regulator is strictly prohibited in the Netherlands.
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The UK Government is set to reduce the maximum stake on the highly controversial fixed-odds betting terminals to £2, The Times reports citing people familiar with the ongoing discussions. An announcement is expected to be made within the next few weeks.
The decision was to be made public at an earlier stage, but according to media reports from yesterday the delay was incurred by Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, who was said to have previously been opposed to such a massive cut in the maximum stake. Mr. Hammond reportedly contested the measure as it would result into a huge fall in tax revenue.
At present, FOBTs accept £100 maximum stakes every 20 seconds. Following a review into the gaming machines sector conducted by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport, it was announced last fall that the maximum bet would be cut to somewhere between £50 and £2. A reduction to £2 would cost the exchequer £450 million in annual tax contributions, it has been estimated.
Latest media reports indicate that Mr. Hammond may be close to settling what was believed to be an ongoing dispute with supporters of a bigger reduction of the betting limits, with the latter group being led by Culture Secretary Matt Hancock. Sources told The Times that “[they] are nearly there”.
It is believed that Mr. Hancock and his team have managed to appease concerns voiced by Mr. Hammond about the impact the massive crackdown on FOBTs would have on tax revenue.
Alternative Revenue Sources
It is understood that levies will increase on other gambling services to offset losses incurred by the FOBTs crackdown. It is yet to be announced how exactly other forms of gambling will be taxed.
The announcement about the UK Government’s decision on the changes that will be introduced in the gambling machines sector is expected within the next several weeks. However, it will not be made before next week’s local elections due to purdah rules.
Following yesterday’s reports about Mr. Hammond’s opposition to a reduction of the maximum bet to £2, several influential MPs said that they would contest any decision that does not include a cut of the maximum stake to £2. Tory MPs Sarah Wollaston and Nick Boles were among those to say that they “will not support half measures”. Both officials took to Twitter to voice their opinion on the topic.
Shares in William Hill tumbled 11% as news about the pending crackdown on one of its key sources of revenue emerged earlier today. GVC, which recently acquired Ladbrokes Coral – the operator of the largest number of FOBTs across the UK, saw its shares go down 4.8% earlier today.
The B2 gaming machines or FOBTs represent UK’s second largest gambling sector. They generated gross gambling yield of £1.8 billion in the period between April 2016 and March 2017.
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As many as 29,319 Belgians self-excluded themselves from gambling (both online and at land-based venues) in 2017, according to a press release published earlier today on the official website of Belgian Minister of Justice Koen Geens.
The reported figure represents a 9% increase from 2016, when 26,782 opted for exclusion from various types of gambling services.
Another 158,413 were banned from gambling with a court ruling. Most of the court orders were issued to gamblers who had accumulated large debts as a result from their habits. Under Belgium’s gambling law, a court could ban residents from gambling, both online and at brick-and-mortar facilities, in certain cases.
It was also found that 409 gamblers were banned from participating in gambling activities after a request from a third party, including family members and/or partners. The requests are filed to and processed by the Belgian Gaming Commission.
According to today’s press release, the number of excluded and self-excluded people has grown significantly over the past five years. In 2013, 19,670 gamblers self-excluded themselves, while 82,580 were issued a court order and 89 were banned from gambling after a third-party request.
The names of all self-excluded players as well as of those banned from gambling as a result from a court ruling or a third-party request are added to a specially created system. Belgium’s Excluded Persons Information System (EPIS) has been active since 2004. It contains information about all gambling customers that have self-excluded themselves or have been banned from gambling. All gambling customers have their names and dates of birth checked into EPIS upon opening an account with a gambling website or entering a brick-and-mortar gambling facility so that excluded persons are prevented from gambling.
Additional Responsible Gambling Measures
While Belgian lawmakers and gambling regulators consider the country’s gambling exclusion system a powerful protection tool, a new set of rules aimed at serving the same purpose and enhancing existing tools were introduced last fall.
Last October, Belgian politicians gave the nod to proposed curbs on the way gambling services are advertised in the country. The move came as part of the Belgian government’s efforts to limit the proliferation of gambling among vulnerable people.
The new measures prohibit gambling operators from advertising their products during live sports broadcasts. Gambling ads should also not appear on Belgian media before a 10 pm watershed, unless they are part of a non-live sports program. In this case such ads should not air 15 minutes before and after children-focused programs. The new rules also aimed to crack down on affiliate marketing, banning the use of third-party websites for the promotion of gambling products and services.
Legislators also crafted non-advertising limitations as part of the larger package of measures, including a €275 monthly cap on the maximum value of bonuses offered by online gambling operators to each of their customers. Under the new rules, players would not be able to deposit more than €500 per week to fuel their online gambling accounts.
It is still to be confirmed when the new regulations would take effect. But it is believed that they will come into force eight months after their publication in the Belgian Official Journal.
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Day 2 of the WSOP Circuit Harrah’s Cherokee Main Event was played on Sunday at the host venue. It kicked of with 182 players from the tournament’s two starting flights, but the field was reduced to just 19 survivors by the time all ten levels scheduled were completed.
Jonathan Hilton, a player who boasts one gold bracelet and one gold ring as well as more than $1.14 million in earnings from the WSOP and WSOP Circuit series, leads the final 19 with 2.175 million. The player was the only one to have cracked the two million mark at the end of Day 2 play.
Hilton scooped both his WSOP trophies in 2013, when he bested the fields of a WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Council Bluffs $365 No-Limit Hold’em and the WSOP National Championship $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em.
Hilton is not the only accomplished player to have made it thus far into the Harrah’s Cherokee Main Event. In fact, the top five stacks after Day 2 of the event are held by players with quite some poker portfolios.
Peter Vitantonio, himself a former WSOP Circuit gold ring winner, is trailing behind Hilton with 1.925 million. Vitantonio is vying for his fourth gold piece and second Main Event title from the series.
Timothy ‘TK’ Miles bagged the third largest stack last night with 1.7 million. The player has previously won two gold rings from WSOP Circuit events, and has come really close to taking down a Main Event. In 2008, the player finished runner up in the WSOP Circuit Harrah’s New Orleans $5,000 Main Event for $210,610.
Robert Hankins, who has nine gold rings, ended Day 2 of the Harrah’s Cherokee Main Event with 1.7 million and with hopes to scoop his 10th gold piece and thus tie with Maurice Hawkins and Valentin Vornicu. The latter two represent the tiny club of winners of a record-breaking number of gold rings.
Headliner
The 19 finalists will be headlined by Erick Lindgren. With live tournament earnings of over $10.3 million and multiple trophies, the player has quite a lot to boast about. He is a two-time WSOP gold bracelet winner and also a winner of two WPT Main Tour Main Event titles. His list of live poker accomplishments also includes a first-place finish in the 2007 Aussie Millions A$100,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller. Lindgren is yet to win his first WSOP Circuit gold ring. The player bagged 1.51 million chips last night.
Action at Harrah’s Cherokee is set to resume today at noon local time. The survivors will play down until a champion is determined. The winner will collect a gold ring and $294,152 in prize money. The last person standing will also secure a seat into the upcoming Global Casino Championship, which will be played at Harrah’s Cherokee this August.
Each of the 19 finalists is guaranteed a minimum cash prize of $13,070. The Harrah’s Cherokee Main Event attracted a field of 1,060 entries who generated a prize pool of $1.59 million, exceeding the $1 million guarantee by more than half a million.
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As many as 182 players reached Day 2 of the WSOP Circuit Harrah’s Cherokee $1,675 Main Event after entering the tournament on Days 1A and B. They are set to return at the host casino at noon North Carolina time and to continue their battle for the first-place prize and the gold ring that goes along with it.
The Harrah’s Cherokee Main Event attracted a field of 1,060 tournament entries who cracked the $1 million guarantee and generated a prize pool of $1.59 million. However, only the top 108 finishers will be treated to a portion of the money, which means that bursting the money bubble will be the first thing on today’s agenda.
The remaining survivors are scheduled to play ten one-hour levels today at the host venue. Their goal will be to hopefully reach the official nine-handed final table, but with 182 hopefuls left in contention that could be a difficult task.
The first flight of the tournament was played on Friday at Harrah’s Cherokee. It saw 407 players putting up the $1,675 buy-in fee to enter the event. Of them, only 67 bagged and tagged for the night. They were led by Andrew Mousmoules with 314,500 in chips.
Another 652 entries joined the field on Day 1B, which played Saturday at the host casino. However, only 115 survived throughout the day to secure a seat into Day 2. North Carolina native Jason Sandling ended Day 1B as the chip leader, transforming his 20,000 starting stack into a 340,000 one. The player will thus start Day 2 play as the overall chip leader across the tournament’s two starting flights.
Previous Triumphs
Sandling is vying for his third gold ring from the WSOP Circuit series and his second WSOP Circuit Main Event title. The player won his first Main Event at the same host venue four years ago. He topped a field of 665 entries at Harrah’s Cherokee to scoop a first-place prize of $204,487 and his first-ever gold piece from the popular poker series.
A year later, Sandling won a $365 No-Limit Hold’em at Horseshoe Baltimore for his second gold ring and a first-place payout of $14,505. He is now in a great position to make history at Harrah’s Cherokee, winning his second title from a Main Event and his largest WSOP Circuit cash.
As mentioned earlier, the top 108 finishers in the tournament will get paid. Payouts start from $2,926, but sights are set on the first-place prize of $294,152. Aside from the gold ring and the prize money, the winner will also secure a seat into the Global Casino Championship for a chance to win a WSOP gold bracelet.
Daniel Weinman is another player to be eying a second Main Event title. The player won that same event at Harrah’s Cherokee in 2015 for a gold ring and $280,260. Other notables still in contention include five-time gold ring winner Kurt Jewell, Josh Arieh, and Jonathan Hilton.
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Despite rumours, PAGCOR assured that Galaxy Entertainment hasn’t abandoned its plans to develop an integrated resort in Boracay.
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John Dollinger from Gulf Breeze, Florida captured last night his first WSOP Circuit gold ring after running cold on one notable previous occasion. The poker pro bested 243 tournament entries in the $1,125 No-Limit Hold’em with a $200,000 guarantee, played at Harrah’s Cherokee.
Dollinger also received $59,536 in prize money to go along with his shiny new gold ring from the popular series. Two years ago, the player ran deep into the WSOP Circuit Harrah’s New Orleans Main Event. He eventually finished runner-up to David Hubbard. Dollinger scooped a $145,186 payout for finishing second in that event.
The brand new WSOP Circuit champion performed quite well in the event he took down last night at the host casino Harrah’s Cherokee. The player was mid-stacked upon entering the six-handed final table of the event. From that point on he only built up his stack to emerge the chip leader.
Dollinger faced Texan Daniel Jones heads-up. The two-handed match began with the eventual champion holding the chip lead. Dollinger never lost his advantage over his last opponent in the field of the $1,125 buy-in tournament. However, Jones proved to be a tough nut to crack as he made several attempts to double.
Jones actually managed to win some chips on two occasions, but never really came close to Dollinger. His final attempt to improve his situation at the table cost him his further participation. On what turned out to be the final hand in play, Jones went in for his last chips, hoping that Lady Luck would smile upon him.
The player had [Kh][Qh] which clashed into Dollinger’s [Ah][5c]. A dry board secured the victory for Dollinger, sending Jones to the rail. The latter collected $36,875 for making it that far into the tournament.
Event #8
The $1,125 No-Limit Hold’em with a guaranteed prize pool of $200,000 was the eighth gold ring event to be played as part of the WSOP Circuit Harrah’s Cherokee schedule. As mentioned earlier, the tournament drew 243 entries from all over the United States.
The event’s field cracked the guarantee and created a prize pool of $243,000. There were payouts for the final 26 finishers. The min-cash totaled $1,308. Players completed the event over two days of action.
There are three more gold rings left up for grabs at Harrah’s Cherokee. The $1,675 Main Event is, too, among the tournaments yet to be completed. The event features a guaranteed prize pool of $1 million. It kicked off Friday at the host venue and will run through April 23.
As many as 407 players paid the buy-in fee of $1,675 to enter the event during Day 1A. Of them, only 67 made it through the end of the day and will return at Harrah’s Cherokee on Sunday for Day 2.
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Josephine Teo, the Second Minister for Manpower and Home Affairs of Singapore, said that greater consolidation of the functions of casino regulatory authorities should be considered, especially at a time when the country’s gambling landscape has been quite complex.
Today, Ms. Teo took part in the annual Workplan Seminar of the Casino Regulatory Authority seminar that was held at Biopolis in Buano Vista. She highlighted the fact that currently, different regulations and agencies are set to control the gambling products offered in the country, such as casinos, private clubs’ fruit machines as well as online gambling. The Second Minister for Manpower and Home Affairs also gave her assessment for the approach, saying that such partial strategy and measures would hardly be sustainable or suitable enough in order for the constantly increasing difficulties related to the existing gambling landscape.
The seminar, at which Ms. Teo was present, was aimed at outlining the history of the agency and providing better perspective of the future challenges it is expected to face. It was held as an one-day event in conjunction with the 10th anniversary of the Casino Regulatory Authority.
Singapore Gambling Sector to Face Further Challenges
Increasing regional competition was pointed as one of the most serious challenges posed to Singapore casinos. Ms. Teo also predicted that competition for tourism revenues is to become even stronger, with a lot of jurisdictions keeping their eyes on the Singapore integrated resort (IR) concept. According to the Second Minister, the local integrated resorts would face some difficulties to stay ahead of competition.
Singapore is currently home to two integrated casino resorts. The first one, Resorts World Sentosa, is run by Genting Singapore Plc, while the second one, Marina Bay Sands, is operated by a division of Las Vegas Sands Corp. Integrated resorts, however, are not a special trademark of Singapore only, as other jurisdictions have been aimed at adding IRs to their gambling industries as well. Japan, for example, is slowly but surely approaching a regulated casino industry that is to feature casinos as part of larger hotel, gaming and entertainment complexes.
Technological disruption, on the other hand, has been outlined as another major challenge to be faced by the gambling sector in Singapore. New game types, new payment methods as well as new gaming machines are constantly added, which basically means that local casino regulatory authorities need to review their methods and establish qualitative control to adequately face the latest developments of the industry. According to Ms. Teo, regulations could and need to evolve in order to allow a more coherent system to be set and to maintain the balance between efficient regulation and keeping the market open for innovations.
For some time now, the Ministry of Home Affairs of Singapore has been preparing for certain development, with the competent authorities being studying the wider gambling regulatory framework in the country. Ms. Teo urged the Casino Regulatory Authority to put more efforts into building up capabilities, stamina, new and more effective strategies and integrity in order to adapt to the new demands of the local market.
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Aquis Entertainment Group, which currently owns Canberra Casino, made claims that the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Government kept the company uninformed for almost a year and a half about the details of its legislation set to greenlight poker machines at the Canberra Casino.
Jessica Mellor, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Aquis, released a statement to the stock exchange, following the Government’s decision to provide the company with a month-long period to confirm its further plans for the Canberra Casino. As Casino News Daily reported, the casino owner was given until May 14th to submit a final proposal for the redevelopment of Canberra Casino.
The first bid made by Hong Kong mogul Tony Fung majority-owned Aquis in 2015 amounted to A$330 million, with the company seeking permission to operate 500 poker machines on local premises. The negotiations, however, failed to reach a compromise for several years, fueling the uncertainty about the redevelopment project’s fate. Then, in 2017 an agreement was reached between the Australian Greens and the Labor Party, under which legislation could allow up to 200 pokies in the redeveloped Canberra Casino. Moreover, 60 electronic table games could also be added to the casino offerings under certain regulatory rules.
A few months after the legislation was officially rolled out, Aquis Entertainment was given some time to make an update on its unsolicited bid in a month. Gordon Ramsay, Attorney General, commented on the matter at the time when the announcement was made, saying that the casino expansion was important part of the Government’s plans to reduce the poker machines in the Australian Capital Territory from about 5,000 to 4,000 over the next couple of years.
Aquis Would Have to Consider the Redevelopment Again
As mentioned above, the Chief Executive Officer of Aquis claimed that the company did not get a response from the Government detailing it about the legislation update for 17 months after the case was lodged in June 2016.
Still, Ms. Mellor pledged that the Canberra Casino owner is to respond to the Government’s request within the timeframe provided, but she explained that the company would have to undertake a thorough consideration on the matter in order to assess the potential impact of such a step under stricter regulatory rules. Aquis’ CEO further shared that the company remains willing to develop an integrated resort in Canberra and said it would work in collaboration with the Government in order to achieve its goals.
In case that Aquis Entertainment goes on with its bid to add 200 pokies as part of Canberra Casino redevelopment, it would be forced to operate under stricter regulatory rules. The company would have to purchase 300 poker machine operating licenses, despite the fact it would lose 100 of them. Also, a maximum bet limit of A$2 is to be allowed at the poker machines.
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The Attorney General has warned the tribes not to develop their East Windsor casino before getting federal regulatory approval.
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Today, the Lotteries Council gave the start to its two-day Annual Conference and Networking Event, with various exhibitors taking part.
The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) also became part of the Conference and its Executive Director Tim Miller gave a speech, addressing the event’s participants and praising the work done by the Lotteries Council.
Mr. Miller used the opportunity to highlight the relationship between lotteries and good causes, revealing that the demand for services provided by charity organizations and good causes has significantly risen over the last few years. The Executive Director of the Commission further reminded that lottery has been an essential source of income for various good causes which local communities take advantage of.
In his speech over one of the first speaker sessions at the Conference, Mr. Miller explained that lotteries and returns to good causes optimization has been one of the five key objectives included in the three-year Strategy which the UKGC published in November 2017. He further shared that the major gambling regulator in the UK remains focused on making sure that lotteries would be able to contribute to society through good causes donations.
Miller Brings More Light on UK Lottery Sector
According to Mr. Miller, optimizing returns to good causes from UK lotteries is a good starting point when it comes to the Commission’s intentions to ensuring a safe and transparent lottery sector. He confirmed that the gambling regulatory body intends to continue making efforts to provide lotteries with the chance to generate as much as possible for good causes.
The UKGC Executive Director also brought more light to the steps that the Commission plans to take in the future in order to optimize returns to good causes in society lotteries. In addition, he reminded that the main principle for running lotteries under the Gambling Act is that UK lotteries are aimed at raising money for good causes, rather than for any commercial gain. According to Mr. Miller, the fact that the proceeds gathered by local lotteries are redirected to various good causes aimed at helping communities is among the main motives for people to continue playing lotteries.
For the time being, approximately 500 society lotteries and 40 External Lottery Managers are licensed by the UK Gambling Commission. As revealed by Mr. Miller, there has been a significant increase in the number of local authorities that promote lotteries in order to raise funds for a certain cause. Currently, a total of 30 local authorities have been granted with a UKGC license, with another 10 applying for one. In any case, the Executive Director of the UK gambling regulator confirmed that growth has been marked in the lottery sector of the UK.
Mr. Miller also emphasized on the fact that these days the country’s lottery sector has been diverse, especially considering the fact that customers are provided with the chance to take part in lotteries through various online applications, as well as through more traditional methods. He shared that the marketing in the sector has become more sophisticated, with special attention paid on the TV, social media and other online advertising methods.
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