7th IGA ceremony just around the corner
Rank looks at casino in Northern Ireland
Majority of US citizens want online gambling on federal level
InfinityGaming
www.gaming-awards.com | ISSUE JANUARY 2014
ATLANTIC CITY
More casinos could fall
SHELDON ADELSON Gears up for online war
FOBTS
UK government no action
MACAU
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Owners hit the rich list
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SPECIAL FOCUS
Cuba and future casinos
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contents InfinityGaming
EDITOR’S LETTER
Cuba Needs Casinos...............................................06-09 Professor Rose looks at Cuba and says they need casinos
Rank Group looks at N. Ireland casino............10-11 Professor Rose looks at Cuba and says they need casinos
Majority of Americans want online..................12-13 65% if those questioned in new survey want federal law
New Jersey.................................................................20-21
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CUBA NEEDS CASINOS
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RANK IN N.IRELAND
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JJ WOODS ON THE IRISH BILL
Christina Thankor-Rankin looks at the progress of online
Comment cards are dinosaurs...........................24-25 Do they belong in the past?
Make money don’t lose it.....................................30-31 The unpopular Affiliate Manager
Macau makes rich list big time..........................34-35 Guaranteed to make Forbes if you run a Macau casino
Nevada loses big time...........................................36-37 2013 saw the main casinos in Nevada lose over $1.3 billion
New Jersey online revenues...............................38-39 Not what had been hoped
Do you remeber a Bill?..........................................40-41 JJ Woods looks at the Irish gambling bill
FOBTs hit the news in the UK..............................42-43 Bookies saviour still gets more bad press
7th IGA Awards.........................................................46-47 InfinityGaming • ISSUE JANURY 2014
Casino Technology joins as Sponsor
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All about the games...............................................50-51 Williams Interactive latest products revealed
It’s time to get the App..........................................52-53
Your favourite magazine is now available on NEWSSATANDS
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CASINO TECHNOLOGY JOINS THE PARTY
EDITOR’S LETTER Lana Thompson - Chief Editor
by
EDITORS NOTES
InfinityGaming
Welcome to the January edition of the Infinity Gaming Magazine.
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Christina Thakor-Rankin Martin R. Baird Wayne Openshaw Ellen Learmonth J.J. Woods
The IGA will welcome the biggest industry stars from around the globe, and of course the most important award of the evening will be the coveted Outstanding Contribution Award. In past years, the Award been received by well know industry personality and philanthropist Mr Andrew Love, world famous Asian investor Dr Stanley Ho, and Bertil Knutsson who established the world’s biggest
Finally, I would like to thank our industry experts who contribute to Infinity Gaming Magazine with their knowledge and opinions: A huge thank you to Martin R Baird, Ellen Learmonth, JJ Woods, and Professor I Nelson Rose for his Cuba needs Casinos article. Looking forward seeing you all in London very soon! Enjoy
Lana x The Infinity Gaming
CONTACT US Clever Duck Media Suite 105 Park Plaza Point South Hayes Way Cannock WS12 2DB UK Tel: +44(0)1543 578 689 claire@cleverduckmedia.com PRODUCTION Clever Duck Media Suite 105 Park Plaza Point South Hayes Way Cannock WS12 2DB UK PUBLISHING Infinity Gaming Magazine is operated by © Clever Duck Media Ltd ® Company Reg. No. 687 1018 (Registered in England) ADVERTISING: Sponsorship Opportunities Colin@gaming-awards.com Business Partnerships Svetlana@gaming-awards.com
Opinion Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in all external articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of The Infinity Gaming Magazine Any content provided by our feature writers or authors are of their opinion, and are not intended to malign any religion, ethic group, club, organization, company, individual or anyone or anything.
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BUSINESSMAG • ISSUE JANUARY 2014
We are only couple of weeks away from The International Gaming Awards and cannot wait to see the famous King Pleasure and the Biscuit Boys Band at the Savoy Hotel reception. Of course, we will have many surprises in store for you during the night! One lucky person will be the winner of a piece of jewellery from Tiffany & Co. - you can buy raffle tickets in advance and collect them when you arrive. They cost £10 and all money will go to Care International.
gaming manufacturing company. A full list of recipients over the years can be found on official web page: http://gaming-awards.com/international-gaming-awards/winners/igaoutstanding-contributions/ This year will be no different; one of the biggest names in the industry with outstanding gaming properties worldwide will walk the famous IGA red carpet - however, he (or she!) does not yet know that IGA Gold Star is waiting for them…
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FEATURE ARTICLE
Cuba Needs Casinos
© 2013, I. Nelson Rose. Prof. Rose is recognized as one of the world’s leading experts on gambling law, and is a consultant and expert witness for governments and industry. His latest books, INTERNET GAMING LAW (1st and 2nd editions), BLACKJACK AND THE LAW and GAMING LAW: CASES AND MATERIALS, and the recently published GAMING LAW IN A NUTSHELL, are available through his website, www.GAMBLINGANDTHELAW.com.
“I crapped out” Meyer Lansky, quoted in T.J. English’s HAVANA NOCTURNE: HOW THE MOB OWNED CUBA...AND THEN LOST IT TO THE REVOLUTION
F
idel Castro is gone.
He may not be dead. But on a recent trip to Cuba, I was told by both American and Cuban experts that he is beyond retired. His image may be everywhere, but he no longer has a living influence. Fidel has become to Cuba what Mao is to China. His younger brother, Raul, is still alive, but is 82 years old. He has called for term limits, including his own. He will not run for reelection as President in 2018.
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Since taking over from Fidel in 2007, Raul started introducing reforms. He had to.
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Cuba is a country where nuclear physicists drive taxis, because they can make more than their $40 per month government salaries. Under Fidel, Cubans could not buy or sell cars or homes, so they arranged phoney marriages. The property could then be transferred through a divorce. Still today, everyone owns their own apartments, but literally nobody owns the apartment buildings; so, there is no one to fix leaking roofs.
Since there are no opportunities, young adults flee the country. Many are willing to risk their lives on Styrofoam rafts to try to get to America. Change is coming to Cuba. The big questions are whether it will be slow or fast, peaceful or violent. The old men who have led Cuba for the last 54 years – there have been 11 U.S. Presidents since Fidel took over – are survivors. They know how to hang on to power. If a charismatic leader arose who might one day challenge the Castro brothers, he was sent to work in the sugar fields. So, there is no caudillo (strong man) to lead a second revolution. But the old men also have to keep the disappointment and anger of the general population under control. They are understandably scared by what they saw happen to dictators during the “Arab Spring.” On January 14, 2013, the government began allowing most Cubans to leave the country, without having to get approval, pay $400 for a visa or forfeiting their right to return. This may turn out to be like the fall of the Berlin Wall. Average citizens visiting countries with more than four state-controlled television channels, let alone ac-
Cuba needs casinos cess to the Internet, will be more frustrated upon their return, with their lack of just about everything. allow the state to license anyone who has had its licensed revoked in another state. The U.S. embargo, and the failures of communism, have locked Cuba into 1959. Even the cars and buildings are the same. And this may provide the solution to Cuba’s problems.
Cuba’s 1950’s hotels are also still standing. More importantly, so are its casinos. Although now dark and empty, nothing else has changed; even the chandeliers are the same. You swear you hear the ghost whispering of long-gone slot machines and crap tables, when you walk around the Riviera casino. Many of the bars and nightclubs are still open. The largest showroom of them all, the Tropicana with its multi-level, outdoor stage, sells out every night. The extravaganza features statuesque showgirls with feathered headdresses and sexy dancing, or at least what would have been considered sexy in 1959. Fidel, through his hand-picked provisional president, Manuel Urrutia, closed the casinos immediately after seizing power, just as he canceled the national lottery. But the thousands of Cubans thrown out of
work took to the streets in protest. Castro’s own economic advisors told him that the country’s economy would collapse unless the casinos were reopened. They proved to be right, but too late. Castro relented, for a while. But tourists, especially Americans, stayed away in droves. The casinos were closed for good; and the economy did collapse. Communist nations are not averse to legal gambling. Casinos in particular have been seen as a way of extracting hard currency from tourists and from the underground economy. I played in a casino in Hungary, with all transactions in Deutsche Marks (this was before the euro). The Socialist Republic of Vietnam still has casinos. Surprisingly, so, too, does North Korea. And then, of course, there is Macau. The casinos there win more than
all of the privately owned casinos in Nevada, New Jersey, Mississippi and the rest of the United States – combined. Macau, like Hong Kong, is a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China. The PRC is still technically a communist country, although it would be more accurate to describe it as Marxist: widespread free enterprise capitalism flourishing under a totalitarian, one party dictatorship. The bureaucrats who run Cuba can find a partial solution to the country’s present economic catastrophe and its pending political crisis by looking east – far east. Cuba needs to pull a Macau. Resort casinos create jobs and bring in much needed revenue. They could ease Cuba’s transition out of the economic stagnation created by pure communism, as they did in China.
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Classic 1950’s Fords and Chevys are everywhere. Imagine the reaction of a guy making $20 a month, after trade reopens with the U.S.: “I won’t give you more than $40,000 for your car.”
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(Continued)
Cuba needs casinos
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f course, Cuba does not have hundreds of millions of middleclass residents with few other legal outlets for gambling. In fact, the people are so poor that it is one of the few countries where it actually is to the advantage of casino operators that locals would not be allowed to enter. But, Cuba already attracts large numbers of tourists from Europe and Latin America; tourism is the nation’s leading industry. The spectacular success of Havana’s casinos in the 1950’s show what legal gaming could do, especially once Americans can visit without restrictions.
In the early 1960s, children could get cartoon trading cards with purchases of Felices [Spanish for happy] Frutas’s canned fruit. They would glue them into their “Album de la Revolucion Cubana.” One shows an angry crowd storming the Deauville Casino, with this label: “El pueblo destroza algunos casinos y casas de juegos,” “The people destroy some casinos and gambling houses.” Still, this was half a century ago. Times change. Fifty years before Macau became the top casino market in the world, gambling in China was
punishable by death. Cuba already has tourist zones, where locals are not allowed to enter, except for work. Canadian tourists already fly directly to resorts on the southern coast of Cuba, just to go to the beach. The natural spot for the first Cuban casino-resort is, ironically, the Bay of Pigs. The scene of the disastrous failed invasion of 1961 is now a thriving resort, especially for Europeans. But there is another spot, where a casino would be even more of a positive political statement by the Cuban government: Guantanamo Bay. It is isolated from the vast majority of the population; at more than 500 miles from Havana, it is actually closer to Miami. There are beaches and an airport and one of
the largest sea ports in the world for cruise ships, if the U.S. will allow free passage. Cuba could set up another tourist zone, with legal gambling, on the Cuban side of Guantanamo Bay. Local residents would be barred. But visitors from every other country, including the United States, would be welcome. Americans can travel to Macau without even having to get a visa. Wouldn’t it be great if Guantanamo Bay became better known for its hotel-casino resorts than for its prison?
Next Month:
Culture Clash - doing business in Asia and US it’s not that easy
BUSINESSMAG • ISSUE JANUARY 2014
The major problem is political. Havana’s casinos were symbols of the prior dictator, Fulgencio Batista’s, corrupt regime. When asked about the Americans who ran Cuba’s gambling, Fidel said, “We are not only disposed to deport the gangsters, but to shoot them.”
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US GAMING NEWS
Rank Group in talks with Northern Ireland on new casino
The Rank Group which now operates 55 casinos in the UK following the purchase of Gala Casinos has already held preliminary discussions with and Belfast City Councillors on the proposed multi million pound casino development which would also include a hotel and restaurants, creating over 200 jobs in the process. At present Northern Irelands gambling laws forbid the opening of purpose built casinos, however Dan Waugh, Rank Group’s strategy Director, met Sinn Féin, Alliance and SDLP Councillors earlier in December to talk about that very subject to see if there was any interest in such a change in legislation allowing for Rank to build the first ever such casino. Mr Waugh said: “We want to determine whether or not there is an appetite for a change in the Northern Ireland legislation which would eventually allow for a strictly regulated and monitored gaming operation to anchor a broader entertainment centre with cinema, restaurants, bars and possibly a hotel, the likes of which are prevalent in most major cities in Europe.” It is understood Mr. Waugh will again visit lawmakers in early 2014 to view the possibilities of changing current
legislation from only allowing arcade style gambling for low stakes to introducing roulette and black jack tables. It would be up to Nelson McCausland’s Department of Social Development to change the laws, but if legislation is allowed for the development of an entertainment centre including a casino, Mr Waugh says he envisages an operation which would create up to 200 full-time equivalent skilled posts. “We are designing a prototype model specifically for Belfast and this would include all the components mentioned, create up to 200 skilled jobs and generate significant economic benefits through taxes and business rates.” “We would specifically recruit our personnel from areas of social need in Belfast where long-term unemployed and young people not in employment, education or training are in the highest numbers. “Training in gaming trades and professions provides a passport to travel the world and work in just about any corner of the world. “We enjoy a strong reputation as a caring operator and work hard to develop relationships with the communities we serve.”
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orthern Ireland could see for the first time a purpose built casino by one of the Uk’s largest gaming operators, as early as 2014.
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US GAMING NEWS
65% of Americans support online gambling in new poll Atlantic Club to close after sale
The sad story of the Atlantic Club Casino Hotel
seems to be drawing to a close, with the doors shutting on January 13th following the purchase by Caesars Entertainment and the Tropicana.
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recent poll by Reason Rupe in the US has found that 65% of Americans support online gambling against 32% which are opposed and believe the US government should ban online gambling.
The poll also brings up some very interesting bipartisan results, Republicans favour online gambling more than Democrats with 75% Republicans in favour as opposed to 58% of Democrats supporting online gambling. Which would suggest a Republican President is more likely to pass a federal online gambling bill rather than a Democrat. With the age bracket support for online gambling is favoured amongst the younger demographic, 70% of those under 55 years old support online gambling, with the figure declining to 56% of those over 55 years of age. Post graduates and higher income individuals support online gambling the most with 73% and 66% respectively support online gambling.
After completing the sale of the Atlantic for a total of $23.4 million, the Tropicana has purchased all the 1,641 slot machines, 48 table games and the casino’s customer database for $8.4 million to use in their other resorts, while Caesars spent $15 million for the property and furnishings and to ensure there are only now 11 casinos in Atlantic City in the hope it will boost their other casino revenues. What will happen to the 1,600 employees of the Atlantic is unsure, certainly most if not all will lose their jobs come January after the closure, with unemployment already at over 11% in Atlantic City the hope of finding a job will be very tough for most of them. So come the 13th January the club will be moth balled for the near future, the long term future of the resort will if fortunate become a hotel only location with revenues in the city falling from the once high of $5.2 billion in 2006 to less than 40% of that in 2013, the likely hood of another casino opening up is unlikely.
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This follows a recent report by the Wall Street Journal that says online gambling if available nationwide would generate $9.3 billion in revenues per year by 2020, which would surpass revenues of both Atlantic City and Las Vegas combined.
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EUROPEAN GAMING NEWS
Adelson considers resorts in Europe again
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heldon Adelson has offered the possibility of still opening smaller integrated resorts in Europe following an interview at a University campus in Israel. According to his talk at the Herzliya universirty Adelson said, “I’m looking at a different model of doing Singapore-like or Japan-like or Korea-like individual IRs in individual cities, we will just take the major cities in Europe and see whether or not there is a possibility to pursue
that.” This follows only two weeks after the Las Vegas Sands owner pulled the plug on the $30 billion super resort in Spain nicknamed “EuroVegas,” after failing to convince the Spanish government to ease tax rates for the resort and allow smoking within certain areas of the casino complex. Continuing on where the resorts could be located he said, “Madrid, Barcelona, Rome, Milan, Athens and
Paris are possible sites for new resorts, Adelson said. Only cities with tourism infrastructure, including hotels, restaurants, transportation and exhibition facilities, would be considered,” he finished. In Asia, it “looks like” Japan, Korea, possibly Vietnam, Taiwan, and Thailand will allow the establishment of integrated resorts, said Adelson, “If they do, I’ll have a lot to keep me busy for the next five to ten years,” he finished by saying.
Greece sees 60% decline in casino revenues
2013 saw casino revenues drop to 300 million Euros, which was
the fifth successive decline, the best year Greece saw in gaming revenues was in 2008, when it hit a high of 744.5 million Euros. Over recent years the decline has seen 2011 at just under 420 million Euros and in 2012 it stood at 330 million Euros.
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atest figures from Greece regarding their casino revenues does not make for pleasant reading, the once booming casino industry there has suffered a 60% drop in revenues over the last five years, which has also impacted on government tax revenues that relied on gambling to help prop up a struggling economy.
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US GAMING NEWS
Atlantic City could see more casinos fall danger with many saying it could go into administration again in 2014.
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any observers in Atlantic City believe that the demise of the Atlantic Club casino will be the start of other casino resorts to disappear from the boardwalk. With the Atlantic Club to close in the next few days with the loss of 1,800 jobs it is considered to only
Should those three go that would mean a loss of up to 3,000 hotel rooms and many thousands of jobs. It would also mean lower tax revenues for the state which is hoping that the entry into legalised online gambling will help shore up dropping revenues. But could it just cover the lost revenues of its land based casinos? be the first with what experts say is too many casinos for a declining customer base from competition outside the state for gambling dollars. The most likely next candidates for the same fate are Trump Plaza, the Golden Nugget and possibly the Showboat. With also The Revel in
The first official figures from online gambling revenues will be announced within the next two weeks and will offer an indicator to the state if there has been an increase in gambling activity or just a move from land based to online. For many operators it is the last chance to keep alive their operations on the boardwalk.
California to enter online poker in 2015
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Once established the state could look forward to generating revenues annually of $384 million, the latest research also estimates that 180,000 players will register to play online poker, however given the fact that New Jersey has seen player registrations top 126,000, that estimate is certainly on the conservative side. What also is on many observers minds is when will California introduce a bill to legalise online poker, many experts now say that 2015 will be the year, given that this year is an election year in the US. “I don’t have any doubt we’ll have legal online poker in
California,” Professor I. Nelson Rose, a specialist in gambling law. “Only politics is preventing it. Many understand that it will be the state’s tribes who will push for legalizing online poker and have the political muscle to do so.
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recent study shows that California can generate as much as $263 million in taxable revenues in the first year alone, when it decides to launch online poker in the state.
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US GAMING NEWS
Adelson gears up war against online
The country’s fifth richest man has pledged to spend whatever it takes to stop the spread of online gambling in the US. Currently he’s hired former New York governor George Pataki, along with former Arkansas senator Blanche Lincoln and former Denver mayor Wellington Webb to lead the lobbying effort. “There is no reason to put a casino on everybody’s kitchen table, in the bed of every young person, whether they are underage or of age, or on mobile phones,” says Adelson. “I don’t want people to get addicted.” Should online gambling be concerned about what Adelson is do-
ing? Well he certainly has enough money to cause ripples in government and already is the single largest donator to the Republican party, where he spent over $100 million in his failed attempt to get a Republican in the Whitehouse in 2012. However there are some very powerful allies for online gambling and these men also have some serious financial muscle. They include George Soros, John Paulson and Leon Cooperman, three of the most successful hedge fund managers in US history and all now major shareholders in Caesars Entertainment offshoot company into online gambling Caesars Acquisition Co. Along with these men are billionaire private equity managers Leon Black, David Bonderman, Marc Rowan and Joshua Harris, whose two respective buyout firms are the biggest shareholders in Caesars Entertainment and invested a combined $484 million in Caesars’ online gambling vehicle.
So the sides are drawn over online gambling, in one corner stands Sheldon Adelson and his mighty company Las Vegas Sands valued at $60 billion and in the other a collection of the biggest and successful investors in history. But it may not be an easy win for pro online gambling with recently Mitch Garber saying, “What I have heard Adelson say is, ‘I am very rich, and I don’t like Internet gaming,’ and those things are true,” says Mitch Garber, CEO of Caesars Acquisition Co. But “Sheldon’s eyes are closed to the fact that all goods and services are ultimately going to be purchased on the Internet.” Many gambling consultants believe that Adelson will eventually lose his battle, but could slow the progress of large states entering online gambling such as California and Florida, which would be a blow to the expansion of online gambling in the US as combined population those states carry over 50 million residents.
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heldon Adelson has now launched his Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling with an army of former politicians and lobbyists on his payroll to ensure that online gambling goes no further than the three states already operating in Nevada, Delaware and New Jersey.
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FEATURE ARTICLE
New Jersey: from the Garden state to the Gambling state By Christina Thakor-Rankin Our feature writer Christina Thakor-Rankin reviews New Jersey online gambling and sees whether Europe can learn anything from it.
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here has been much debate of late in terms of how the garden state might be the litmus test and provide a roadmap for the future of gambling in the US.
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It is an understandable perspective for a number of reasons. New Jersey’s first foray into online gambling is already wider than that of Nevada; it is the first regulated internal market with both an existing acceptance of gambling via Atlantic City, and a population sufficiently large to provide the critical mass of players required to support liquidity and sustain long-term growth and profit; the state’s long term ambitions, personified by Senator Lesniak’s proposed bill, suggest that New Jersey is about to define itself from the Garden state to the global Gambling state; and lastly, but by no means least, Governor Christie, the man responsible for all of this is, firstly a Republican and secondly seen as a contender for the White House in 2016, and those stars aligning, surely provide the best bet yet for an all-signing, all-dancing federal gambling bill? 2016 is some way off yet however, and as we know, a week is a
long time in politics and, indeed, gambling, as Full Tilt, Poker Stars and Party will, do doubt agree. So let’s go back to the here and now, focusing only on the state, and see whether New Jersey really can provide a glimpse into the future. Firstly, the US is a group of individual national states, operating under a higher federal umbrella -just like in fact, the EU – and that may provide a better starting point when looking at how much of an influencer New Jersey might be. The road to regulation in Europe has been on a state by state basis – some states embracing all forms of gambling, others partially, some preferring a state monopoly, some standing firmly against gambling, some promoting themselves as a European gambling hub, aiming to set the standard and lead the way, and some discussion about liquidity and cross-border and ‘overseas’ player acceptance. Each nation state is doing it its way. Italy, France, Spain and Denmark share some regulatory similarities but have all done it their way based upon what they consider
best for them. Sweden operates a monopoly, Germany may operate a semi closed market – the UK is looking to embrace the tax element but via a different model again. And so, one presumes, it will be with the US. Whilst New Jersey has a model which suits, based upon its needs and ambitions, those of other states will be dictated by their specific nuances and needs, which may not be the same as New Jersey. Secondly, New Jersey has a large population and it has Atlantic City, so in theory a tailor-made customer base willing to accept gambling. Maybe - maybe not. Thus far New Jersey’s gambling has been driven by land-based casinos, but new casino resorts in neighbouring states such as New York and Pennsylvania have seen Atlantic City’s fortunes fade over the last few years. This suggests two possible negatives for online – New Jersey residents are not that into gambling, with Atlantic City’s initial success driven by our of state-rs, or New Jersey residents who live near the state line prefer a casino closer to them – this might be a positive except for the fact that geo-location
blocking currently seems to be an issue for those living on the borderline. The positive is that New Jerseyites like gambling (they voted for it) but are not inclined travel any significant distance for the pleasure – but will embrace the convenience of online. Only time will tell, but if the numbers do not deliver then that will be another mark.
Gibraltar, Alderney, Isle of Man, etc. have already been down this road and are seen as European and arguably international gambling hubs. Companies can set up there and offer their gambling services internationally from a highly regulated, highly reputable jurisdiction – unless a target market regulates and applies IP blocking, which is happening increasingly around the world; requires a gambling operation to be established in state, in which case why would you maintain an out of state operation as well; applies tax locally, in which case why would an operator wish to pay tax twice? Under such circumstances, New Jersey would have to apply a reduced or zero tax approach to operators
based in state but offering services to external customers in order to compete with existing zero tax regimes, and secondly take a ‘blindeye’ approach to operators ‘exploiting’ loop-holes or sitting outside of the law. E.g. an operator based in New Jersey but accepting bets from Hong Kong, China, Europe, or even New York. In order to realise its ambitions, this would mean New Jersey either having to undertake significantly greater monitoring, almost as a de facto international regulator, which would mean restricting revenue, or becoming an ‘Antigua’, backing itself but at the risk of a reputational hit which could alienate neighbours and impact on intra-state bi-lateral agreements. And there is of course, nothing stopping any other US state from deciding to do the same as New Jersey - Nevada with its gambling pedigree being an obvious contender. And let’s not forget the final possi
bility. Given that none of the above is secret knowledge, and the fact that New Jersey has always been interested in sports, the real purpose of the proposed bill might just be to find a way to allow operators to be able to offer sports-betting under new regulation which bypasses existing hurdles, until such time as Christie hits the White House.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Christina Thakor-Rankin is Principal Consultant at 1710Gaming working with start-ups, investors, operators regulators, and industry groups internationally, covering all aspects of the gaming and gambling cycle - from initial research, licence and operational go-live, to new markets and opportunities, to customer engagement and experience. She has over 20 years industry experience and has previously held roles at William Hill, Blue Square, Tote (Sport) and Virgin Games managing multiple business disciplines, functions and teams.
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Thirdly, Senator Lesniak’s proposed bill which seeks to make New Jersey the global hub of online gambling, is fraught with as many negatives as positives. The positives are New Jersey placing a stake in the ground and declaring itself the Gambling state and stealing Nevada’s reputational thunder, and the benefits to the economy, such as revenue and job creation, which attracting new business will invariably bring. The negatives however, make the realisation of this dream incredibly challenging, and again we can look to Europe for lessons.
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US GAMING NEWS
AGA hire big hitters for online gambling push
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he American Gaming Association (AGA) has taken on some heavy hitters to ensure they are ready for the fight for online gambling in the US. Following on from our report that Sheldon Adelson has now commenced his own battle against online gambling with the launch of “the Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling” the lines between the two have been drawn. Geoff Freeman, the AGA’s president and chief executive, said bulking up in staff and consulting are part of his plan to create a more aggressive casino trade association that can operate outside of the Beltway. “It’s part of a big shift that we are making. We are becoming a more proactive group that is working to define the image of the gaming industry. It’s less about legislation and more about defining the image
of this industry, not in just Washington but in the states as well,” Freeman said. The AGA have hired Jim Messina, President Obama’s campaign manager for his 2012 reelection bid. The trade group has hired the Messina Group to help with grassroots campaigns, including support of online gambling. So Adelson and Las Vegas Sands (LVS) stands against online gambling and the Association that LVS
belong to are in favour, how long before the announcement comes that LVS can no longer belong to an association that is completely opposed to his companies beliefs?
PartyPoker to sponsor US sports teams
This follows the successful launch of PartyPoker in New Jersey seven weeks ago, it is clear the online gambling company want to raise their profile in the expanding online gambling market in the US and believes the tie up with two big sports teams will help raise that presence further. Partypoker.com, one of the world’s leading online-poker brands, and is partnered with the resort’s Borgata Hotel
Casino & Spa, where it operates nj.partypoker.com. It will have a multimedia promotional partnership with the 76ers, Devils, and Prudential Center, home arena for the Devils. “The multiyear deal in the online-gaming category is the first of its kind for U.S.-based sports organizations,” Sixers spokesman Michael Preston said Wednesday, “and signals a continued commitment by both franchises to create and foster partnerships with the world’s best brands.” “In addition to a number of … advertising and promotional elements being in place,” he said, “fans will have the opportunity to sign up and sample partypoker at stations throughout the arenas, and receive exclusive offers.”
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artyPoker owned by online gambling giant Bwin. Party have signed a deal to sponsor the Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA & the New Jersey Devils of the NHL, a press conference is due to be held on Thursday 9th January to officially announce the deal which is the first of its kind between US sports teams and a European online gambling firm.
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ARTICLE
Comment Cards Are the Dinosaurs Of Casino Customer Feedback Our feature writer Martin Baird in his January article looks at comment cards, do they belong in history and how else do we find out what customers think
By Martin R. Baird
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here isn’t a business in the world that couldn’t do a better job of keeping customers happy, of understanding what customers do and don’t like about its products and services. There is always room for improvement.
time you wrote a letter to a friend? When was the last time you dashed off a written note to a colleague at work? People are accustomed to emailing or texting, not writing things out by hand. Thus, writing comments by hand is a laborious task.
I believe most casinos want to do a better job in this area, too. So why do they cling to old ways to gather customer feedback in an increasingly complex and competitive world? Why do they rely so heavily on that dinosaur of feedback methods, the comment card? After decades of using it, why do casinos think this relic will help them compete and grow?
Next, the customer must find a comment card box to drop the card into. Your guests are used to communicating by clicking a send key on a smartphone or computer. Wandering around looking for a box is so inconvenient it may not be worth the effort. If the customer takes the card home, he must mail it at his own expense.
Casinos are addicted to comment cards. Oh how I wish I could get them into rehab. If they would just kick the habit and embrace emerging real-time feedback technologies, I’m convinced they could generate valuable, actionable data that will help them better understand their customers and improve their business practices.
Then there’s the lack of closure customers feel from filling out cards. Does anyone with the casino even look at the cards? If comment cards are read, what’s done with the information? Does the data work its way up the chain of command or does it collect dust somewhere?
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This column is dedicated to helping casinos understand why comment cards are so old school they harm more than they help.
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Let’s start with the customer, the person expected to actually fill out these things. The key to getting feedback from customers is to make it as easy as possible for them. Comment cards are not easy. In fact, there is a perception among casino guests that the cards require an annoying amount of work. First, the customer must find a pen or pencil. Then they have to hand write their remarks. When was the last
Don’t get me wrong. The information on some cards can be useful if it brings legitimate problems to the casino’s attention. Problems can be fixed. But the customer who complained has already had a poor experience and gone home. It’s too late for service recovery with that customer and thus the lack of closure. One can argue that this customer will be pleased to see the problem eliminated the next time he visits the casino, but what if he has soured on that particular property and now plays somewhere else? According to research by Harris Interactive, 86 percent of consumers will stop doing business with a company because of a bad experience. There’s yet another problem with customers. If guests
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For all the above reasons, comment cards must be viewed as a barrier to feedback, the one thing casinos simply must have to move forward and avoid stagnating as a commercial enterprise. Now let’s take a look at the downside from the casino’s side of the equation. Some guests do fill out comment cards. Who are these folks? I’ve read that only 30 percent of people fill them out and they generally are lovers or haters. They think your casino is either the most wonderful place on the planet or the worst. I would not want to run my business getting direction only from those two groups. If the statistics are correct, you are ignoring at least 70 percent of your guests. And I would argue that this silent majority is likely to provide the most straightforward, useful information. If your casino uses comment cards, you must have money to burn. Comment cards are expensive to print and if you mail them to guests, you’re paying for postage. Don’t want to offend customers by expecting them to buy stamps to mail them back? Then you foot the bill for that postage, too. If you take the cards seriously and actually tabulate the data, someone has to be paid to do that. Casinos watch their expenses with an eagle eye. They shouldn’t spend precious resources on something that doesn’t pay off. Look at this from a practical point of view. Does anyone at your casino have time to diligently read hundreds of comment cards, quantify them, spot trends, work up reports and present the data? Staffing is lean at casinos, so I think I know the answer to my question. But I’ll play devil’s advocate. Guests fill out cards and drop them off. The cards are read and the data is
crunched. The information makes its way to the right executives. I say – so what? It can take weeks for this process to play itself out. By then, the people who filled out the cards have forgotten about it and perhaps forgotten about you. If they filled out a card because of a problem, the opportunity for service recovery is long gone, along with your customer. I cannot overemphasize how important it is to get customer feedback quickly. Even if the feedback is positive, the casino should want to thank the customer right away and perhaps offer a perk as a way of saying thanks for being such a valued guest. If the guest is impressed with your property, impress him in return right then and there. If there is a problem, I guarantee the guest will be bowled over if the issue is resolved immediately. That kind of service recovery generates good will with a long shelf life. Timely customer feedback and quick service recovery are critical to the success of every casino on earth. This is a common need within the industry because people’s lives move too quickly for gaming to operate any other way. I will go so far as to say that casinos need customer feedback in real time while guests are still on the property. And they can have instant feedback because the technology exists today to provide it. It’s time to put comment cards where they belong – in a museum.
Martin R. Baird Bio Martin R. Baird is chief executive officer of Robinson & Associ-
Or Read on App andStore their guest service so they can compete generate future ates, Inc., a Boise, Idaho-based consulting firm to the global
gaming industry that is dedicated to helping casinos improve growth and profitability. Robinson & Associates is the world leader in casino guest experience measurement, management and improvement. For more information, visit the company’s Web sites at http://casinocustomerservice.com and www.advocatedevelopmentsystem.com or contact the company at 208-991-2037. Robinson & Associates is a member of the Casino Management Association and an associate member of the National Indian Gaming Association.
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(Continued) must provide contact information on the card, the casino will garner fewer responses. If guests are allowed to remain anonymous, the casino has no way to reach out to them.
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AFFILIATE ARTICLE
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MACAU GAMING NEWS
Reed announces Japan gambling Conference when legal
R It has been four years since there was a move to build a casino resort in Taiwan, that attempt failed even thou the land was bought, but the public in the county voted against it and the Taiwan Government never enabled gambling legislation to go forward. However things are changing in 2014 as the Taiwan Government has said they will now push forward with legislation to allow for land based casino resorts to be up and running in the next five years. “Given that the act could be successfully passed in the beginning of year 2014, we optimistically expect that the earliest time the casino could open to public in Matsu is around 2019,” says Lin Kuo-shian, director-general of Taiwan’s transportation ministry who’s department would regulate any gambling on the island. The Taiwan Government clearly want in on the estimated $50 billion gambling business in Asia where Singapore, the Philippines and Macau enjoy huge profits.
eed Exhibitions the organisers of G2E & G23Asia along with the American Gaming Association (AGA) have announced they will hold an educational conference in Japan when the country legalises gambling. The AGA who works with Reed on both events are keen to involve themselves in Japan once the gov-
ernment has passed the gambling bill which is at present awaiting a vote. Already rival exhibitor Clarion has organised a similar event in the coming months and shows how important Japan could become in the gambling sector for both exhibition companies to want in already on a country that most likely will not see a casino operational
for several years. American Gaming Association president Geoff Freeman said: “Our decades of experience in industry regulation, operations and responsible gaming can be of enormous value to the Japanese as they consider building what could be one of the world’s most significant gaming markets.”
Bally Tech to continue LT Game fight
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ally Technologies have released a statement regarding their recent purchase of SHFL Entertainment and the long running dispute that company have with LT Game. In the statement Bally Technologies say they will continue the fight and “vigorously defend” its right to sell electronic table games in Macau. SHFL Entertainment has been in dispute with LT Games for several years with the most recent spat at the Macau Gaming Show where LT Game managed to have SHFL’s
product covered up by Customs officers. At that time SHFL Entertainment issued a written statement saying: “SHFL Asia will seek to recover any damages that it may have incurred as a result of customs actions at the show.” Custom agents attended the first day of the show to review the product and complaint from LT Game, following their investigation the agents returned on the last day of the show on Saturday to enforce the order that SHFL cover the product.
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Taiwan to have first casino in 2019
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AFFILIATE ARTICLE
Make money; don’t lose it – The unpopular Affiliate Manager By Ellen Learmonth Ellen Learmonth for her January article looks at Affiliate Managers and their relationship with Affiliates.
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elatioship management is key to the daily work with affiliates. I don’t have to go into detail when I am listing the important daily tasks of the affiliate manager’s usual routine but checking on the profitability of your affiliate campaigns on an individual affiliate level should be one of them.
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Now you get programs that have a software to allow you to set up special bonus campaigns as well as software that can print out related conversion reports fairly easily, but often a highly targeted and individual campaign requires some dedicated time to investigate its profitability thoroughly. You as an affiliate manager should take the time and very soon you could determine if the “free no deposit bonus” given to affiliate X has brought real depositing players and not only bonus hunters. It takes time to decide what type of bonus works best on an individual site. Sometimes you are best served with a good old deposit bonus, another time it is a combination of deposit bonus plus some free play on top that works and rarely does the “free bonus” work for acquisition, yet we are still so determined to of-
fer up a freebie and still do. I am not trying to generalise here but “free not deposit bonus” users are usually the type of players that squeeze the operator’s profitability time and time again, so a good focus should be placed on analysing each “free no deposit” offer. More often than not the result is that the costs of the “free no deposit offer” outweighs the deposits coming into the system and the affiliate is earning on the free play wagering while the operator sees no profit especially when a “no negative carry over” policy is in place. An analysis over time will give you the true profitability – use it and then make the changes necessary to cut losses. So this is where you as an affiliate manager will become unpopular: You could just change the policy for all affiliates and extract the “no negative carry over” for commissions so that your operation does not carry all of the risk of profitable playing, thus easing the overall pressure on profitable individual campaigns. Or you could try and adjust the bonus offer on an individual affiliate basis, which seems fairer but by no means makes you more popular as portrayed here…
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ffiliate X has had a “free 15 no deposit” offer and you as the affiliate manager have taken time to analyse the performance over the past 6 months. As so often the case, the number of players using the bonus is far greater than the ones depositing and the promotion value is higher than the deposit amounts. You as the affiliate manager decide to approach the affiliate to offer him a different type of bonus as the current leaves your employer, the operator, losing money. Now you face the reaction of complete and utter disbelieve by the affiliate as he utters: “Why do you want to take away the free 15? I have sent you lots of players with that bonus? I have been earning! This is not fair!” Guess how high you rank in his popularity list?
So where in the rules of the partnership does it say that only the affiliate is allowed to have a profitable income? Why is it so difficult to make some partners understand the basic economics of a free bonus? I am pleased to say that the profound rejection of understanding that a “no deposit bonus” might not work on his site by an affiliate is not the norm and most affiliates in this situation are willing to try other variants of player incentives. After all it should be a win/win situation and if you as an affiliate manager and your brand cannot win then don’t be scared to be unpopular – after all you are hired to make money; not lose it!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Ellen Learmonth has been active in digital media for over 14 years covering all disciplines of online marketing with strong expertise in acquisition and affiliate marketing. She is passionate about innovation and new technology with a strong drive for creativity. Her 2006 World Cup Campaign earned two prestigious creative design awards at the New York Festival (Bronze) and The International Davey Award (Gold). Now living in London, Ellen is lending her expertise to some of the major gaming operators.
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Affiliate Business - Relationship Management
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ASIA GAMING NEWS
Reed announces Japan gambling Conference when legal
The country already has strict laws regarding land based gambling but none of the current ones properly cover online or telephone gambling as the government has not updated the gambling regulations since the boom in online/remote gambling, that will change in early 2014 according to government minister Iswaran. The Home Affairs Minister added that while these measures may not be foolproof, they will impede access to remote gambling platforms and send a clear signal of the regulatory stance in Singapore. However there is a small hope that the Singapore government may make some provisions depending on their study of local jurisdictions and whether a total ban would be even more destructive. “A total ban, without any authorised, or limited authorised options may be effective, but it will also create more problems with more activity going underground. If you offer something that is controlled and managed, it might create an alternative away from unauthorised activities.” Said the Minister. But he added that if there are exemptions, the govern-
ment would want to keep the number of regulated operators to a bare minimum. Mr Iswaran also gave several reasons why there’s concern over remote gambling. “It is ubiquitously and easily accessible through the Internet and mobile applications, especially by a younger and more tech-savvy generation. In a recent online survey of around 1000 Internet users commissioned by the Ministry of Home Affairs, we found that almost 3 in 10 respondents had gambled remotely at least once in the past year. This is not surprising as one can gamble anonymously from almost any location at any time.” He says the nature and design of the games, like poker and casino-type games, also lend themselves to repetitive play and addictive behaviour. And from a law and order perspective, remote gambling operations may become a source or conduit of funds for other illegal activities and syndicated crime. Some analysts estimate that the size of the remote gambling market in Singapore could be US$300 million, and it is expected to grow by 6 to 7 per cent each year. Prior to any new legislation there will be public consultations to find out the views and opinions of the public and all connected organisations.
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he Singapore government are moving to insert a new bill into law that would ban all types of online and telephone gambling within the country, said Second Minister for Home Affairs S Iswaran.
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GAMING NEWS
Macau makes big impression on HK Rich List
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he huge success story that is Macau continues following the latest Forbes 2014 Hong Kong Rich list, the biggest winner over the last year is Galaxy Entertainment Chairman Lui Che Woo, who saw his personal fortune rise by over $11 billion in the year to $21 billion and makes him the second richest person on the list. But it is not just men that have seen their wealth increase with the continued rise of Macau to become the biggest gambling hub in the world, Stanley Ho Sun’s daughter, Pansy Ho, added $3.9 billion to her wealth, with now a total of $6.8 billion and putting herself in ninth place on the Forbes list. Pansy Ho is the Chairperson of MGM China.
Indeed the Ho family have done well over the last year with Stanley Ho’s fourth wife, Angela Leong, grew her personal wealth to $2.85 billion from US$2.1 billion in 2012. She is the Executive Director of SJM Holdngs. Finally Lawrence Ho the
Co-Chairman and CEO of Melco Crown Entertainment saw his personal wealth increase to $3.4 billion in the year and is now the 12th richest man in Hong Kong and also the richest newcomer to the Forbes list.
Over $100 billion worth of business at the 7th IGA
The accumulative value of those companies attending will surpass $100 billion that is a lot of business. Celebrating and recognising the very best over the last twelve months the IGA will bring together operators, suppliers and manufacturers from around the World. Attendees from Australia, Macau, Singapore, Africa, Europe, Canada, the US and South America will come together to help support Care International and congrat-
ulate the most successful companies in the last year. For the first time attending will be Dr Lui Che-woo, Chairman of Galaxy Entertainment in Macau, recently named the second richest man in Asia, he will be joined by other leading figures from the US and around the World. Anyone wishing to attend the International Gaming Awards can book their places using the online reservation form, however organisers Clever Duck Media says that such as has been the demand this year for tables the ceremony will be sold out within the next week.
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he 7th International Gaming Awards (IGA) which will be held on the 3rd February at the Stunning Savoy Hotel will be attended this year by some of the World’s leading figures from the gambling industry.
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GAMING NEWS
Nevada casinos lose $1.35 billion in 2013 it five straight years now that the major casinos in Nevada have shown loses. However there was some good news with the revenues up to $23 billion which is an increase of more than $99 million from 2012 figures, which is three years in a row the revenues figure has risen, sadly the results have not followed yet.
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he largest casinos in Nevada lost a total of $1.35 billion in the last year according to figures released by the states Gambling Control Board that makes
Overall casino operators saw an 11% rise in losses for 2013 over the previous year with most of that given over to rising operational costs.
Macau post 18.6% annual rise Macau has beaten the last record for annual revenues in 2013 with an amazing total of $45 billion turnover, ensuring it will remain the world’s largest gambling market for many years to come. Figures released from the official ministry for gambling in Macau said that in December the tiny enclave raked in $4.2 billion, making the full year an 18.6%
Optimal Payments Announces Merchant Acquiring Agreements
Optimal Payments has announced that it has obtained principal membership status for merchant acquiring from MasterCard Europe and Visa Europe.
The agreements with MasterCard Europe and Visa Europe will allow Optimal Payments to directly acquire merchant accounts without the need for an acquiring bank, and process Visa and MasterCard payment transactions in the UK and the European Union for Optimal merchants. This is expected to lead to improved margins and competitiveness for the NETBANX offering. Joel Leonoff, president and CEO of Optimal Payments, commented: “Becoming a principal member of both payment schemes in Europe will help to increase market penetration and maximise our profitability in one of our key markets, by providing us with a more competitive framework and further underlining our leading position in global on-line payment processing. We are extremely excited about this accomplishment and are looking forward to the benefits that should materialise as a result.”
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The new merchant acquiring agreements are consistent with Optimal’s strategy to strengthen and differentiate its products and follow the December 2012 announcement that principal membership had been obtained from MasterCard for card issuance.
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GAMING NEWS
The finals chapter in the Atlantic Club Casino was written on Monday morning 13th January shortly after midnight when the casino closed its doors for the final time. Following years of declining customer numbers and stiff competition from the other 11 casinos in Atlantic City, the Atlantic Club was a victim of too many casinos with not enough demand.
Bermuda ready to allow Casinos Bermuda will allow casino resorts on the island for the first ever time says government Minister for Tourism & Transport Shawn Crockwell. Last year Bermuda allowed cruise ships docked on the island to run casino gambling and in a proposal now under discussion in parliament law makers are now ready to allow casinos within a hotel or resort style venue.
Problem gambling declines in the UK The UK Gambling Commissions recent survey contained in the Health Survey for England shows a decline in overall gambling and also a reduction in problem gambling within the UK population.
top of Gambling rich list
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he latest New Jersey gambling figures have been released by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, included in the numbers are the first results for online gambling from November 21st to the end of December. Online revenues for the period were $8.4 million, which is lower than most expectations of $10 million, the six Atlantic City operators who currently operate online showed the biggest share of the market went to the Borgata recording revenues online of $3.75 million which represents 44% of the total market. That goes with the Borgata’s land based business which enjoyed a 22% market share of the record low revenue now for state gambling of $2.86 billion. 2013 will be remembered as the year that saw Atlantic City casino revenues dip below $3 billion since gambling started in the state in 1991. Results for online gambling “are about what we expected, and considering that the technology is still shaking out some kinks, we feel really good about it,” Tom Ballance, Borgata’s president and chief operations officer, said. Caesars Interactive NJ, which has online permits for Bally’s AC and Caesars, was
Sheldon Adelson is not a friend of online gambling but according to the latest numbers from Forbes, the Las Vegas Sands Chairman is the richest gambling executive in the World with an estimated fortune of $39 billion. With casinos in Singapore, Macau and the US Mr Adelson is among the 15 casino owners that have climbed the highest in the Forbes rich list that have gaming interests in Macau the biggest gambling hub in the World. Previously reported the biggest climber to reach number two status of richest gambling tycoon was Dr Lui Che Woo, Chairman of Galaxy Entertainment Group with a net fortune of $21 billion. Incidentally Dr Lui Che Woo will be attending the 7th International Gaming Awards in London on the 3rd February. Third place on the gambling rich list is Australian tycoon James Packer with $6 billion. second with $2.38 million in revenue. Analysts expect the online market to pick up through this year, as technical problems abate and casinos step up marketing. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see January numbers come in around $12 million or higher,” said Adam Krejcik, managing director at Eilers Research L.L.C
BUSINESSMAG • ISSUE JANUARY 2014
Atlantic Club closes its doors
NJ Online revenues lower than expected Sheldon Adelson
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SPECIAL Feature Article
Do you Remember a Bill that’s Been? Ireland’s Gambling Bill / Six Month’s on.............
By J.J. Woods Our feature writer JJ Woods in his January article looks into the Irish Gambling Bill and what the government is trying to establish
JJ Woods was born in Ireland but left in the 1970’s to live in London and he started his career in banking. After four years in Banking in London JJ trained in the Casino Industry. Over the last 30 years JJ has dedicated his career to the setting up, including: design, opening and management of Casinos around the world. Throughout his time in Ireland JJ has also done several Radio, Television and Newspaper interviews on the subject of Casinos and gaming, he is above all extremely passionate about the Casino Industry and Completed a gaming submission to the Irish Government during Legislation Research. He is a leader in respect of the responsibility of customer care He was responsible for the following Casino designs and set ups in Ireland : Macau (Cork), Silks (Dublin). www.atlanticcasinoconsultants.com Email: info@atlanticcasinoconsultants.com
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n 15 July 2013 the gambling bill was issued. It is important to note that the Bill has no legal effect at this stage but it does give us an insight into how the Irish Government is thinking on the whole issue which has been going on since 2006.
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The present legislation and existing Act’s are the Betting Act 1931 which applies to bookmaker shops and the Gaming and Lotteries Act 1956. The Act’s are archaic by any standards and they fall way behind one of the fastest growing industries in the world. The Bill establishes the Office for Gambling Control Ireland (“OGCI”) as the regulator respon-
sible for controlling gambling in Ireland. It would act, under the control of the Minister for Justice and his office as the licensing body for the different categories of licences. Submissions to the Bill These were heard by the committee in October 2013 and in all these hearings were subdued with no real protest of note bar the group who want the Government to rethink their stance against resort style casinos. In any case the written submissions hopefully would have spelt out clearly the plainly unworkable recommendation that the bill contains for example 3 x gaming table operations to be permitted ? and also the maximum number of
slot machines per Casino to be 25? One does wonder who advised the Irish Government on this as it really is nonsense and would tell us that the Bill will indeed have to be revised . The other issue about the Gambling bill is that prior to it being released the Minister Of Justice said that the Government would not be allowing Resort style Casinos , and one would ask why? Any facility that offers other forms of leisure besides a Casino can be classed as a Resort Style Casino , so does that mean that the Minister does not want Casinos in Hotels? A Horseracing track , A Golf Club. The message is clear in that the
The Irish conundrum - Irelands gambling bill and what is being achieved Government does not see a connection between Tourism and Casinos which is nothing short of incredible considering Ireland is a country that relies heavily on it . On the Ground
Licenses It is the duty of the Gardai /Police to check that the premises is properly licensed and that each machine displays a licence , however the reality is somewhat different , I recently spoke to a Gardai who was in charge of licensing of a particular area in the north of the country and he told me he knew very well what was required regarding alcohol licensing but had no idea about gaming licenses? Local Council Several local councils have objected to Slot arcades in cases where a planning application has been submitted and in some cases these decisions have been overturned by An Bord Pleanala which is the higher authority that operators can appeal to should their planning application be refused. In one case An Bord Pleanala’s reason for granting permission was that the building was an empty listed
building and if there was an Arcade there it would help the upkeep of the building and stop it from going into disrepair! In other cases where Arcades/Casino have opened without planning local council has either ignored the development or inspected it and not acted on it. So it seems that the authorities Gardai/Councils have adopted the same notion as the operators in that they will wait until the new gaming legislation is rolled out before they do anything. Gaming Control Office This office was set up during the gaming research period and is still operating .The Office for Gambling Control Ireland (“OGCI”) mentioned in the Gambling Bill has not been set up yet and in my opinion this is where the real problems lie. The Gaming control office mainly deals with policy, communications and research etc, and they have not been given any real powers as such so the question must be ‘’who is enforcing the law when it comes to gaming in Ireland’’?
In my experience when a country is going through this stage of the legislation process the Gaming Control office should be reviewing what is happening on the ground! They should be implementing and reinforcing Ireland’s existing laws by working closely with the Gardai/ Police and local council and possibly the revenue office as this is the beginning to a proper gaming legislation. This more importantly would send out a message around the world that Ireland is taking the Gaming Industry seriously, We have examples of this with Isle of Man , Alderney etc who have built their online reputations on good practises from the beginning. The alternative is to throw a blind eye and allow unauthorised Casinos/ Arcades to carry on opening thus destroying Ireland’s Gaming reputation even before the New Gaming legislation is passed ! and people will ask ‘’Do you remember a Bill ...................
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There is a complete relaxation of existing laws that are in place because of the release of the Gambling Bill. Slot Arcades continue to open that have no licences either for the building or the actual machines and in some cases have no planning from local council for the building itself . Some operators believe if they act now then they will automatically get a license when legislation is passed.
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FOBT NEWS
Inspired Gaming involved in FOBT backlash AGA lobbyist in UK FOBT controversy
present until the publication of new reports on the impact of the terminals.
This has caused a furious backlash from opponents of FOBTs claiming the UK government say one thing and do another. Only recently UK Prime Minister David Cameron said that there was a “problem” with FOBTs and has even offered to work with Labour on stronger regulation of the betting terminals following a vote in the House of Commons that ultimately allowed FOBTs to continue at
According to national newspaper reports Inspired Gaming secured business from that mission to supply fixed-odds football and lottery games.
However Mr Osborne took Mr Alvarez along with twenty other business leaders to China in November on a trade mission and Mr Alvarez’s company that is the largest supplier of FOBTs in the UK with over 34,000 terminals secured further business in China following the trip.
“The main issue in all of this is that the government according to newspapers say one thing against FOBTs but then show support to suppliers with something like this,” said one anti-FOBT campaigner.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron has been accused of being biased after his campaign manager for the 2015 general elections was also announced as a lobbyist for the American Gaming Association. This follows the recent House of Commons vote where the controversial Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs) were in danger of receiving heavy restrictions, but was defeated and FOBTs are allowed to continue in their current format. The UK opposition party Labour wanted to place heavy restrictions on FOBTs following national press campaigns against the machines which have seen a huge rise on UK high streets. However following this defeat there was much criticism that Jim Messina who served on Barack Obama’s successful re-election campaign in 2012 and is now advising Mr Cameron on his future election is at the same time now lobbying the US government for a federal relaxation of gambling laws. Labour MP Jon Ashworth said: “How can voters trust Mr Cameron when his election guru has been appointed by a huge lobbyist for the gambling industry?” AGA chief Geoff Freeman said: “We hired him to work on grassroots initiatives. Online gaming is one of those.”
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s the furor over the Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs) in the UK seems never ending with national press and the opposition political party Labour calling for either stricter controls or a ban of the machines altogether, it has been revealed that Luke Alvarez Founder & CEO of Inspired Gaming recently went on a trade delegation with Chancellor George Osborne to China.
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INTERNATIONAL GAMING NEWS
Decision on second Sydney casino due in March Sri Lanka approves James Packer development
The Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority (ILGA) made newspaper adverts this week to call for submissions on the suitability of James Packer and Crown in opening a new casino in Harbour side Barangaroo. The casino development should it receive clearance will be a VIP only casino costing Crown around $1.3 billion. The state’s Casino Control Act requires that any holder of a casino licence has to be regarded by the ILGA as a “suitable person”. Echo Entertainment which runs the only casino in Sydney at present recently applied to develop and extend the Star Casino, but was refused by the NSW government.
Russian PM denies Sochi gambling zone The Russian Prime Minister has come out and denied reports linking him with a proposal for a gambling zone in Socihi, the Black Sea city resort which will form part of the Winter Olympics for 2014. Rumours and news reports swirled around on Thursday 18th December saying that Dmitry Medvedev had made the suggestion that Sochi should be allowed to become another gambling zone to help ease the cost of hosting the Winter Olympics which is now expected to come in at a cost of $50 billion for Russia, the most expensive winter games ever. “The premier did not suggest the idea of creating a gambling zone in Sochi; the idea was suggested by someone in the banking community,” press secretary Natalia Timakova said.
However, Crown’s chief, gambling tycoon James Packer, would still be able to operate a casino in his mixed-development project through his local partner, the minister said. “The applications are for mixed development projects, which include convention centre, shopping malls, and five-star hotels,” Mustapha told Reuters. “This gazette notification has no mention about a casino anywhere. So it doesn’t deal with running a casino, operating a casino, or approving a casino.” So Mr Packer and Crown Entertainment along with the 2 other accepted proposals will have to partner up with local businesses to be allowed to run a casino under the 2010 government legislation for casinos.
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ames Packer and his Crown Resorts casino company will know if their application for a second casino in Sydney will be given a license within 3 months.
The Sri Lankan government has approved James Packer’s $400 million leisure complex in the country, but currently without permission to build or operate a casino. The government have also approved another 2 similar projects both of them also without allowing for casinos.
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LIVE AT THE 7th IGA Book your seats for this Global band
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King Pleasure are one of the most popular jazz & swing bands in the world
LATEST GAMING AWARDS
Casino Technology sponsors IGA7
The ceremony will take place at The London Savoy Hotel on 3 February 2014 and attended by successful operators from around the world. It is place to be and meet leaders in online and land based gaming. IGA is truly an international event which will be welcoming operators from Europe, Asia, Australia and USA. Colin Thompson organizer of International Gaming Awards commented: “We are very happy to welcome Casino Technology as a Sponsor of the 7th IGA. Casino Technology launched its new division this year, Casino Technology Interactive, the company once again demonstrates innovative and pioneering spirit. “ Casino Technology develops high performing gaming products with strong player’s appeal and lasting value.
The company’s portfolio includes full range of gaming equipment for land-based and remote operations, including: video-slot games and multigames, video-slot machines, multiplayer systems, jackpot systems, serverbased and online solutions. International Gaming Awards is industry’s leading showcase for ground breaking innovations, displaying exceptional quality and new trends in global gaming industry. We will be celebrating everything that is great about our industry– past, present and future. This year’s categories are designed to reflect changes in markets and technologies, but retain their focus on recognising excellence across the gaming industry and focus on social responsibility. The International Gaming Awards provide an invaluable benchmark for technology companies resort operators and iGaming operators, and are the only to do so at a Global level.
BUSINESSMAG • ISSUE JANUARY 2014
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lever Duck Media have announced Casino Technology as the latest new Sponsor for the 2014 International Gaming Awards(IGA) Ceremony.
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EUROPEAN GAMING NEWS
Government says No action on FOBTs yet
Ed Miliband the Labour party leader has taken up the fight to limit the amount of FOBTs and the amount gambled on them, however the government won a vote 314 to 232 to hold off any immediate decision until the results of a review already commissioned by the government are published & have been studied carefully. But a slight victory for Labour and opponents of FOBTs is that the government has promised to impose more safeguards on the machines once the report is concluded. The expansion in FOBTs
has helped high street betting shops fight the decline in traditional betting on horse racing, dog racing and sports betting which has seen a huge move into online. Helen Grant, the minister responsible for gambling, said that the government’s approach of waiting for the results of its survey was the right way to go. “We believe in doing things properly,” she said. “We’re waiting for the research, we have put pressure on the industry to produce the data. “We’ve got reports coming out imminently, there’s going to be precautionary protections voluntarily placed by the industry at the end of March & then we will do whatever is needed to make sure people are protected.”
Resorts World Birmingham Casino starts work
Work has started on the new Resorts World Birmingham Casino owned by Genting, the cost of development which is slated to open in early 2015 is $248 million and will be the largest casino in the UK. Building of the casino which is next to the city’s LG Arena located near the National Exhibition Centre (NEC), will be a seven storey development covering over 530,000sq.ft which will also contain a 170 room hotel, 11 screen cinema, 45 retail units along with bars and restaurants. The company said the building phase will create 1,750 construction jobs and 1,100 full time permanent jobs on the casino and other facilities once open. The NEC which is one of the country’s largest exhibition venues hopes that the new development will help increase business, which has 70% of its visitors from outside Birmingham and 10% from overseas visiting the centre each year.
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he Labour opposition party in the UK has narrowly lost a proposal in the House of Parliament to take immediate action to limit Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs) in licensed betting shops.
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Williams Interactive Special Feature
All About the Games Damon Gura, a 20 year veteran of the global casino industry and Executive Director of Games for Williams Interactive, a Scientific Games Company, discusses the Company’s recent successes and upcoming multichannel content distribution strategy.
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illiams Interactive finishes 2013 with encouraging performance from a number of strong game engine and new theme launches from their portfolio of authentic Vegas-style slot games for gaming sites integrated with their Remote Game Server. Infinity Gaming Magazine sat down with Gura to discuss Williams Interactive’s recent successes, as well as plans to continue the trend into 2014 and the ICE trade show.
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Q: Your recent product launch strategy has been to introduce unique game engines to the European iGaming space – how has this been received by players? DG: We recognize that operators receive a lot of content from the various content providers, so we’ve adjusted our launch strategy to comprise of our more innovative and sophisticated game engines. This benefits us not only with players who have a large appetite to try new things, but also with helping us stand out with our gaming site partners as well.
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Since the release of our KISS: Shout it Out Loud! and Spartacus Gladiator of Rome, both built on our Colossal Reels game engine, we have been putting out innovative game engines in regular monthly intervals. We recently launched BRUCE LEE Dragon’s Tale using our Super Multi-Pay game engine and ELVIS: THE KING Lives built on our Double Money Burst game engine. Some of these releases are newer (ELVIS: THE
KING Lives launched in November) but thus far the numbers are validating that this strategy is promising and is resonating with online slot fans.
Q: How will this content strategy progress in 2014? DG: In 2014 we will expand this strategy to not only include more innovative content and game engines but also execute a multi-channel distribution strategy for our monthly tent pole products at launch. In January we plan to start releasing titles in both desktop and tablet/ mobile at the same time. We believe that will give more players the ability to enjoy our games by providing access to the themes when they want and where they want. We also recently joined the Scientific Games family and as part of that merger are combining our existing roadmap of fan-favorite WMS Gaming themes with the
Finally, starting in early 2014 we are going to launch themes online that are much newer to land-based casino floors, having shown extremely good results with those players which we expect to recreate online. Visitors to our stand at ICE can experience this and other new themes first-hand in February ahead of its scheduled multi-channel launch.
Q: What are some key game launches we should look for in early 2014, and why are they part of your roadmap? What type of players are these games designed for? DG: We’re really excited to launch Zeus III, which has the successful Reel Boost play mechanic, planned for January release for desktop, tablet and mobile devices. We also plan to launch the Barcrest smash hit Rainbow Riches in January in for desktop, tablet, and mobile. We will follow these with Raging Rhino, an
Any Way game engine theme and our first release from the land-based Blade product line which is performing very well on casino floors, as well as more themes powered by the popular Colossal Reels, Super Multi-Pay and Double Money Burst game engines.want. We have two decades of slot game play innovation and ongoing new land-based launches from which we can cherry-pick the most unique, innovative and successful game engines, so we’re constantly evaluating the appropriate mix in our roadmap of new themes on performing online game engines with new smash hits from our evolving offline catalogue.
For more information about Williams Interactive visit their website: http://www.williamsinteractive. com
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popular Barcrest game library. Access to that excellent content portfolio offers us even more strategic levers for our roadmap.
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InfinityGaming • ISSUE JANURY 2014
INFORMATION
The iGaming Post News site The iGaming Post is an online, international, daily newspaper for the gaming industry. It strives to cover all the latest headlines, delivering them seamlessly through smartphones, laptops and tablets all day, every day. The iGaming Post prides itself in reaching out to global readers, from online poker players to the industry executives. To find out how your company can advertise contact our sales team
Social Media Between The Infinity Gaming Magazine, The iGaming Post and the International Gaming Awards our network of followers on Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin account for over 10,000 industry professionals and customers interested in the gambling industry. To find out how your company can advertise contact our sales team
The App Store iOS & Android
Subscribe to the iGaming Post & The Infinity Gaming Magazine for FREE reaching more than 10,000 global industry readers. Advertising in the magazine and news site can help your business get seen by the decision makers that count. With the iOS and Android App our publications reach a potential 500 million readership. To find out more about advertising contact: media@cleverduckmedia.com
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Just search for us in the App stores “infinity gaming magazine”
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