Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING FEBRUARY 2018 10 AUSTRIAN GAMING GIANT Novomatic has confirmed the completion of its AU$500 million purchase of a 52% stake in Australian slot machine company Ainsworth Game Technology Limited. Novomatic confirmed that the acquisition of 172.1 million ordinary shares was completed on Friday 5 January 2018 with all international regulatory confirmations now in place. The drawn- out process, almost two years in the making, involved gaining regulatory approval from multiple gaming jurisdictions including in Australia, South America and the United States, it said. Completion of the sale saw founder Len Ainsworth step down as an Executive Director of Ainsworth Game Technology Limited effective immediately, although he will continue to support the company as a consultant for a period of 12 months. Novomatic Chairman Harold Neumann said that the Austrian conglomerate was now one of the few European Union based companies to have passed strict compliance checks from international authorities and the first Austrian company to receive regulatory approval in Las Vegas. “The compliance investigations carried out as part of this registration were extremely thorough. They included all corporate NOVOMATIC COMPLETES PURCHASE OF MAJORITY AINSWORTH STAKE The Philippines’ National Tax Research Center (NTRC) has called for the government to impose a casino qualifying fee of between Php500 (US$10) and Php1,500 (US$30) for entry to any of the country’s 54 casinos in order to deter gambling and raise funds for national projects. In a research paper, the NTRC rejected the need for Pagcor to collect a casino entrance fee but instead pointed to Executive Order 48, passed in 1993, which allows for the gaming regulator to collect a casino qualifying fee of “not less than Php100” from any player entering a casino. As it stands, EO 48 is rarely enforced, particularly in the Philippines’ large integrated resorts such as Resorts World Manila, City of Dreams, Solaire and Okada Tax body calls for compulsory qualifying entrance fee in all Philippines casinos divisions of Novomatic AG,” he said. “Our shares in Ainsworth are strategically very important for Novomatic. After all, the joint plan is to increase market share in the US to about 10% over the next five years. In the long term, Novomatic may become the world market leader in the area of gaming.” Manila. However, the NTRC has called for the qualifying fee to be made compulsory for all players and increased to between Php500 and Php1,500 per person. “Perhaps what can be done is to make the collection of a qualifying fee compulsory for players in all casinos operating in the Philippines whether Pagcor-operated casinos or licensed casinos,” the report says. “The amount may also be increased since it has not been adjusted for more than two decades now. If indexed to inflation, the amount would be around PhP320 but may be rounded off to Php500 or to as high as Php1,500.” Explaining the reasons for its stance, the NTRC said, “The government may take advantage of the country’s vibrant gaming industry to help raise needed revenue to finance its development projects such as its Build Build Build program as the country gears towards achieving the ‘Golden Age of Infrastructure.’ “The proposal to impose an entrance fee in casinos is no longer necessary since there is already a qualifying fee being collected by Pagcor since 1993. It is recommended that the same be strictly enforced in all casinos operating in the Philippines. Also, the existing rate of Php100 may be raised to Php500 to factor in the effect of inflation when the fee was first imposed in 1993. Higher rates of say Php1,500 can also be an option to discourage low-income earners from engaging in casino gambling.”