Inside Asian Gaming

47 46 International Briefs tries including the US. According to research firm eMarketer, global Internet gambling revenues grew 28% year-on-year in 2005. According to eMarketer, surveys show divergent results on who gambles online.One report indicated as many as 15%of all US Internet users visited gambling or sweepstakes sites, but a Harris Interactive survey suggested no more than 5% of US residents have ever spent money at online casinos or other betting sites. As eMarketer points out,given that online gambling is illegal in the US,survey respondents may well be hesitant to admit they indulge in the activity. Race for UK’s First “Super-Casino” Nearly 30 towns across the UK are bidding to be the first to open a Las Vegas-style ‘’super-casino’’ under the government’s new gambling laws. Another 40 want to host one of eight large and eight small casi- nos that will be allowed. The “super-casino”will contain more than 1,200 slot machines with unlimited jackpots. It was originally envisaged that these could spring up across the country to regenerate run-down resorts or inner cities,but the plans were watered down to allow only one “super-casino” after an outcry from Labour backbenchers and gambling addiction charities. The site of the new mega-casino will be decided by the Casino Advisory Panel, with Blackpool and Greenwich thought to be among the front-runners. Several towns are applying to develop more than one type of casino. A final announcement is expected to be made by the autumn. Once the impact of the first “super-casino” has been measured, others could be allowed in the country,with many major US operators eager to develop such properties in the UK. Opening Up Sports Gambling in the EU The European Commission (EC) said in April it would take legal action against several European Union (EU) countries which are preventing foreign firms from entering sports gambling. In a press release, the EU’s executive said it has decided to send of- ficial requests to Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Neth- erlands and Sweden for information on national legislation restricting the supply of sport betting services. The countries in question have two months in which to respond. According to the European Court of Justice, an EU Member State cannot invoke the need to restrict its citizens’ access to betting ser- vices if at the same time it incites and encourages them to participate in state lotteries,games of chance or betting which benefits the state’s finances. Gambling on the Go Newmobile gambling regulations from the Nevada Gaming Commis- sion took effect on March 23,making the state the first in the nation to approve the use of handheld devices for gambling in any public area of the state’s casino resorts, such as restaurants and poolsides.Atlantic City in New Jersey is now scrambling for the regulation allowing mo- bile gambling in its casinos. The new Nevada rules allow a range of games to be played in pub- lic casino spaces on handheld devices, including bingo, poker, black- Vegas Strip saw gaming revenues jump 19.1% year-on-year in the first two months of 2006. Things had gotten better in Macau as of Febru- ary, however, with January receipts actually down 6%. Macau’s casino revenue tax rate (35% plus an additional 3-4% of mandatory social and welfare contributions) is much higher than the maximum 6.75% rate on the Vegas Strip. Over 77% of Macau’s govern- ment revenue now derives from gaming taxes. US Casino Takeovers The US casino industry has been subject to a spate of takeovers in recent years. March saw the US$1.45 billion acquisition of Aztar Corp, owner of Tropicana casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, by riverboat gam- bling operator Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. Riverboat casino operator Argosy Gaming Co was acquired in October by casino and racetrack operator Penn National Gaming Inc. Last year’s other big-money deals were Harrah’s Entertainment Inc’s US$6.8 billion acquisition of Caesars Entertainment and the US$5 bil- lion buyout by MGM Mirage of Mandalay Resort Group. Remaining takeover candidates include Ameristar Casinos Inc and riverboat and dockside casino company Isle of Capri Casinos Inc, which are both majority-owned by insiders. Gambling has exploded in recent years,but limits on where casino operators can expand to have made many operators turn to acquisi- tions to grow further. Also in March came the announcement of a US$3 billion buyout offer for Kerzner International Ltd by investors led by Kerzner Chair- man Sol Kerzner and his son Butch, in a bid to take the company private. MGM Mirage’s Project CityCenter Kerzner’s Atlantis resort in the Bahamas Pricey Properties Singapore’s first casino could become one of the world’s most expen- sive, based on proposals by Las Vegas Sands Corp to invest US$3.6 bil- lion and by Malaysia’s Genting International to spend US$3 billion. TheUS$2.7 billionWynn LasVegas is currently considered themost expensive gaming complex ever built. MGM Mirage’s evolving Project CityCenter on the Strip has a US$7 billion price, but the plans include high-rise condominiums. Boyd Gaming Corp announced in January it would replace the aging Stardust with the US$4 billion Echelon Place, which would include four hotels encompassing 5,300 rooms. Clooney’s Casino Scrapped Hollywood heartthrob George Clooney was forced to scrap his plans to build the Las Ramblas casino resort in Las Vegas, after his back- ers decided to sell the plot of land ear-marked for the luxury resort. Mr. Clooney had intended to develop Las Ramblas with upmarket res- taurateur and club-owner Rande Gerber, husband of Cindy Crawford. The US$3 billion Las Ramblas was to include 11-buildings around a swanky ‘50s-style casino. Prior to the collapse of the proposed Las Ramblas, Mr. Clooney’s friend and Ocean’s 11 co-star Brad Pitt had pulled out of the venture, reportedly creating a rift between the two stars. Ocean’s 11 was a re- make of a 1960 casino-heist flick starring Frank Sinatra and his fabled Rat Pack. The Las Ramblas resort was to have recreated the glam of Sinatra-era Vegas. Apparently, Brad Pitt wants to develop a more modern resort. “Clooney wants to run an oldschool, black-tie formal resort in Las Ve- gas that harks back to the Sinatra era, but Brad’s more about being hip and Hollywood-oriented,” explained an insider. Mr. Clooney and Mr. Gerber are now seeking new backers for the Las Ramblas, a share of the profits from which he will allocate to his pet charity, the African Debt Relief Project. Mr. Clooney told the New York Daily News : “Since our controlling partners wanted to sell the space.I’ll donate my profits from the sale to the African Debt Relief Project - and I guess I’ll find someplace else to gamble.” Online Gambling Tops US$10 Billion Online gambling revenues reached an estimated US$10.9 billion dol- lars worldwide last year, even though betting is illegal in many coun- jack and horse race betting. Use in hotel rooms and other places that cannot be supervised is prohibited. Major casino operators including Harrah’s Entertainment Inc, MGM Mirage and Station Casinos say they will wait and see as the regulations and technology unfold before introducing mobile gam- ing devices to their properties. Boyd Gaming, whose holdings include the Stardust in Las Vegas and co-ownership in the Borgata in Atlantic City, New Jersey, says it is still unclear how much demand will exist for such devices. Manufacturers claim biometric fingerprint readers and rules lim- iting use to public areas will allay fears that the devices could fall into the hands of minors.The devices will not, for now, be able to be used in conjunction with Internet betting, which is barred by state and federal law. At least four prospective manufacturers have announced plans to provide mobile gambling devices following the regulation changes. These include Cantor, FortuNet and a partnership between Shuffle Master Inc, a manufacturer of automatic card shufflers, and SONA Mobile Holding Corp, to create a personal digital assistant system that delivers its patented games, such as Ultimate Texas Hold’em and Three Card Poker. Vegas Outstrips Macau in Jan-Feb Much has been said about gaming revenues in Macau being on the verge of overtaking those on the Las Vegas Strip. Some pundits predicted Macau would move into the lead by the end of last year, though the 2005 gaming revenue tally in the city came to US$5.59 billion, compared to US$6.03 on the Vegas Strip. Rather than narrowing the gap, Macau had fallen further behind as of February. The Macau government collected 2.81 billion patacas (US$350 million) in direct gaming taxes in January and February – a year-on-year rise of 4.2%. Macau’s 19 casinos pay 35% of their gross receipts as direct tax to the government, and as such, the city’s gross casino gaming revenue also rose 4.2% over the same period. The Las