Inside Asian Gaming

45 International Briefs AC Opts for Limited Smoking Ban The City Council of Atlantic City, New Jersey, passed a compromise law restricting – not banning – smoking in casinos.The measure bars smoking on 75% of a casino floor, and requires gambling halls to set aside 25% of the floor space as smoking areas by April 15. The council had been poised to enact a law that would have made New Jersey the largest gambling area in the nation to totally ban smoking, but it backed down under extreme pressure from the casino industry, which claimed the law would result in the loss of 20% of its revenue and 3,400 jobs. Meanwhile, Atlantic City’s casino revenue grew 4% year-on-year to US$5.2 billion in 2006.The city’s newest casino,The Borgata, which opened in 2003, remained the biggest winner. It brought in US$739.2 million in gaming revenue, ahead of Bally’s Atlantic City, which was second with US$677.3 million. Ladbrokes Expands in Europe World renowned British-based gambling group, Ladbrokes, has made a bid to buy Scandinavian online casino, Sponsio, which has made a huge presence in Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark – which have amongst the highest spending per capita in Europe. Ladbrokes previously made a partnership deal with the company, but said the £36 million purchase would assist its position in the region. Ladbrokes is also starting an alliance with Spanish slot machine firm, Cirsa Slot, whose machines are found in most arcades and bars. Ladbrokes has also confirmed its licenses for operating betting out- lets in Italy. Since the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act was signed into law in the US last year, online gambling companies have been looking for business in other betting markets, including Eu- rope. HSBC Increases Credit Card Gambling Charges According to a report by the BBC , HSBC customers will be charged the cash advance rate rather than the normal purchase rate for all telephone and internet gambling, effective February 1, 2007. The report says that although HSBC customers will now immedi- ately pay interest of between 21.9% and 27.8% instead of the previ- ous charge of between 15.9% and 22.9%,they will not be charged the one-off fee applied to other cash transactions such as the purchase of foreign currency. HSBC says the move is not a result of fears that customers who use their credit cards to gamble are more likely to amass debt that they cannot pay, but rather, to bring it in line with the practices of other banks. There is, however, a loophole in HSBC’s strategy as payments that are channelled via the online payment service Paypal will still be charged as a retail purchase and therefore continue to attract a lower rate of interest. Non-Gaming Ahead in Nevada In 2006, Nevada’s casino resorts and hotels reported revenue of just over US$24 billion,according to the state’s gaming board.The revenue was up 17% year-on-year and translated to a profit of US$2 billion for the industry.The figures show that for the first time, dining, entertain- ment and retail made up over 50% of the revenues of Nevada’s casino resort hotels. Hotel room revenues of just under US$5 billion repre- sent about 20% of total revenue,with year-round room occupancy on the Strip rising to a record 94% and average year-round rates reach- ing a record US$137 a night. Bids for Peermont An Anglo-Austrian consortium – consisting of London & Regional Properties and Austria’s Century Casinos – is looking to take over South Africa’s largest casino operator, Peermont Global. Peermont is also being bid for by South Africa’s Mineworkers Investment Com- pany.The South African investor made an initial 4.26 billion rand offer (US$585 million), but the rival bid should result in a higher offer. Peermont owns Emperors Palace casino in Johannesburg and the Grand Palm in Gaborone, Botswana, among others. 44 London & Regional Properties, one of Europe’s biggest private property firms,recently clubbed together with Dubai-based Istithmar Group to buy up Cape Town’s Victoria & AlfredWaterfront for 7 billion rand. The waterfront is the epicentre of Cape Town’s tourist activity. Century Casinos,for its part,already operates gaming houses in South Africa. Guyana Passes Gambling Bill Guyana’s Parliament has approved limited casino gambling – restrict- ed to foreigners – in some hotels that are scheduled to open ahead of this year’s cricket World Cup. The proposal had earlier prompted street marches by the political opposition and religious groups who argue it will encourage vice and provide new opportunities for orga- nized crime. The ruling party said the bill, backed by President Bharrat Jagdeo, was necessary to help hoteliers recoup investments made ahead of the World Cup. As many as 100,000 visitors are expected in the re- gion for the tournament, which runs from March 13 to April 28, with matches in Guyana and eight other Caribbean countries. The legislation provides for up to 30 gambling licenses in the South American country. No hotels currently in Guyana would meet the conditions for a license – which include having a minimum 250 rooms – but two high-end hotels under construction in the capital of Georgetown near a new cricket stadium would be eligible. Tropicana to be Demolished and Remodeled Kentucky-based Columbia Sussex Corp has submitted plans to de- molish and remodel the Tropicana following Columbia’s acquisition of the property through its US$2.75 billion buyout of Aztar.The plans call for US$2 billion to be spent on building towers comprising 10,224 guest rooms, 85,000 sq ft of casino area, over 644,000 sq ft of meet- ings and convention space, and 270,000 sq ft of retail shopping. The new owners will maintain the Tropicana’s Paradise and Island Towers and the Showroom, and with the new construction, the Tropicana will beat out MGM’s upcoming US$7 billion City Center project and Boyd Gaming’s US$4 billion Echelon Place on the old Stardust site to be- come the world’s largest resort. WTO Rules for Antigua The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has ruled against the US in a long-running dispute with the tiny Caribbean island of Antigua, which accuses the US of protectionism against international online gambling companies.Antigua claims US laws that allow Americans to place online bets on racing within the US, but forbid them to bet on gaming sites outside the US, are unfair. TheWTO has provided both sides with an initial report on its find- ings.Both parties will have the opportunity to submit additional com- ments before a final report is published in March, 2007. After the final report, Antigua will be able to introduce retaliatory trade measures, such as introducing import tariffs on US goods. Such a route is thought unlikely to sway US lawmakers, however, given the small size of the Antiguan economy,which is substantially dependent on the US for trade. A greater threat is that success at theWTO for Antigua could pave the way for the European Union to pursue a fair trade case against the US over online gambling, which the US might have to take more seriously. Several leading European online gambling companies have been hit by prosecutions from the US in recent months. Meanwhile, the billionaire founders of online payment solu- tions provider Neteller were arrested by US authorities in January on charges of conspiring to transfer funds with the intent to promote illegal gambling.They face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison if convicted. Neteller began processing internet gambling transactions in July 2000. According to Neteller’s 2005 annual report, the company pro- vided payment services to more than 80% of worldwide online gam- ing companies. In 2005, Neteller processed over US$7.3 billion in fi- nancial transactions, and 95% of the company’s revenue was derived from money transfers involving internet gambling companies. Videobet Moves Into Land-Based Gaming Videobet, a subsidiary of online gaming software developer Play- tech, has signed what is described as a “significant step” into the land-based gambling sector. Playtech announced Videobet has secured a long-term licensing contract with leading Mexican ca- sino operator, Entretenimiento De Mexico (EMex). Under the terms of the three-year contract, EMex will add Videobet’s server based gaming product to its existing and future gaming estates. Playtech chief executive Avigur Zmora said “This deal is the first sig- nificant step for our land-based offering, opening up a whole new market whilst complimenting and further strengthening our existing portfolio.” Meanwhile, Playtech scored another hit when Tila Tequila, the American glamour model and singer made famous by Playboy and MySpace.com, launched her own official online casino, TilaCasino. com, which runs on a Playtech platform. Ms Tequila’s MySpace page has garnered over 54 million page views, and she was featured as a Time magazine “Person of the Year” in 2006