Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | July 2012 46 International Briefs Briefs would not have been suitable under U.S. law. Mr Isaacs said Shuffle Master will continue to seek opportunities in online gaming. Bally launches U.S. online gaming platform with Golden Nugget properties BallyTechnologiesannouncedthatitsfirstonlinegamingplatform is now live and powering a free-play poker website in partnership with Golden Nugget casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City. In a press release, the company stated: “We believe that online gaming is inevitable in the United States, and that our free-play site will enable the Golden Nugget to be well positioned to compete when U.S. laws allow for online gaming.” The website is one of the first free-play poker sites in the U.S. driven by a licensed gaming manufacturer. “We’re thrilled to partner with the Golden Nugget as they leverage their free-play site to attract new players and drive existing players back to their land-based casinos,” said Richard Haddrill, Bally Technologies’ CEO. “This partnership will demonstrate the advantages of having an open I-gaming platform, which allows for best-in-class content.” The progression of Bally’s I-gaming platform in the coming months will enable the GoldenNugget to have an integrated solution within their Bally mobile, online, and traditional system offerings. A “single view of the player”will be realized as Golden Nugget patrons utilize various gaming devices across multiple distribution channels. Nevada and New Jersey are two of the leading jurisdictions exploring legalized online gaming. Bally Technologies’ proprietary I-gaming platform is able to provide free play across the globe—and it will also provide online gaming where legal, according to the company. Bally received the first online gaming license in the United States last month when the Nevada Gaming Commission awarded the company an interactive gaming supplier license. Resorts World New York claims highest slot revenue in U.S. Resorts World New York, the 8-month-old video lottery machine casino attached to the Aqueduct Race Track in New York City, released a statement last month claiming it was the “single-largest Shuffle Master pulls out of Ongame Network acquisition Shuffle Master, Inc. abruptly dropped a planned US$28.5 million acquisition of European- based online gaming provider Ongame Network Limited, blaming a decline of business conditions in Europe since February, as well as “uncertainty surrounding the timing of legalization and the rollout of online poker” in the U.S. Shuffle Master CEO Gavin Isaacs said the decision came “after careful consideration” and a realization that the company “will not achieve the near-term results we initially expected and will require a larger ongoing investment than anticipated.” Analysts, who had praised the purchase when it was announced inMarch, gave ShuffleMaster credit for backing awaywhen it became clear it didn’t make financial sense. “The decision not to acquire Ongame is certainly a setback for Shuffle’s interactive growth strategy,” Roth Capital Partners gaming analyst Todd Eilers told investors. “Many of our contacts indicated Ongame was one of the top poker networks and positioned the company very well for the approval of I-gaming in the U.S.” Ongame Network is a subsidiary of bwin.party Services of Austria and is one of the world’s largest poker service providers to online gaming operators. Ongame’s global network includes more than 25 brands and operators, as well as regional networks in France and Italy. Stifel Nicolaus Capital Markets gaming analyst Steven Wieczynski said Shuffle Master would have been forced to spend more on Ongame, which could have undermined the company’s cash flow and earnings. “Management was not certain whether it could achieve its own internal targets without the passage of U.S. online legislation, the timing of which appears incredibly difficult to determine at the present point in time,”Mr Wieczynski said. Shuffle Master officials are still expected to appear in front of Nevada gaming regulators this month to seek approval of an interactive gaming license, despite the elimination of Ongame from their planned portfolio. Sources said Shuffle Master, in performing its due diligence work with Ongame, may have found eliminating portions of the company’s previous Internet gaming businesses that wouldn’t pass muster with Nevada gaming regulators, made Ongame far less valuable. During International Game Technology’s interactive licensing hearings last month, company officials told state gaming regulators that some business units in Entraction—a Swedish online gaming business the company bought—were eliminated because they Knowing when to back out—Shuffle Master’s Gavin Isaacs Embracing the inevitable—Golden Nugget Las Vegas