Inside Asian Gaming

inside asian gaming December 2016 44 William Hill first to accept eSports bets British sportsbook William Hill has become the first company to legally accept wagers on an eSports event in the United States. After the Nevada Gaming Control Board approved the move last month, William Hill opened markets for the Intel Extreme Masters Oakland League of Legends eSports tournament, held at Oracle Arena on 19 and 20 November, with the first bet being placed at the Downtown Grand Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. It represents not only a major step forward in recognizing eSports as a legitimate and growing sport, but also for proponents of liberalizing the United States’ murky gaming regulations outside of traditional casino gambling. “This announcement is a major step toward ensuring Nevada becomes the eSports capital of the world,” said Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval. “By embracing this unique opportunity and incorporating innovation and technology into our gaming industry, we’re expanding the potential of one of our oldest industries. “Representatives from William Hill and Downtown Grand have been active partners with the Gaming Policy Committee as we examined eSports wagering in the State of Nevada. I would like to congratulate them on this approval and commend both companies for their swift work and determination.” It is expected that other Las Vegas sportsbooks will follow the lead of William Hill with eSports betting seen as a unique means of appealing to millennials alongside other ambitious initiatives such as skill-based slot machines. Las Vegas Strip revenues soar The Las Vegas Strip looks set to finish 2016 with a bang after posting an impressive 14% year-on-year growth in gross gaming revenues for October. The results were led by a strong performance from table games, INTERNATIONAL BRIEFS with table win up 18.7% compared to a 10.1% increase for slots. Baccarat revenue rose 10.5% while table win for all other games was up 23%. Across the state, gaming win rose by 11.1% to US$986 million, continuing a solid few months for Nevada operators. The three- month total for August through October shows win up by 3.1% while the fiscal year is up 4.9% year-on-year. Downtown Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, the Boulder Strip, Mesquite and Laughlin all climbed in October. Total visitation numbers fell slightly by 0.6% to 3.8 million people but still represented the third best month on record. According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the drop is a result of lower convention attendance, including the annual Global Gaming Expo being held in September this year as opposed to October in 2015. Nevertheless, passenger numbers through Las Vegas’ McCarran International Airport increased by 4.2% ahead of a milestone moment for the city – the arrival of the first Hainan Airlines flight directly from China on Friday 2 November. Donald Trump wins big for bookies K sportsbook Sporting Index has reported a six figure profit on the US Presidential election thanks to Donald Trump’s stunning and largely unexpected victory. Echoing similar results across the board – with the vast majority of money being placed on Hillary Clinton in the lead- up – Sporting Index said there was unprecedented interest in the election with a huge number of bets taken after 22:00 the day before the election. Incredibly, Trump demolished early predictions that he would win just 213 electoral college votes to finish with a commanding 290 while Clinton, predicted as high as 325, came in with just 232. Ed Fulton, political trading spokesman for Sporting Index, said: “Five months of hard work has gone into our election book,