Casinos Operators in Tasmania has claimed authorities did not appropriately inform the companies about changes to exclusive license agreement to operate electronic gambling machines (EGM) within two years.
According to Federal group for example, the 2003 deed between the Crown and the company included a rolling term that guaranteed Federal Group would be provided with no less than four years’ notification of any changes to previous arrangements.
According to this agreement, the earliest date the new gambling plans could be applied is July 1 2026, but Tasmania has said it plans to end the company’s exclusive licence on July 1 2023.
Federal Group said: “We would urge the Tasmanian Government to remove the proposed amendment… and to end the 2003 Deed of Agreementafterf the rolling term period – therefore honouring the terms of the 2003 deed.”
The company said the change could cost it almost AU$25m (US$18m) per year (around one-quarter of the AU$108m it produced during the 2019-2019 financial year).
The Tasmanian Government said: “The legislation, which will be introduced into the Parliament later this year, implements the government’s policy which was clear that the new arrangements would start in 2023 and Federal Group supported this policy at the 2018 election.”
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MGM China Holdings has implemented what its leadership called a “chip-in-chip programme” to track every chip used on the gaming floor, saying that gamblers shunned private rooms dedicated to foreign gamblers.
The revelation was made by William Hornbuckle, CEO of MGM Resorts International, at a J.P. Morgan Gaming, Lodging, Restaurant and Leisure Management Access Forum season on 14 March.
According to him, the initiative has been enforced for several years to track all the chips in circulation.
“The benefit of that at the time was no errors to the game,” he said. “You knew exactly where to put your labour. There was a bunch of back-end benefits in terms of accounting, finance, and etc.”
Referring to the foreigner-only gaming zone – an addition under the new gaming law enforced early last year that could allow casino operators to enjoy a 5 percent levy exemption, Hornbuckle said that some gamblers from abroad did not find the idea of being isolated attractive.
“The only way to track that effectively because it was a different tax bracket was to put it in independent private rooms. And so that meant everyone from Thailand, go over to that little room over there and gamble in there, where customers didn’t like it.”
When the new policy was unveiled in 2022, Cheong Weng Chon, the spokesperson for the Executive Council, had already emphasised that foreign punters would have the opportunity to use a different type of gambling chip.
The two gatherings are APPT Manila 2024, to be held from July 24 to August 5; and the APPT Manila Championship, from October 18 to October 27.
The APPT Manila 2024 guaranteed prize pool is PHP119 million (US$2.15 million). It will be at Okada Manila’s Cove Manila. The APPT Manila Championship guaranteed prize pool is PHP140 million, with the gathering to be hosted at Okada Manila’s Coral Lounge, according to news from PokerStars.
The announcement carried prepared remarks from Okada Manila’s president and chief operating officer, Byron Yip. He stated: “This partnership [with PokerStars] underscores our position as one of Asia’s premier gaming and entertainment venues, and it is a testament to our ongoing initiatives aimed at transforming Manila into a leading destination for the most exciting entertainment.”
The WPT is watching the potential growth in Asia, since those days
Cedric Billot, associate director of live events at PokerStars, was also cited as saying: “The APPT circuit was established in 2007 and quickly became the reference tour in Asia, thanks to the quality of organisation, and amazing venues.”
The Vietnamese government will require any parties interested in offering legal football betting to take part in a bidding process if they hope to be issued a license, local media reports.
According to Hanoi Times, the bidding process requirement forms part of a recently issued government decree, Decree 23/2024, which states that potential investors in football betting must operate in accordance with the nation’s Bidding Law.
Vietnam’s stringent sports betting regulations have been blamed for a rise in illegal football betting in recent years, estimated at around US$10 billion annually.
However, recent history suggests attracting such investors under the current system could prove difficult. In 2017, Decree 06 authorized the operation of a five-year pilot program under which selected companies would be able to offer football betting on UEFA-sanctioned leagues, however the requirements placed on investors – including a minimum charter capital of VND1 trillion (US$43.5 million) – ultimately failed to attract a single investor willing to test Vietnam’s legal sports betting waters, and no such approval was ever issued.
In response, the government in 2021 proposed amending Decree 06 to add more global football events to those that would become legal to bet on, including Europe’s major leagues, the Champions League and Europa League, AFC Cup and Copa America. The amendment was also to allow for betting on matches in which Vietnam takes part, such as World Cup qualifiers, the Olympics, Asian Cup, AFC U-23 Championship and U-20 World Cup, but the amended decree was never issued.
“Gambling in any of its forms is considered illegal in China, and the Chinese Government opposes Chinese nationals engaging in gambling business abroad,” the Embassy added.
More than 40 Chinese nationals previously engaged with illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) have been repatriated following a joint operation between Chinese and Philippine law enforcement agencies, according to information from the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines.
The Embassy said the workers were repatriated on 22 February as part of a follow-up to previous repatriation actions in December.
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“At the request of the Philippine side and with active assistance by the Chinese Embassy to the Philippines, successive repatriations have been completed,” it said, noting that multiple joint law enforcement operations have been carried out by the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) and other agencies since 2023. These have resulted in hundreds of suspects of illegal offshore gambling activities being placed under arrest.
“The Chinese Embassy will maintain communication with the Philippine side on offences associated with gambling, work to protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens, support law enforcement cooperation between the two countries and support the Philippine side in addressing the root causes of problems related to offshore gambling industry.”
2023 a Year of “Cyber gambling” crime for South Koreans.
On 27 October last year, PAOCC and the Department of Justice of the Philippines organized several law enforcement agencies to conduct a joint law enforcement operation against an offshore gaming company in Pasay City and detained a group of offshore gaming employees.
On 14 December, the Chinese government, in cooperation with the Philippine government, repatriated 140 Chinese nationals who were engaged in offshore gaming in the Philippines to China.
Construction on the third phase of Ponte 16 is expected to kick off later this year, with an estimated investment of HKD500 million (MOP515 million/US$64 million) to HKD600 million.
Executive director and deputy chairman of Success Universe Group, Hoffman Ma Ho Man, revealed that the construction plan for the third phase project had already been submitted to the government for approval, Hong Kong news outlet SingTao News reported.Success Universe Group has a 49 per cent interest in Pier 16 – Property Development, with the remainder held by SJM Holdings, the owner of Macau Palace.
Ma said that the third phase expansion project include the establishment of a new shopping mall, as well as the renovation of the floating casino Macau Palace. The plan includes moving the floating casino next to Ponte 16, with the intention of incorporating new elements such as bars to enhance the overall experience.