A casino purchase deal first announced last November has finally made progress. The Greektown Casino in Detroit, Michigan will successfully change hands from Jack Entertainment to a partnership between Penn National and VICI Properties, a real estate investment trust that was started by Caesars Entertainment. The sale was worth $1 billion and is a plus for both Penn National and Jack Entertainment owner Dan Gilbert.

The Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) authorized the sale this past Tuesday. Penn will pay $300 million for the rights to operate the venue, while VICI will purchase the property itself for $700 million. VICI has already scooped up a number of casino properties across the country under similar deals and now owns 22 casinos. The $1 billion will be paid in cash and the deal is expected to be finalized today. It has already been approved by the city of Detroit, as well as the Federal Trade Commission.

Penn has been on an expansion for the past year and has been looking at a number of solutions in the US that would provide it with more liquidity. The challenge, of course, is how to improve liquidity when having to make massive outlays, and this conflict has been shown in the company’s revenue reports.

Gilbert stands to walk away with some nice pocket change. He purchased the casino in 2013 when it was hemorrhaging serious amounts of cash and had been in bankruptcy from 2008 to 2010. After his acquisition, things turned around and the casino reported revenues of $29.3 million this past April. It may be third in line among Detroit’s casinos, but Gilbert paid $600 million for the purchase. $400 million in gross returns isn’t a bad deal.

Gilbert might be ready to slow things down. He founded Quicken Loans and is the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA, as well as Jack, but has recently been looking to downsize. Jack announced last month that it would sell The Turfway Park horse track in Kentucky and the Jack Cleveland Casino in Ohio to Hard Rock International in a deal reportedly worth $780 million. There is also talk of Caesars Entertainment acquiring some of the company’s other properties.

The post Michigan regulators approve Greektown sale to Penn appeared first on CalvinAyre.com.

The German state of Schleswig-Holstein passed last week a bill that allows for its current online gambling regulatory regime to remain in place until mid-2021

The successful regulation of online gambling on the territory of Germany, one of Europe’s most lucrative markets, has proved quite the challenge over the past seven years. Country officials have tried to pass a federal legislation on the provision of online sports betting services on several occasions since 2012 when the original version of that legislation was introduced, but has failed every time.

The latest version of the Interstate Treaty on Gambling was introduced this year and was presented to the European Commission for a review earlier this month. An approval from EU authorities is one of the necessary steps before the law takes effect at a federal level.

The Schleswig-Holstein has been allowed to implement its own regulatory framework that will stay in effect until June 30, 2021. The framework’s extended validity was voted in favor of by the state’s Greens, Free Democratic Party, South Schleswig Voters’ Association, Christian Democratic Union party, and the Alternative for Germany party.

Germany’s Interstate Treaty on Gambling and Schleswig-Holstein’s Liberalized Regime

Despite previous criticism, the latest version of the Treaty only permits online sports betting and outlaws all other forms of online gambling, including casino games and poker. Unlike the proposed federal law, the legal framework of Schleswig-Holstein allows for the provision of sports betting as well as of online casino games and poker on the territory of the state.

Previous versions of the Treaty included a cap on the number of the sports betting licenses available. The first draft of the legislation only provided for 20 licenses to be granted to interested operators, while the second draft raised that cap to 40 licenses. After heavy criticism, the latest version of the proposed federal law had the cap removed.

If the European Commission backs the Treaty and Germany’s all 16 states adopt it, licensed sports betting operators will be taxed at 5% on turnover. In comparison, Schleswig-Holstein’s framework includes a 20% tax on gross gaming revenue.

Minister for Home Affairs Welcomes Schleswig-Holstein Liberalized Regime

The recent approval of the online gambling bill enables companies licensed in Schleswig-Holstein to extend their licenses until mid-2021. The latest developments were hailed by the state’s Minister for Home Affairs, Hans-Joachim Grote.

In a statement following the successful passage of the bill, Minister Grote said that it is their duty to protect residents of the state, particularly young people, from the risks associated with unregulated gambling. He went on to say that the newly approved regulations’ main goal is to ensure that gambling is provided “properly, fairly, responsibly, and transparently” and that none of these can be achieved if gaming and betting products are exclusively provided on the black market.

The Minister also pointed out that extensive negotiations continue with Germany’s other 15 states “with the aim of finding a common, viable solution for the entire gambling sector from 2021 onwards.” He noted that many have felt uncomfortable discussing the regulation of online gambling, but he believes that this is the only way Germany can combat illicit activities.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date on the day’s top casino news stories.

The post Schleswig-Holstein Online Gambling Rules Remain in Place until Mid-2021 appeared first on Casino News Daily.

Monday 20th May, 2019: IWG – the award-winning supplier of online, instant win games – has been selected to supply the Austrian Lotteries (Österreichische Lotterien) with its portfolio of games.

Following the initial launch at win2day.at, the gaming site of the Austrian Lotteries, titles from IWG’s portfolio of over 100 games will be regularly added over the coming months giving players an alternative and unique playing experience.

IWG, which has been a successful service provider and supplier of content to lotteries for over a decade, now supplies 14 WLA members all around the world from British Columbia to Pennsylvania and the UK to New Zealand.

The supplier has produced and delivered over 300 high-quality instant win games on desktop and mobile, as well as offering valuable strategic and marketing support to its lottery partners.

Rhydian Fisher, IWG CEO, said “We’re really looking forward to working with the Austrian Lotteries and are proud to help build their online portfolio in Austria.

“This is an exciting opportunity for us to extend our global reach and maintain our position as the leading instant win supplier in the industry.”

Elisabeth Römer-Russwurm at the Austrian Lotteries said: “We’re thrilled to be able to offer our players IWG content and are confident it will prove to be successful here in Austria.

“IWG has a strong reputation in the industry for delivering quality instant win games, and we’re sure our players will really enjoy the new additions to our growing portfolio of entertaining games.”+

About IWG

IWG is a world leader in supplying online, instant win games to lotteries and commercial brands and platforms in the online gaming industry. It has over 15 years’ experience of making top selling, high quality instant win games and the strategic know how to make them work.

IWG has launched over 300 games that perform consistently at the highest level, engaging and retaining players while driving excellent results for customers. It has the knowledge to deliver a winning portfolio of games, the experience to make it grow and the sales figures and data to back this knowledge up.

IWG delivers an end-to-end solution covering all aspects of game development and portfolio management and a Remote Game Server (RGS) delivering content in multiple regulated jurisdictions from data centres in the UK, Gibraltar, Canada and North America. It has a broad library available via the RGS with games covering many proven themes and mechanics that can be developed into an ideal offering for a partner’s instant win portal.

The post IWG goes live with Austrian Lotteries appeared first on CalvinAyre.com.

McDevitt secured another three-year term as president of the casino labor union ahead of industry-wide bargaining

Bob McDevitt was reelected president of Atlantic City’s UNITE HERE Local 54 labor union to serve another three-year term. Mr. McDevitt defeated Al Tabei in the race for the leader of the casino workers’ union, The Press of Atlantic City reported earlier today.

The election took place on Friday. A total of 1,596 votes were cast and Mr. McDevitt received 932 of these to remain president of the labor union. He has held that position since 1996.

Mr. Tabei said that he would contest the results of the election. He pointed out that 152 of the ballots cast needed to be challenged because the voters behind these were not “up-to-date with union dues.” Mr. McDevitt’s challenger went on to say that “the results are questionable at this time” because some of Atlantic City’s casinos allowed unionized workers only a small window to leave their workplaces and cast their votes. This was an issue for some of them as there were long lines at the polls.

Local 54 represents nearly a third of all workers employed at Atlantic City’s gambling venues, including restaurant, housekeeping, and environmental services staff.

Following his victory on Friday, Mr. McDevitt said that the union would now focus its attention on the upcoming industry-wide bargaining negotiations. These are set to commence next year.

Ocean Casino Resort and Hard Rock Atlantic City Unionization Progress

The unionization of Atlantic City’s newest casinos has been high on Local 54’s agenda over the past year. Ocean Casino Resort (formerly Ocean Resort Casino) and Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City opened doors on the very same day in June 2018.

Workers at Hard Rock Atlantic City, which opened doors at the site of the former Trump Taj Mahal, recently voted in favor of their unionization. Negotiations with Florida-based hospitality giant Hard Rock International were topping Local 54’s priority list as the closure of Trump Taj Mahal was largely due to a public spar between Local 54 and the property’s then-owner, New York activist investor Carl Icahn.

Mr. Icahn shuttered the hotel and casino resort in the fall of 2016 after failing to reach an agreement with unionized workers. Trump Taj Mahal staff members picketed the property for more than three months, demanding improved contracts. Mr. McDevitt was at the forefront of the dispute.

It is still unknown when workers at Ocean Casino Resort will vote to join Local 54, but it is believed this will happen before the beginning of the 2020 industry-wide bargaining.

Mr. McDevitt recently called on New Jersey gambling regulators to take due measures to protect the state’s casino industry from greedy Wall Street investors who could unleash disastrous impact on local gambling venues in their pursuit of quick profit.

Atlantic City’s gaming industry is experiencing a bit of a renaissance after a tumultuous decade that, among other things, saw five of the city’s 12 casinos close doors between 2014 and 2016. Last year, the sector recorded a third straight year of gaming revenue growth and employed more than 30,000 people for the very first time since 2014.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date on the day’s top casino news stories.

The post Bob McDevitt Reelected President of Atlantic City Casino Labor Union appeared first on Casino News Daily.

WeBet had its own operations financed by Pay Sec. With this funding Andrew Murphy was in manner that is downsize and the Manila operations of WeBet were the victim. A trip to their website now allows one to pick their area, but then leads to a blank page. We have been told exactly what will happen with their clients it appears a skeleton staff is being kept on to wrap up loose ends.
The abrupt statement that the firm would no longer be funded came as a jolt. No reason was given for the funds had dried up, leaving up the actual reason for speculation.

One rumor we are hearing is that before the passing of Gary Murphy, millions of dollars went missing. It has been stated by people in the industry that there is a bounty available posted to anyone who will help recover the money that was missing by lenders.
We have received word that it’s Manila office is currently shutting down. Sources have informed us that the casino and sportsbook website laid off almost all their employees and are turning down Manila operations.
The article WeBet unexpectedly shutting down its Manila office appeared first on CalvinAyre.com.

The cause of the shutdown seems to return to the abrupt death of Gary Murphy, co-owner of Malta payments firm Pay Secure Online Ltd. (Pay Sec) together with his brother Andrew. While company continued as usual for a while, employees of Pay Sec were informed which the company was closed down, and approximately 80 staff were immediately let go, most of them located in Manila, we are told by sources. Staff were advised that funding was no longer available to keep on running the business.
This isn’t the first time Pay Sec has been involved in a controversy involving funds that are lost. In December 2018, Cubits, a cryptocurrency trading platform, declared bankruptcy and cited a February 2018 deal with Pay Sec because the reason behind their fiscal bankruptcy.

Watch this space, as we anticipate to come in this story. In case you have info please contact us.
Another source tell us that after the departure, which was known in the business of Gary, there continues to be plans to keep the business.