You are here: Home / Archives for april

2024 Casino Operations Summit Sponsored by EGT and EGT Digital to be Held from 23-25 April 2024

egt_and_egt_digital_will_be_platinum_sponsors_of_casino_operations_summit_for_second_year_in_a_row2024 edition of the Casino Operations Summit kicks off in Amsterdam on April 23 to run through April 25. One of the most prestigious gaming events gathering together European multi-channel casino operators will once again feature industry-leading sponsors and stakeholders. Once again, this year’s edition of the Summit will feature its platinum sponsors EGT and EGT Digital, industry-leading gaming technology and content providers.

Main Topics

The Summit, exclusively open to land-based and online multi-channel casino operators and sponsors, focuses on a variety of themes pending to the industry, with Volatility, Think Different in Technology, and Land-Based Casinos and Sustainability/ESG emphasized as the main topics of the conference. Held under the slogan ‘’Think Different,’’ the Summit expects to facilitate the exchange of information and opinions of around 300 attendees for the mutual benefit.

Event Schedule

The flagship event includes the Gaming in Holland mini-conference exclusively tailored for Dutch casino operators and scheduled for the first day of the Summit. However, all the attendees of the 2024 Casino Operations Summit will also have a chance to check out the latest developments coming from the EGT and its vertical EGT Digital, platinum sponsors of the event.

Platinum Sponsors EGT and EGT Digital

The visitors will therefore be able to view and try out some thrilling products, like the four new-released jackpot products. The exciting line-up starts with the 4-level Bell Link Boost and the Asian-themed Sheng Sheng Bu Xi, to continue with the player-favorite Bell Link and take the game at another level with the Gods & Kings Link jackpot experience.

Latest Multi-Game Developments

Further, the platinum sponsors will present some superior multi-game developments, such as the popular titles Gold General, Blue General and Winner Selection. On top of that, the latest Supreme Selection multi-game series will offer an exclusive insight into the first installment, the Supreme Green Selection release. In fact, EGT and EGT Digital will offer a total of 50 engaging titles for the visitors to personally sense the level of excitement radiating from each game of the impressive package.

Customized Products

The Summit held in the vibrant city of Amsterdam also represents an opportunity for the Dutch operators to review some EGT’s solutions customized for the Dutch market. One of these is the cutting-edge Phoenix AWP cabinet, powered by Exciter platform and featuring 27-inch monitors and state-of-the-art keyboard with video and electro-mechanical options. The solution includes the multi-game Bonus Prize Collection AWP, specially designed for the Dutch players, and much more.

2024 Casino Operations Summit, sponsored by EGT and EGT Digital, opens its gates today to facilitate valuable connections among industry stakeholders.

Source: “EGT and EGT Digital Will be Platinum Sponsors of Casino Operations Summit for Second Year in a Row’’. European Gaming. April 23, 2024.

The post 2024 Casino Operations Summit Sponsored by EGT and EGT Digital to be Held from 23-25 April 2024 appeared first on Casino News Daily.

Filed Under: Gambling News Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Macau Maintains Recovery Momentum, April Gaming Revenue Totals $1.82B

Macau casinos maintained their recovery momentum in April as gross gaming revenue (GGR) continued to rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Macau gaming revenue casino China COVID-19
Pedestrians walk the Cotai Strip in Macau near Sands China’s Londoner casino and resort. Macau casinos won more than $1.8 billion in April 2023, the region’s best gaming month since the COVID-19 pandemic emerged. (Image: Bloomberg)

Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau revealed Monday that the region’s six commercial casino operators won MOP14.72 billion (US$1.82 billion) in April 2023. That marks a 16% month-over-month improvement from March.

April 2023 was 450% richer for the casinos than April 2022 when GGR totaled just $332 million. April 2022 was Macau’s worst month in terms of gaming income since September 2020, as the enclave was reeling from its most significant coronavirus outbreak of the entire pandemic.

Macau’s economy has been on a pandemic rebound since China President Xi Jinping announced in late November he would be ditching his “zero-COVID” policy that had been scorned by many foreign leaders and international cooperatives such as the World Health Organization.

Macau Bounce Back

Macau’s gaming recovery comes about two years after other major casino markets, including Nevada and Las Vegas, experienced their own.

China’s efforts to eliminate COVID-19 by isolating infected persons and locking down cities among even small outbreaks proved unsustainable. Amid public unrest and widespread protests, Xi finally agreed to lift “zero-COVID.”

Health officials in December and early this year worried Xi’s lockdowns over the past three years suppressed herd immunity and could result in mass COVID-19 causalities with “zero-COVID” being ditched. After case counts soared in the immediate aftermath of “zero-COVID,” much of China and its two SARs finally returned to a sense of normal. Macau is one of two Special Administrative Regions in China along with Hong Kong.

In January, Macau was given the go-ahead to end its pandemic-related entry procedures. The enclave was opened to all of the mainland, plus Hong Kong and Taiwan, with no border rules in place such as testing or quarantine mandates. The Chinese casino hub is additionally open to foreigners, but they must still present a recently conducted negative COVID-19 test for entry.

Business in Macau has been good since January and April only further improved on the gaming resurgence.

March 2023 marked Macau’s best gaming month since January 2020, and April turned out to be even better. Through the first four months of 2023, GGR totaled $6.12 billion, up 141% year over year.

US Tensions

Macau is open to the world but US officials continue to caution citizens about venturing into the country and its casino enclave. US Department of State officials say China continues to subjectively enforce laws on foreigners that threaten travelers’ safety.

“Reconsider travel to the People’s Republic of China (PRC), including the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau, due to arbitrary enforcement of local laws,” a China Travel Advisory issued by the US State Department reads.

US citizens traveling or residing in the PRC, including the Hong Kong SAR and the Macau SAR, may be detained without access to US consular services or information about their alleged crime. US citizens in the PRC may be subjected to prolonged interrogations and extended detention without due process of law,” the notice added.

The US is a minor feeder market for Macau. In 2019, the US accounted for just 200K visitors to Macau of the record 39.4 million travelers who ventured into the enclave that year.

The post Macau Maintains Recovery Momentum, April Gaming Revenue Totals $1.82B appeared first on Casino.org.

Filed Under: Gambling News Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Cyberattack – 14 Canadian Casinos Shut Down Since April 16

cyberattack_14_canadian_casinos_shut_down_since_april_16Canada’s Gateway Casinos & Entertainment Ltd. has officially confirmed that the company has been the subject of a cyberattack. All 14 of the company’s casinos in the province of Ontario were shut down starting with Casino Rama Resort which closed on April 16th. The casinos were hit with a ransomware attack that reportedly created an IT outage.

When Casino Ramma was shut down abruptly at about 1 p.m. CDT on Sunday the 16th, the company only said that an IT outage was to blame, not what caused the outage. All gaming operations were shut down with the company statement reading only: “Gateway casino sites across Ontario experienced a system-wide IT outage.”

Restaurants, Hotel Still Open at Casino Rama

The casino’s Instagram feed most recently stated: “Casino Rama Resort’s Hotel, Balance In Life Spa, Weirs, and St. Germain’s restaurants remain open. St. Germain’s is open Wednesday – Sunday.”

Very little more information was meted out over the next several days until Gateway announced the reasoning behind the closures on Friday, nearly a week later. The company now says that it has no knowledge of any confidential or private information being compromised. Investigation of the incident is still underway with many of the firm’s 7,000 employees being idled.

iHeart Radio was reporting on Friday that all casinos would remain shuttered indefinitely while cyber professionals do their work to reassure the integrity of the systems.

The Chris de Burgh concert scheduled for Friday was postponed until April 27. The Quiet Riot, Warrant, and Helix concert scheduled for Saturday was reset to October 7. All tickets purchased through My Club Rewards and Ticketmaster will be valid on the new dates. No mention of refunds was made. The event center st Casino Rama can seat up to 5,000 people.

The Friday announcement confirmed that a criminal breach had occurred and that all of the casinos would remain closed through the weekend at a minimum. As of Sunday evening, no change had been announced.

The company website still stated the following which was initially posted on Friday, April 21: “Gateway Casinos and Entertainment locations in Ontario will remain closed through the coming weekend as we continue to work on resolving a cybersecurity incident and put in place the plans for reopening at each location. While we cannot confirm a re-opening date at this time, we continue to work with all relevant parties to do everything we can to restore our IT systems, reopen our sites, and get our employees back to work.”

Not all cash has stopped flowing for the company however as 15 other casinos in different provinces remain open.

Catalyst Capital Group is the company’s majority stockholder and gateway manages the gaming venues for the respective provincial governments where they operate, sharing revenues with them which is used for the common good.

The company announcement also stated: “We want to reiterate that we have notified the relevant privacy officials, law enforcement, and government regulators about the cyber incident.”

30 Year History in Canada

Last year, Gateway celebrated 30 years of participation in the gaming and entertainment business in Canada. Casino Rama opened on July 31, 1996, and remained open continuously until forced to shutter operations during the world health emergency in 2020.

The company said it is working “with third-party experts” around the clock 7 days per week “to determine if there has been any impact on personal information in this case,”

Oddly enough, just a few days prior to the cyberattack, Global News ran an article warning of the increased risk of Russian cyberattacks on Canada in response to the country’s support of Ukraine. While there is no indication yet that Russian state actors are responsible for the most recent attack on a Canadian business it has been identified as a criminal hacking group and that ransom was demanded. Gateway has not confirmed or denied whether it paid and was hit anyway.

Pro-Russian groups have taken credit for several recent cyberattacks in Canada, including on Prime Minister Trudeau’s website and the websites of the Port of Québec and Laurentian Bank.

For a listing of all significant cyber attacks on Canadian government institutions and businesses, see the Kon Briefing (here).

Source: Gateway Casinos Confirms Cyberattack on Ontario IT Infrastructure, Casino.org, April 22, 2023

The post Cyberattack – 14 Canadian Casinos Shut Down Since April 16 appeared first on Casino News Daily.

Filed Under: Gambling News Tagged With: , , , ,