Author: Olivia Cole

According to local media reports, SkyCity Entertainment Group has been looking for a buyer for its Darwin casino business situated in the Northern Territory of Australia since October 2017. Unfortunately for the company, it has still not managed to find a buyer for the property, as the price of AU$200 million has been considered a bit too high for most operators which could be interested in such an acquisition. In February 2017, the operator explained that there was no urgency for the sale to be carried out, especially considering the…

One of the leading daily fantasy sports (DFS) companies on a global scale, DraftKings, revealed its expansion in Australia. As the operator explained, it is set to start offering its DFS contests to Australia-based players over the second quarter of the current fiscal year. Australia is the first country outside of Europe and North America where DraftKings gets a permission to operate, as well as the eighth country where the company is available to customers. For the time being, the DFS company operates in the UK, Ireland, Malta, Austria, Germany,…

The billionaire businessman Lawrence Ho revealed that the gambling and entertainment giant Melco Resorts & Entertainment is to consider making an investment of at least $10 billion in case that it gets the greenlight to open a casino complex in Japan under the new integrated casino resorts legislation that has been currently considered. An agreement on the new legislation’s key points has been recently reached between the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner Komeito. The bill, which is to pave the way to casino gambling in Japan,…

Today, Playtech revealed that it has reached an agreement with Snaitech, under which the British gambling technology company is to acquire an approximately 70.6% stake in the Italian betting and gaming operator. The prize of the deal is estimated to €846 million. The acquisition is to be funded by the existing cash of Playtech, as well as by a new debt. After the initial acquisition is finalised, the UK-headquartered gambling tech firm is to be required to place a mandatory takeover bid for the remaining stake in Snaitech. Of course,…

Ladbrokes have decided to extend their lay-to-lose horseracing bets’ guarantee across their entire betting outlets network in the UK – a step that brought their policy in line with the Coral brand. As reported by the Racing Post, Ladbrokes has already promised to lay bets to lose no less than £5,000 per capita on all races broadcast on ITV. In addition, since the beginning of the week, Ladbrokes a daily guarantee has been brought in by the brand to lay all bets placed on Group/Graded and Listed races, as well…

Yesterday, the Gibraltar-based iGaming operator 888 Holdings revealed that an appeal to the Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverwaltunsgericht) ruling was filed by its subsidiary which online gambling services had been banned in the state of Baden-Württemberg. As previously reported by 888 Holdings, one of its Group’s subsidiaries got suspended from offering online gambling in the above-mentioned German state under a ruling of the Federal Administrative Court of the country. Now, the Gibraltar-based gambling operator has confirmed that a complaint was filed over the legal case, after the subsidiary in question…

The massive wave of consolidation that has been seen in the UK gambling market over the past few years and of which Casino Guardian has already reported on several occasions, does not seem to be slowing down. The end of March once again saw a demonstration of the quickly-changing nature of the local gambling industry, with two of the largest betting operators joining forces in a single entity. The last days of March 2018 saw one of the largest deals in the UK gambling market, with the takeover agreement between…

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) scolded Isle of Man-based Stars Interactive Ltd trading as PokerStars for two issues related to a TV commercial seen on October 26th 2017. The ad included a voice-over, which suggested that players should take advantage of their talent and bluff when playing poker, as sometimes that was the only way to win. A complaint against the above-mentioned PokerStars TV ad was filed, with the complainant challenged whether the commercial exploited inexperienced poker players by making a suggestion that thy could become exceptionally good at the…

In spite of the fact that fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) situated in betting outlets across the UK would probably be most affected by the gambling crackdown planned by the Government, online gambling operators could be affected by new rules, too. Now, online gambling companies could also face close attention from the authorities, following a recommendation made by the major regulator of the UK gambling industry – the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC). As Casino Guardian reported last week, the Commission published its review of both gambling machines in the UK and…

The Star casino group seems to still be willing to expand its reach to Queensland amid the problems that its rival Crown Resorts has faced after the unexpected resignation of James Packer from the group. The Star wants to open a second big destination, aiming at Queensland as a site that would bring more gambling tourists to its casino. Last night, Matt Bekier, who is the Chief Executive Officer of The Star, welcomed politicians and celebrities at the opening of the brand’s new luxury Darling Hotel. The latter is set…