Company Reports

The massive expansion of William Hill into the US has led the British gambling operator through the $1-billion barrier in a few states which have recently made sports betting legal, including Mississippi and New Jersey. The company, which is one of the largest bookmaker in the UK, has been quickly expanding its presence in the US sports betting after the US Supreme Court lifted the federal ban and liberalised the sports betting sector which was previously suspended under the provisions of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992…

Yesterday, the Australian casino operator Crown Resorts confirmed that New South Wales’ gambling regulatory body had notified it for an upcoming inquiry into Melco Resorts and Entertainment’s planned stake purchase in the company. The agreement was announced by Melco Resorts in May, with the operator revealing that it would acquire a 19.99% stake in the Australian gambling operator at the price of $1.2 billion. James Packer-controlled CPH Crown Holdings Pty Ltd emerged as the seller. Lawrence Ho is currently the controlling shareholder, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Melco Resorts.…

Matt Bekier, Chief Executive Officer of Star Entertainment Group has supported junkets’ use at the company’s casino, calling these operators a well-established feature of the gambling sector. Mr Bekier explained that he could not comment on the actions of his company’s major competitor Crown Resorts but shared that Star Entertainment sticks to practices which are permitted by law and give the company’s management and its investors that they are “doing the right thing”. Star Entertainment’s boss said he was confident that the company is running legal operations in correspondence with…

Today, the Irish gambling operator Flutter Entertainment announced its interim results for the first half of the current fiscal year. The company unveiled a considerable increase in its group revenue over the first six months which ended on June 30th, 2019. According to the report which has been published by the gambling company mere hours ago, the group revenue of Flutter Entertainment rose by 18% from £867 million in the same period a year ago to £1.02 billion in the first six months of the ongoing financial year. The company,…

The largest gambling operators in the UK have recently pledged that they will increase their voluntary contribution to the country’s Government to help the latter tackle rising problem gambling rates. As Casino Guardian has reported earlier, the owners of William Hill, bet365, GVC Holdings’ Ladbroke Coral, SkyBet and Flutter Entertainment’s Paddy Power Betfair had shared their willingness to boost the current voluntary levy of 0.1% of their gambling profits to 1% over the next five years. According to estimates, this step would eventually provide a total of £100 million as…

Crown Casino has denied the allegations of the Australian basketball player Ben Simmons who claimed that he was racially profiled by bouncers at the entrance of the casino’s gambling premises. The 23-year-old basketball superstar shared in his Instagram account that he was suspended from entering the casino after the staff required him to present his ID. In a video, shared with his 4.3 million followers, Simmons suggested that he was denied entrance in the gambling room of the casino because of the colour of his skin. Turning the camera to…

It has been a tough week for the largest casino operator in Australia, and according to analysts, things are about to get even worse. Crown Resorts Ltd has been found to have been seeking positive presence in local media with full-page advertisements to respond to a series of articles alleging it to have made links with junket operators supporting its high-roller operations and organised crime, Chinese influence operations, etc. In its advertisements in the local media, Crown Resorts has called the reports a “deceitful campaign”, as the company no longer…

Marlene Kairouz, Victoria’s Minister for Customer Affairs, Gaming and Liquor Regulation, asked the state’s gambling regulator to re-examine the allegations against Crown Resorts aired by local media earlier this week. Australia’s biggest entertainment and gaming operation faces accusations of illicit activities like money laundering and connections to organized crime. The gaming minister confirmed her department is also to evaluate the regulations imposed on gambling operators that offer junket casino trips to Chinese high rollers. Australia’s media network Nine has linked some of these junket VIP players to the Triad organized…

Ladbrokes Coral’s parent company GVC Holdings has agreed to pay a £5.9 million fine, one of the largest penalty packages ever imposed by the United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC). The massive payment will settle a UKGC investigation into past failings in Ladbrokes and Coral, including an inability to protect vulnerable customers from gambling-related harm and insufficient anti-money laundering measures. The penalty package comes as a result of multiple transgressions by Ladbrokes Coral, which became the largest British bookmaker in 2016 after the merger between Ladbrokes and Gala Coral Group. In…

Following media allegations of corruption and special visa deals for Asian high-rollers, Crown Casinos and Commonwealth agencies will face an integrity investigation. The probe was ordered by Attorney-General Christian Porter and comes amid claims in media publications that Australian consulate employees fast-tracked visa applications for Chinese gamblers. On Tuesday, Attorney-General Christian Porter told the federal government that he had referred the investigation to the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity. The national integrity watchdog will be probing the relationship between Crown Casino and government agencies, accused of helping the casino…