Author: Olivia Cole

Online betting company Lottoland Australia has revealed its idea to dispose of its products by selling them to customers of local newsagents, using the latter as advertising tools. The industry body that represents local newsagencies and lottery agents – the Australian Lottery and Newsagents’ Association (ALNA) – has shared its belief that the proposed offer of the operator is contradictory and comes as part of the company’s attempts to attract newsagents’ customers. The Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Lottery and Newsagents’ Association, Adam Joy, shared the Association’s view that…

Earlier today, one of the largest Australian casino operators – Crown Resorts Ltd – was accused by a local lawmaker of deliberately concealing potential money laundering and owning rigged poker machines. Reportedly, three former employees of the operator have alleged it in rigging slot machines. According to the allegations, the company has been concealing possible money laundering practices at its largest casino venue, and the state regulatory body has been covering up the operator’s criminal behaviour. MP Andrew Wilkie’s Allegations The independent Member of Parliament Andrew Wilkie, who is known…

The State Government of Australia is pushing to suspend so-called “rogue” lottery operators such as Lottoland at a time when the office of the country’s Attorney-General is organising a series of high-level meetings in order to discuss various options to handle the issue. It came to Casino Guardian’s knowledge that members of the state Attorney-General’s office had already have meetings with the National Newsagents Association, as well as with the local gambling operator Tatts Group to talk about the possible ways that could be used by it to ban the…

It seems that many US gambling operators have their eyes on Japan, aiming to win the country’s authorities favour. Currently, the Japanese Government has been considering to lift the nation-wide ban on casinos, giving such gambling venues the green light in order to compete to rival gambling hubs such as Macau and Singapore. Both MGM Resorts’ and Las Vegas Sands’ executives have reported that they consider making massive investments of about $10 billion in Japan, while the President of Melco Resorts and Entertainment has explained that he would spend whatever…

Hong Kong-listed integrated resort developer Landing International Development Ltd. confirmed on Wednesday that it has completed the sale of Les Ambassadeurs Club in Mayfair, London. The casino is known to be one of the most exclusive gaming spots in the UK capital. Landing announced its plans to sell the emblematic property last month. It also became known that Les Ambassadeurs Club would be purchased by Paul Suen Cho Hung for a total consideration of HK$2.5 billion (approximately £243.4 million). Mr. Hung currently owns Birmingham City F.C. and is one of…

The Premier of Western Australia reiterated the state government’s intention to ban lottery betting company Lottoland from targeting local customers. Luke Brill, Chief Executive of the operator’s Australian business, arrived in Perth to meet state officials in a bid to defend his company and spare it from being banished. It was in September when Premier Mark McGowan revealed that his administration has been considering the possibility to prohibit Lottoland from operating in the state. Western Australia’s top official told local media earlier today that they have remained committed to completing…

It seems that some of the largest gambling operators on a global scale are on their way to consolidation through a new wave of multi-billion mergers and acquisitions. Reportedly, the dealmaking process is set to start as early as October 2017, as a result of the operators’ efforts to consolidate their positions in both their domestic markets and in international markets as well. Lately, it becomes more challenging for gambling companies to operate in the conditions of quickly changing environment. In addition, the market conditions in the UK gambling industry…

Penn National Gaming Inc., a US casino and racetracks operator, has reportedly been having merger talks with its rival American gaming company Pinnacle Entertainment. According to a report of the Wall Street Journal that cited people with knowledge of the situation, the two companies have been engaged in negotiations about a possible deal, but failed to reach an agreement on the merger’s terms. This, however, does not mean that Penn National has lost interest in purchasing Pinnacle Entertainment. Is Further US Market Consolidation Underway? A merger between the two US…

Caesars Entertainment Corp has intended to expand its Caesars, Horseshoe and Harrah’s brands on the territory of the US and overseas after the company’s casino operating unit finally makes an exit from almost three years of bankruptcy. Reportedly, according to some industry experts, the company may have lost the battle with its largest rivals such as MGM Resorts International, Las Vegas Sands Corp and Wynn Resorts Ltd, with the three of them having spend years in their market growth in highly-profitable Asian markets. Caesars’ Restructuring Plan As reported by Reuters,…

As Casino Guardian reported last month, there have been rumours that certain UK gambling companies have been involved with industry-wide illegal activities. With the increasing popularity of online gambling among local players, gambling-related cybercrime has also increased. After all, iGaming is usually related to massive transactions of money and generating large Internet traffic every day, so such crimes and illegal activities are a serious problem. Things look even worse, considering that local regulators and authorities seem to be little aware of the problem, or what is worse, sometimes seem to…