AMERICAS
The District of Columbia voted to repeal its online gambling law; the US Senate held a hearing on how online gambling would impact Indian tribes; Nevada casinos had their best month since 2007 and their sportsbooks had their second best Super Bowl; Pennsylvania casino revenues topped $3b in 2011 but Atlantic City slipped back into the red in January; Caesars Entertainment’s deliberately puny IPO raised more press than millions; the American Gaming Association claimed the domestic casino biz represents 1% of GDP; Chiligaming entered into an online gaming partnership with Golden Nugget casinos; Probability applied for a Nevada online poker license; the Everleaf network pulled out of the US market; Churchill Downs Inc. acquired Bluff Media; Cyptologic scored a multi-year deal with Loto-Quebec and the Iowa Lottery is $14m richer thanks to an inexplicably shy jackpot winner.
EUROPE
888 Holdings, Rank Group, Betsson and Net Entertainment results impressed; PokerStars launched its Belgian site and received a Maltese license; Spain will now issue its first online gambling licenses in March, but Codere continues waging war on online operators; Portugal reportedly considers liberalizing its online market; the French gambling market is still suffering under oppressive regulations; UK MP Matthew Hancock thinks his “tax avoidance” bill will raise £300m; Bodog UK boss Patrik Selin stirred the poker pot by suggesting pro player-based marketing was ‘suicide’ and Mike O’Donnell investigated the challenges facing high street bookmakers looking to go digital.
ASIA
Melco Crown and Tabcorp posted profits; Las Vegas Sands eyes two projects in Vietnam; Japan continues to inch closer to casino legislation; Wynn led all Macau gambling joints in 2011 revenues but Wynn Resorts lost a court ruling in its fight with chief investor Kazuo Okada; PokerStars scrubbed the Macau Millions tourney for 2012 while the APT crowned an Asian Series Cebu champ; Sands China ended its 10-year deal with Cirque du Soleil 6.5 years early; Pentasia launched a Macau-based consultancy; Australia’s Star Casino fired their GM over his “behavior in a social work setting” and Singapore’s casinos were fined for not paying close enough attention to who came through their doors.
