p4-12 news:News 19/01/2010 08:48 Page 2
CASINO NEWS
British bingo tax cut:
News in brief
too little, too late?
Weighting game
Microgaming Poker Network has
moved to a weighted contribution
B
ritish bingo operators have won some reprieve from planned tax system of rake calculation, which
increases, but venue closures are still feared. In April, the allocates rake to operators based
government had proposed to increase the gross profit tax from 15 on the amount their players
percent to 22 percent – an unexpected move that led to a demonstration at contribute to the raked pot.
the Houses of Parliament in London under the banner of the I’m Backing
Bingo pressure group. YouBet
The bafflement of players and those within the industry alike was Online Casino Reports is inviting
expressed by market researcher Research and Markets, which said: “The Websites to embed its YouTube
bingo community is at a loss to understand why the pursuit, which is seen as video content, which covers gaming
relatively ‘soft’ gambling with the majority of its players being women who news, casino promotions and
place small bets, should be singled out for this tax hike, while other ‘hard’ information on poker tournaments.
gambling pursuits such as casinos are subject to 15 percent tax.” It was recently named a “reputable
Now, however, the government has climbed down slightly, and said it will portal” by eCogra.
cut the tax back to 20 percent in its next budget, expected in April. A further
small victory for the sector was a government acknowledgment that it would Grosvenor gains
not impose value added tax (VAT) on any bingo games, after a High Court Grosvenor Casinos in the UK saw
decision that VAT had been improperly levied on interval games. revenue climb seven percent, or
But many remain concerned that as many as 100 clubs could close, with three percent on a like-for-like basis,
the 20 percent tax – still a full third up on its previous level – eating further in the year ending 27 December.
into margins that have already been damaged by the recession and Britain’s Average customer spend per visit
2007 ban on smoking in most buildings open to the public. was down, but total visits were up,
At Rank, for example, revenue from the Mecca Bingo operation stayed at and the last quarter saw revenue
2008 levels (when measured on a like-for-like basis) through 2009. Spend growth accelerate thanks to swelling
per visit was up but the number of customers shrank. customer numbers. The firm also
The firm expects to claw back some 2.5m Euro ($4m) annually thanks to cited the performance of its G
the reduced 20 percent level of duty, but warned that “it only mitigates in Casino brand as a contributor to
part the negative impact of tax changes”. growth. Analyst KBC Peel Hunt said:
“Grosvenor has impressed us with
Mozambique loosens rules on new
its resilience. The G Casino
casino development
rebranding is working well and there
is more to come. “
M
any casino operators’ attention is likely to be turning to Africa this
winter, with regulations easing in Mozambique and a South African Innocore for VGT
licence up for grabs. PC-based gaming specialist
The relaxed Mozambique gaming regime, unanimously approved by the Innocore Gaming is to to supply a
nation’s assembly in June and now signed into law by President Armando custom DPX-S420 platform to Video
Guebuza, will allow casinos to be developed throughout the country. Gaming Technologies (VGT), which
Currently Mozambique – a nation occupying roughly the same area as makes games for Class II and
Turkey, with a population of around 20m – has just two casinos, one in the emerging markets including Live-Call
capital Maputo and another in Namaacha, near the Swaziland border. Bingo, popular in Native American
Under the new rules, although casinos must still be built with hotels, the casinos. VGT CEO and founder Jon
minimum hotel size of 250 rooms has been removed, and minimum Yarbrough said Innocore had
investment reduced from $15m to $8m. “proven product capability and a
Slots will also be permitted in non-casino areas for the first time. good price/performance ratio”.
In South Africa, meanwhile, Tsogo Sun Gaming’s licence to operate in zone Innocore is also supplying a custom-
2 of Eastern Cape province expires in September 2011, and the Eastern Cape designed DPX platform to Go Play
Gambling and Betting Board (ECGBB) is inviting applicants to compete for it. Group in Italy.
Tsogo Sun’s current zone 2 location is Hemingways Casino in East London.
The final deadline for applications – which should include hotel and Ainsworth approval
restaurant facilities and demonstrate local shareholder involvement – is 7 May. Ainsworth Game Technology has
The last two casino licences put out to tender by the ECGBB were retained been approved as a manufacturer
by incumbent Sun International, which has now also opened its first site and distributor of gaming equipment
outside southern Africa. The Federal Palace in Nigeria’s largest city Lagos has by the Nevada Gaming Commission.
just eight gaming tables and 195 slots. The $24m project, which includes a Executive Chairman Len Ainsworth
632-room hotel, is Sun International’s first foray into the west African market. said the approval “will provide
Its southern Africa locations are in Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South increased opportunities for sales
Africa, Swaziland and Zambia. within this substantial market”.
4 FEBRUARY 2010
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