CASINO NEWS

Isle of Capri buys Bally’s slot system… and a casino too

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relationship with most affiliates fairly but overlooked the claims of some.

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Grand Privé called in the non-profit standards body in November, when claims were circulating on the Internet that the firm had failed to adequately reward former affiliates for the value of the players who they had introduced to Grand Privé and who continued gaming there.

eCogra was charged with “independently investigating the manner in which the programme was terminated and the reasons”, “carrying out a full and independent review of the programme software and data to confirm amounts owed to claimants”, and “determining a fair settlement for claimants, taking into consideration the potential lifetime earnings of each affiliate’s respective players”.

It found that Grand Privé had decided to close the

affiliate programme in 2008 because the software running it was still in beta-test stage, requiring three permanent employees to manage it as well as frequent trouble-shooting from the software provider. This high level of expense, combined with the “relatively small portion of income being derived from

8 MAY 2010

ally Technologies is to provide systems to Isle of Capri Casinos’ entire U.S. estate and is also selling the operator its Rainbow Casino in

Vicksburg, Mississippi. The technology deal will see all Isle of Capri’s

properties install Bally’s SDS slot-management system, while individual casinos will also have the option to take other Bally products such as its iView player interfaces, Power Bonusing suite, and CoolSign digital signage. The rollout begins in the second half of this year.

And in a deal not publicly linked by the two firms, Isle of Capri is paying Bally $80m cash for the Rainbow Casino, which has 831 slots and ten tables across a 25,000-square-foot gaming floor, as well as an 89- room hotel. “We have enjoyed a successful, 16-year run owning and operating Rainbow Casino,” said Richard Haddrill, Bally Technologies’ CEO. “However, it is important that we focus on our core business of providing games and systems technology.”

Brazil to get first casino in president’s home town?

razil, which has not had casinos for 64 years, could get one in the northeastern city of Garanhuns – perhaps not coincidentally the

birthplace of President Lula da Silva. Silvio Costa, a politician from the state of

Permanbuco, where Garanhuns is located, has proposed that enabling legislation for a Las Vegas- style gaming city be included in a new Bingo law that

is currently being debated by Brazil’s National Congress.

Although lying inland, Garanhuns is noted for its moderate climate. Casinos were banned in Brazil in 1946, while Bingo operations were shut down in 2004 – an act which the new legislation could overturn. However, it is expected to meet significant opposition.

eCogra: “Most Grand Privé affiliates were paid properly”

Cogra has concluded its investigation into the closure of Grand Privé’s affiliate programme, finding that the online gaming operator ended its

the affiliate business”, meant the programme was loss-making. Before the programme was eventually closed in December of that year, “termination was conducted [by Grand Privé] according to the termination clauses stipulated in the affiliate contracts”, eCogra found, and “during November 2008 management entered into mutually agreed compensation arrangements for related future player activity with the majority of affiliates who at that time had players considered to be reasonably active”.

But eCogra added that “we have, however, confirmed

that certain affiliates were overlooked in this process”. To recompense the affiliates that had introduced gamblers who continued to play with Grand Privé, eCogra calculated the commission that would have been due for December 2008 and calendar 2009, then added to this a further payment for any players who remained active in the second half of 2009. The effect of this is that we have implied an average lifetime value for each of these players of at least 3.5 times the actual average lifetime of all Grand Privé players,” said eCogra.

In our opinion, this is fair and reasonable compensation for the likely future earnings of these players.”

News in brief

corporate identity project led by recently-arrived Sales and Marketing Manager Anette Jauch.

CAI online

Casinos Austria International has launched its online gaming platform www.caigames.com, managed from Malta by its Intergame subsidiary. It offers virtual slots and table games, with Bingo and sports betting to be added.

Distribution deals

Suzo-Happ is now exclusive Bally

Technologies distributor for the video lottery market in Illinois. The technology was legalised in the state last year. Ixtapa Gaming is to represent DEQ Systems in the Native American market, and managed to secure “several” orders for DEQ’s G3 even before the deal was finalised. And R. Franco America has become non-exclusive distributor of Novomatic products in Colombia.

Those were the days

The Eastside Cannery Casino in

Las Vegas has opened a room dedicated to “classic” slots from the 1980s and 1990s. The 56 slots – all played with, and paying out, coins – include Humpback Keno, Jokers Wild Video Poker, and Triple Diamond.

Delaware approval

TCSJohnHuxley has gained

approved gaming vendor status in Delaware, shortly after law-makers gave the go-ahead for the state’s three racinos to introduce table games. It says it has since secured “substantial” orders for Baccarat, Craps, Poker and Roulette products as well as proprietary games.

Bahamas biggie

Construction will begin later this year on a mega-resort complex on New Providence Island in the Bahamas, with the first phase including a 100,000-square-foot casino and about 3000 hotel rooms. The Baha Mar development is expected to open in late 2013 or 2014. Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46