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HO INCREASES VLADIVOSTOK STAKE
Lawrence Ho’s Melco International is planning to raise its stake in the casino resort development near Vladivostok Russia - Operations
Macau casino developer Lawrence Ho is planning to raise Melco International’s stake in the casino resort development near Russia’s Vladivostok to 85 per cent.
GERMANY – EIG EVENT SHIFTS TO BERLIN LOCATION The recently formed EiG Advisory Board, which comprises leading names in gaming, including Andre Wilsenach, Executive Director, Alderney Gambling Control Commission; Hussein Chahine, CEO, Yazino; Nils Anden, CMO, Unibet and Joerg Hofmann, President, IMGL has welcomed the decision to move the 2014 edition of EiG to the German Capital Berlin, widely recognised as a world leading centre for media, tech- nology and cutting-edge creative industries. Organisers Clarion Events have confirmed that the 2014 edition of EiG will be held across October 21-23 at the iconic, river-fronted Arena Berlin, the city's leading venue which has played host to a range of business and cultural events including Disrupt Europe 2013 – TechCrunch and Bestseller Fashion Fair.
Ben Dale, International Development Director at Ladbrokes who attended the recent meeting of the EiG Advisory Board, which was held at St Ermin's Hotel, London said: "There is an enormous amount of goodwill for EiG to remain successful and I am delighted that Clarion is drawing on the experience and insight of what is a very knowledgeable board. The deci- sion to move to Berlin is, I believe, a good one and I am sure the world of iGaming will enjoy their time in what is a hugely creative, hospitable and dynamic city."
Kate Chambers, Portfolio Director responsible for EiG said: "Announcing our move to Berlin, a city whose heart beat is creativity, is just the first of many groundbreaking changes and initiatives that we have developed in partnership with our Advisory Board and details of which we will be releasing shortly."
UK - EZUGI INKS DEAL WITH GAMES MARKETING Ezugi, the innovative live dealer gaming system provider, has entered an agreement with Games Marketing to provide table games to Ezugi’s international gaming operators. The deal sees a suite of games and side bets made available on laptop, tablets and mobile to Ezugi’s customers.
Chris Reynolds, CEO of Games Marketing commented: “We are delighted to be able to announce the signing of a ground- breaking deal with Ezugi that will bring more of our leading table games to the rapidly growing remote dealer platform. Ezugi is a dynamic, visionary group and their business model is one that very much complements our own and will, we are certain, raise the bar significantly in a sector that has shaken up the traditional approach to the provision of table games.”
Kfir Kugler, CEO at Ezugi, said, “There are no other Live Casino solution providers that can match our development agility to launch revenue enhancing live gaming products for our customers. This agreement with Games Marketing fur- ther allows our operators to have a competitive and com- mercial edge by offering leading games that players wish to play and indeed demand from gaming brands nowadays.”
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Oleg Drozdov who owns a 30 per cent share in the project will sell half his stake for $20.2m to Summit Ascent Holding and Firich Enterprises, which will see Summit Ascent, of which Lawrence Ho holds a 33.8 per cent share, increase its current stake in the project from 46 to 60 per cent. Mr. Ho also owns shares through Melco.
The $650m casino will include a hotel with 120 rooms, 800 slot machines and 65 gambling tables.
Approximately US$70m dollars has already been invested in the resort project. The second develop- ment phase will involve a further investment of US$130m, followed by US$500m in the third phase. The second phase could involve an inde- pendent casino controlled by Mr Ho, according to filings from Melco and Summit Ascent, with the investment expected to be concluded by 2017.
In a November filing Melco said the deal was not
linked to an on-going investigation by the Russian authorities into Mr. Drozdov and alleged ‘malprac- tices.’ It stated that the company had retained the right to buy out any shareholder in the project
‘deemed by any relevant gaming regulatory authority to be an unsuitable associate.’
Vladivostok is just a couple of hours flight time away from Seoul and Tokyo, whilst a flight from Beijing to the Russian city takes two and a half hours, compared with three hours and 45 minutes to Macau.
Whilst other remote zones have been belittled by analysts as having no chance of working, a report from Gaming Market Advisors believes Vladivostok’s Integrated Entertainment Zone could generate Gross Gaming Revenues of between US$2 and $7bn when completed pitching it either side of Singapore’s GGR of $5bn, generat- ed in 2011.
Poland Since 2011, Poland's online gambling market has been regulated by the Polish Gambling Act. The Act is perceived to be very restrictive and sets norms that forbid online poker, and allows online betting only with four operators holding state-issued licenses. In a bid to meet European Commission demands regarding free movement of goods and services within the European Union, the Polish government's laws on payment processing have been relaxed through amendments. The amendments make it possible for companies based within the EU, to process gambling-related transactions whereby Poland's online market is opened to widespread online payment processors.
GameAccount Network boosts revenues by 123 per cent
IRELAND GameAccount Network saw net revenue increase by 123 per cent to £12.3m for the year ended December 31, up from £5.5m in 2012 during what CEO Dermot Smurfit described as a ‘transfor- mational year.’ Profit before tax for the year increased to £1.6m, compared to a loss of £1m in 2002.
The year was boosted by the launch of a real money gaming platform in newly regulated New Jersey via
Betfaircasino.com under the Trump Resorts International brand. GameAccount also partnered with Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut in advance of the
launch of Simulated Gaming products in January 2014.
The company also signed game development and distribution deals with Konami Gaming, Multimedia Games, Reel Time Gaming and Gamomat launching in 2014. There was significant growth in higher margin revenue streams including a major plat- form sale and increased third party game development deals. The Italian market also saw increases in revenues from the distribution of third-party slots content.
Towards the end of last year deals were signed with Net Entertainment for game distribu-
tion in Italy; and with Osage Casinos in Oklahoma and New York’s Empire City Casino in the United States.
Dermot Smurfit, CEO of GameAccount Network said: “2013 was a transformational year for GameAccount Network. Net revenue has more than dou- bled and EBITDA increased from £0.3m to £4.1m. We have made real progress in delivering on our strategic initiative to develop sustainable higher margin rev- enue streams while positioning the Group for growth in regulat- ing markets. We also successful- ly raised £15 million through an institutional placing in November 2013 and listed on the AIM and ESM markets of the London and Irish Stock Exchanges. We have a strong balance sheet with almost £17m in liquidity to accelerate our growth in 2014 and beyond.
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