G3Newswire ASIA & OCEANIA GAMING NEWS SAVAN VEGAS SOLICITS FOR BUYER
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INDIA – SIKKIM LICENCES SPORTS-BETTING Sikkim, arguably one of the loveliest destinations in India, is a small state in northwest of the country, bordered by Bhutan, Tibet and Nepal – it is also expected to set up betting shops across the state in the very near future. The move will allow players to place bets on major international sporting events from within the state, a unprecedented move in a country that bans most forms of sports-betting and is in the grips of multiple match-fixing scandals.
In August, the Sikkim Legislative Assembly passed the Sikkim Online Gaming (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2015, allowing for the establishments of India’s first legal betting shops in the state. The move comes at a time when match- fixing in cricket tournaments are seldom out of the news in India. However, industry insiders who support legalising bet- ting hail this as a step in the right direction. The bill, which is expected to be ratified soon, will allow private companies to ‘open centres for betting purposes.’ The activities will be con- ducted via the intranet (a private network). India has so far only allowed betting on horse racing, lotteries conducted by state governments and casinos in Goa, Sikkim and Daman and Diu.
For Sikkim, with a population of a little over 600,000, betting is another way to attract tourists and earn revenue. In 2009, Sikkim became the first state to offer land-based casinos in India. In Goa, casinos are offshore-only and pay over Rs100crore in taxes to the government. Sikkim currently has two operational casinos in five-star hotels.
So far, the state has issued licences to three companies as Sikkim gears up for a surge in tourism. The number of tourists went up from 4-5,000 to 12,000 per year with the opening of the state’s casinos. With this new law, Sikkim hopes to double those figures, though the real aim is to attract around 50,000 tourists a year, helped in no small measure by the opening of the airport in Sikkim, which will become operational by 2017.
Companies have already started putting in place infrastruc- ture for the new betting shops. Maarm International, one of the three licence holders, has targeted the MG Road in Gangtok. “We will start operating from a 6,600-sqft location once we get all the formalities cleared. Our target is the end of September,” says Manoj Sethi, director, Maarm International. The company has started a marketing cam- paign, putting up hoardings across the capital, Gangtok. Besides betting, the company intends to offer games such as poker, baccarat, blackjack and roulette.
Sikkim has been preparing for the big gamble since 2008 when it first passed the Sikkim Online Gaming (Regulation) Act, which was planned for Internet betting throughout India. In 2009, Sikkim issued provisional licences to key players. “We wanted Sikkim to be the base from where websites could run online betting games and anyone from anywhere could play online,” said K.P. Sharma, Directorate, Sikkim State Lotteries. But last year the Home Secretary asked the state to revise its law and restrict its betting activity to the state. Since gambling is a state subject, Sikkim was allowed to commence activities, but websites could be blocked by other states. Also, the Reserve Bank of India indicated that it would not allow payment gateways to accept deposits on gambling websites. The best option for Sikkim, therefore, is to offer betting through gaming terminals in the state.
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The Savan Vegas Hotel and Entertainment Complex, located in Savannakhet Laos is on the market
Laos - Operations
Since opening in late 2008, Savan Vegas has pro- vided its surrounding region with a full-service casino and entertainment destination, a contem- porary hotel complete with a spa and exercise facilities, a convention center and multiple food and beverage options. With steady VIP program play and walk-in customer base, the property presents a compelling investment opportunity.
As the exclusive sales agent working on behalf of the Government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, San Marco Capital Partners (SMC) announced that it has issued a Solicitation of Interest inviting interested parties to participate in a competitive sales process for the purchase of the Savan Vegas Hotel and Entertainment Complex located in Nongdeune Village, Kaisonphomvihanh District, Savannakhet Province of Lao PDR.
The Complex includes a full-service casino, a
hotel and numerous entertainment and leisure offerings. The sale process is undertaken pursuant to the Law on Investment Promotion No. 02/NA dated July 8, 2009 and other applicable laws, reg- ulations and decrees of Lao PDR.
A copy of the Solicitation of Interest is available at
www.savanvegaslaolimited.com. Persons inter- ested in receiving additional information or par- ticipating in the sales process should complete and execute both the Expression of Interest and Non- Disclosure Agreement annexed to the Solicitation of Interest and submit them to enquiries@savan-
vegaslaolimited.com.
Queensland’s Aquis Great Barrier Reef Resort on track
AUSTRALIA The stalled $8bn Aquis Great Barrier Reef Resort project ear- marked for Queensland is back on track following renewed efforts by the newly elected gov- ernment to encourage its progress. Tony Fung had with- drawn from the process in February following failed discus- sion with the previous Liberal National Party government.
Treasurer Curtis Pitt has said the team behind the Aquis Great Barrier Reef Resort project has signed an agreement to re-enter the government’s integrated resort development (IRD) process. Mr. Pitt said: “Following the election, the Palaszczuk gov- ernment sought to engage in pos- itive discussions with Mr Fung and we welcome his company’s commitment to re-entering the
IRD process. The IRD process is a rigorous way to protect the com- munity’s interests and also eval- uate Aquis’ credentials and financial capacity.”
The proposal, to be located 13km north of Cairns and to be called Aquis Resort, would market itself to Chinese tourists and has pitched itself as being bigger than James Packer’s Crown casino in Melbourne. It wants to operate 750 tables and 1,500 slots at a resort that, if approved, would include nine hotels with 3,750 rooms, one of the world’s largest aquariums, a 25,000-seat sports stadium, 1,200 apartments and 135 villas, high-end retail shop- ping, theatres, a 13-hectare reef lagoon, 18-hole golf course, a convention and exhibition. Mr. Fung said of the development: “We remain committed to the
Aquis Yorkeys Knob project as part of our overall strategic investment plans for Australia.”
The government will now analyse a detailed proposal from Aquis when the government will execute an acceptance deed, which will commence the probity process. Mayor Bob Manning said: “Things seem to be heading in the right direction. But that’s today. Tomorrow and the day after, it must be kept on track. Time eventually kills everything, and time will kill a deal. The peo- ple have the capability, they have the desire, they have the will to invest, spread around Australia. The great pity is that now we have the Gold Coast and Canberra running ahead of Cairns when Cairns should have been ahead of both of those cities. It is clear to me that Aquis do have a broad-based plan for Australia. We are missing out on the start but we are going to be the flag- ship. But we need to get moving or it could slip away.”
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