News December 2025
Operator News SJM to buy L’Arc Hotel
SJM Holdings has decided to buy one of its remaining satellite casinos, L’Arc Hotel, for around US$800m, but will not proceed with the purchase of Casino Ponte 16. L’Arc Hotel is a well-established hotel property located in the NAPE district on Avenida 24 de Junho, a key node within the Macau Peninsula’s most concentrated and high- performing entertainment and hospitality cluster. Te property encompasses a hotel, casino, food and beverage outlets, retail and the premises of Casino L’Arc Macau.
Operator News Caesars opens sportsbook
Caesars Entertainment and Monmouth Park have opened a trackside Caesars Sportsbook at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, New Jersey. Te all-new standalone venue adjacent to the Monmouth Park clubhouse features 16,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor sports viewing space, including sweeping views of the historic racetrack, wall-to-wall video, more than 25 self-service betting kiosks, a centre bar, a Shake Shack location, and an exclusive VIP section. Pari-mutuel race wagering is also available.
ECA flags scale of illegal gambling Operator News
Te European Casino Association (ECA) has published a new analysis by intelligence platform Yield Sec revealing the scale of illegal online gambling across the European Union in 2024.
According to the study, unlicensed operators
accounted for an estimated €80.6bn in gross gaming revenue – more than double the legal market’s €33.6bn – and now represent 71 per cent of all online gambling activity in the EU. Yield Sec identified more than 6,200 illegal
operators actively targeting EU consumers, with around 81 million Europeans exposed to or interacting with illegal gambling services.
Supplier News Merkur appoints Kunkies
Te Merkur Group has a new head of human resources with Antje Kunkies taking the newly created position of Chief Human Resources Officer on 1 January 2026, assuming overall responsibility for the Group’s global HR strategy. Te Merkur Group employs around 15,000 people worldwide. Her responsibilities include further developing the Group-wide HR strategy, harmonising global HR processes, and consistently continuing the “One HR” project. She reports to Chairman, Lars Felderhoff.
Bally’s cleared to invest in Te Star Operator News
Te NSW Independent Casino Commission has provided the necessary approvals for Bally’s to become a substantial shareholder of Te Star Entertainment Group. Bally’s have cleared a comprehensive probity
investigation, conducted by the NICC and Liquor and Gaming NSW, which has assessed a range of both financial and non-financial factors related to the company’s suitability and the suitability of key individuals involved in Bally’s. Following the investigation, Bally’s’ proposed corporate
and individual close associates have been approved as ‘suitable persons’ to be associated with the management and operation of Te Star Sydney casino, subject to appropriate conditions. Te NICC has also approved the increased shareholding
Based on an assumed average EU online
gaming tax rate of 25 per cent, the report estimates that more than €20bn in tax revenue was lost to illegal operators in 2024.
of Bally’s as a ‘major change’ in the state of affairs of the casino operator of Te Star Sydney, which is required under the Casino Control Act 1992. Te NICC’s Chief Commissioner Philip Crawford said Bally’s had submitted a plan to improve on Te Star’s financial performance, which it will be required to report back on regularly as a condition of the approval. Te NICC’s decision does not affect the current status of Te Star’s licence which remains suspended.
Former head of gambling board in Dominican Republic pleads guilty Operator News
Te former director of Casinos and Games of Chance, Oscar Chalas Guerrero, was admitted to a medical centre after suffering a heart condition, just hours after he admitted his responsibility in the charges against him in the corruption case known as Operation Calamar (Operation Squid). Te former official admitted his
responsibility in the collection of money from illegal betting establishments to allow them to
18
operate following an agreement with the Public Ministry, which requested a plea deal in his favour. As part of the agreement, Chalas Guerrero returned 17 million pesos to the State via cheques, along with two vehicles with a combined approximate value of almost three million pesos. In making his statements accepting his
responsibility before Judge Altagracia Ramírez of the Fourth Instruction Court, the former official stated that the former Minister of Finance, Donald Guerrero, was aware of the collections from the illegal betting establishments.
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 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134
