ASIA & OCEANIA
Donaco Moves to Replace CEO and Board
Donaco, which owns casinos in Cambodia and northern Vietnam, has been locked in a battle with the former owner of Star Vegas Resort for two years
Problems continue to mount at Australian casino operator Donaco International's with the resignation of its CEO, following in the footsteps of more than half of its board members at the start of December.
Mr Arbuckle, who has only been in his position for six months, has provided six months’ notice, and his final day with the company is expected to be June 4 2020.
Te Board of Donaco stated: “Paul Arbuckle has made a significant contribution to improving the operations of Donaco since joining as CEO in June 2019. We respect his decision to tender his resignation at this time. Te Board will now commence an executive search process to replace Paul as CEO, and we appreciate his willingness to continue to assist the Company during this transition period.”
Chief Executive Officer, Paul Arbuckle stated: “I have enjoyed my time with Donaco, and I wish the Company all the best for the future.”
Donaco, which owns casinos in Cambodia and
northern Vietnam, has been locked in a battle with the former owner of Star Vegas Resort and Club, for two years now.
Shareholders voted Donaco's Chairman Stuart McGregor off the board and rejected the election of two other nominees, David Green and Yugo Kinoshita, at its recent AGM.
Just before the AGM, Executive Director Ben Reichel resigned from the board, meaning only two directors remained, putting Donaco in breach of ASX stipulations that require all listed companies to have at least two directors who are Australian residents.
Donaco is ‘in advanced discussions with a number of quality candidates, including candidates with experience in casino gaming in Asia’ for positions on its board.
Shareholders also ruled out a change of name for the company to Pan Asian Leisure Limited, which Chairman Mr McGregor said would have been ‘a public statement that we are leaving the past behind.’
Japan Galaxy confirms expression of interest in Japan
Macau casino operator Galaxy Entertainment has gone all in on expansion in Japan with confirmation it has lodged its interest in eight Japanese localities with a ninth to come.
Galaxy’s Vice Chairman Francis Lui said: “Galaxy remains fully supportive of the Japanese Government’s goals to introduce a globally renowned IR and MICE industry to Japan. In support of this, we have been conducting a careful evaluation of multiple locations, and have been an active and willing partner with many cities, prefectures and government agencies, in sharing information, ideas and our experience, to assist them in thoroughly evaluating the opportunities that IR’s can create for Japan. To date, we have responded to eight cities and
prefectures for requests for information or requests for concepts including most recently in Osaka and we are now preparing for Yokohama. And we look forward to continuing with this process to ensure the best development for Japan.
“Te Japanese Government’s timeline relating to IR certification applications which will take place in the first half of 2021, signalling the beginning of the formal bidding process for selected sites, which is scheduled to take place in 2020. With extensive experience in developing world- class IRs and considerable financial strength including a strong balance sheet, Galaxy is well positioned to assist in developing a uniquely Japanese IR experience, attracting in-bound travellers from around the world”
Japan
Te Japanese government is deliberating over a suggestion to withhold taxes on winnings by non-resident foreigners at casino resorts, similar to that used in the US and South Korea. Te growing belief is that it would be difficult to locate foreign nationals after they leave the country. Government officials are also looking at legislation forcing casino operators to hold records of chip buy-ins and win-loss results for each player. Tax would be placed on the difference between the value of the chips bought and the amount of those transferred back into cash. Tis would stop players from claiming that chips won were ones purchased, or from leaving some chips with a friend inside the casino to reduce the total of their winnings. Te proposals are expected to be introduced by April 2021.
PHILIPPINES – Synergy Blue, the Nevada-based skill-influenced slot manufacturer has signed a distribution deal with Jade Entertainment Solutions. The agreement expands Synergy Blue’s reach to Asian Pacific markets, where Jade Entertainment will provide sales distribution and localised support for the company’s unique Hawg (Hybrid Arcade Wager-based Gaming) platform and their vast library of arcade-style casino games.
“This agreement is a great step for Synergy Blue and we’re very excited to work with Jade Entertainment, who are experts in their market,” said Georg Washington, CEO of Synergy Blue. “New trends are driving innovation in entertainment worldwide and gambling preferences are evolving to reflect that. Providing a variety of new experiences with the quality and engagement level that players now expect is crucial. This is what our game library was built for and we’re excited to expand our offering to the Asia Pacific region.”
The agreement provides Jade with full access to Synergy Blue’s library of arcade-style, skill- influenced games —all built on the company’s Hawg platform, which enables operators to tailor game play and math variants to best fit their individual regulations and customer bases.
JAPAN – Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan’s main islands, has ditched its bid for an integrated resort (IR) with Governor Naomichi Suzuki citing environmental concerns with an environmental assessment likely to take up to three years.
Governor Suzuki said: “As a result of careful consideration, I had reached the conclusion that I would like to give an IR bid a shot, however the candidate site is likely to be a habitat of rare animals and plants, and the appropriate environmental considerations would be impossible in the restricted schedule.”
AUSTRALIA – North American slot sales, now Aristocrat’s biggest earning segment, helped drive the Australian slot giant to record revenues of $4.4bn for the year ended September 30 2019. Overall revenue increased 14.8 per cent in constant currency and 22.7 per cent. Operating cash flow exceeded $1bn, amidst a period of significant investment in new hardware to support expansion.
Aristocrat Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Trevor Croker, said: “Aristocrat delivered another year of high-quality profit growth in fiscal 2019, further extending our track record of share taking and organic momentum, driven by strong investment in talent, product portfolios and marketing across our Land-based and Digital businesses.”
NEWSWIRE / INTERACTIVE / MARKET DATA P37
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