News January 2025
Operator News W Las Vegas debuts
MGM Resorts has officially marked the debut of W Las Vegas, transitioning the iconic 1,117-suite tower on the Mandalay Bay campus into the W Hotels brand. Te introduction of W Las Vegas to the MGM Resorts portfolio marks another milestone in the company’s long-term strategic licensing agreement with Marriott International, first announced in 2023. With the addition of W Las Vegas, MGM Collection with Marriott Bonvoy encompasses 12 destinations on the Las Vegas Strip.
Operator News Fernandez named CEO
Te holding company formed to acquire IGT's Gaming & Digital Business and Everi Holdings have announced that Hector Fernandez will lead the combined enterprise as CEO. Mr. Fernandez, who most recently served as CEO of Aristocrat Gaming, will join the combined enterprise by the fourth quarter of 2025 after expiration of a customary non-compete period. Following the transaction close, Nick Khin, President, Global Gaming at IGT, will lead the combined enterprise as interim CEO.
Tender for two casino licences launched in Chile Operator News
Chile's Superintendence of Gaming Casinos (SCJ) will grant an operation permit for a gaming casino in the Aysén Region following the expiration of the permit held by Casino de Juegos Coyhaique S.A. (Dreams), which will be valid until April 2027. Te SCJ also announced that it has commenced a new process for awarding a gaming casino operation permit at the national level, following the upcoming expiration of the permit granted to Rantrur S.A. (Enjoy) in May 2027. Applicants can submit proposals in any municipality across the country for this
Supplier News L&W takes to sea
Light & Wonder has been selected by Norwegian Cruise Line to bring Operator Wide Area Progressive table games to its 18-ship fleet. Including 200 GM ATLAS systems featuring jackpot progressives, as well as blackjack and poker derivatives, the technology will enable Norwegian Cruise Line to link gaming titles across multiple vessels through a centralised network, keeping them under the same umbrella. Te first progressive system installation as part of this collaboration occurred on the Norwegian Breakaway.
Brazil Senate approves sin tax on gambling Legislation
Brazil's Federal Senate has imposed a “sin tax” on certain products and services deemed harmful to health and the environment, such as cigarettes and betting. According to newspaper O Globo, the rapporteur of the regulatory project, Senator Eduardo Braga, accepted an amendment by Senator Alessandro Vieira so that sports betting was covered specifically as part of the major overhaul to Brazil's tax system. Previously, the text made a generic reference to the taxation of forecasting contests, which, in Vieira's view, could generate divergent interpretations. By including the amendment, the senator intended to
eliminate this gap and make the interpretation clearer. With the conclusion of the processing in the Senate, which lasted about five months, the approved project - a substitute for the text from the Chamber of Deputies - returns to the previous House. It will be up to the deputies to maintain or remove the points approved by the Senate. Tese new taxes are a unification of five existing taxes.
licence, while keeping in mind the following restrictions: each region may have up to three gaming casinos and at least one; there can be no casinos in the Metropolitan Region; and they must always be located at least 70 kilometres away from the nearest casino.
Te new taxes were approved in a constitutional amendment promulgated at the end of last year, marking the first phase of the tax reform. Troughout 2024, the National Congress has focused on the regulation, which deals with tax rates and how each sector of the economy will be impacted. Te transition to the new tax model will be gradual, occurring between 2026 and 2033.
Cashless gaming trial slammed Operator News
Australian industry associations have criticised work carried out by the Independent Panel for Gaming Reform for its Roadmap for Gaming Reform report, highlighting that the low numbers of players involved in the survey on a A$3.4m cashless gaming trial meant it lacked credibility. Te panel found that of the 243 people who
originally signed up for the trial, there were only 14 ‘genuine and active users, that had used the technology for at least two or more days.’
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Due to this ‘reluctance from patrons to engage with the technology’, the report advised that the state government should implement a mandatory statewide account-based gaming system by 2028 with customers still able to use a limited amount of cash. Te report wants a mandatory, statewide
gaming system linked to a central database meaning slot players can be identified via links to a player account. It suggest limitations on amount of spend, deposit and time on device with an opt-out option, the amount of cash that can be fed into a machine and cash winnings an individual can be paid out.
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