Wire ASIA & OCEANIA
Sands Londoner Macao Fully Open
AUSTRALIA - Crown Melbourne and Crown Perth and AUSTRAC have filed joint submissions with the Federal Court of Australia, proposing a $450m penalty over Crown’s breaches of the AML and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006.
A court hearing has been set for July 10-11 2023, at which Justice Lee will consider the parties’ proposed settlement. While AUSTRAC and Crown agree that a $450m penalty is appropriate, it is a matter for the court to determine the penalty. In reaching this agreement, Crown has admitted that it operated in contravention of the AML/CTF Act, including that Crown Melbourne and Crown Perth failed to appropriately assess money laundering and terrorism financing risks, and identify and respond to changes in risk over time. It ruled that Crown did not have appropriate risk-based systems and controls in their AML/CTF programs to mitigate and manage the money laundering and terrorism financing risks they faced.
NEW ZEALAND – Entain’s strategic partnership with TAB New Zealand has received approval from the New Zealand Minister for Racing. The 25-year strategic partnership terms includes a total consideration payable by Entain and an ongoing gross profit share arrangement. Subject to conditions of completion, the strategic partnership is expected to commence on 1 June 2023.
Dean Shannon, CEO of Entain Australia, commented: “We are delighted and honoured to have received Ministerial approval to finalise the strategic partnering agreement between TAB NZ and Entain Australia.
“We believe this 25-year strategic partnering arrangement will be a game-changer for sports betting in New Zealand and we are pleased that it will help provide significant financial benefits to the three New Zealand racing codes and the vast array of national sporting organisations.”
AUSTRALIA- After launching its dedicated BetBuilder product late last year, PandaScore has gone live with long-standing partner Ladbrokes Australia, part of Entain. Ladbrokes Australia will also leverage the French data and odds supplier’s esports-specific BetBuilder. The two parties combined to launch the product ahead of one of the biggest Counter-Strike tournament’s of the year: the
BLAST.tv Paris Major.
Ladbrokes Australia can now offer catered, engaging betting opportunities not only for one of the biggest betting events on the Counter-Strike calendar, but for each individual esport. PandaScore’s BetBuilder leverages the company’s game-specific models to give fans new ways to bet on matches, backed by comprehensive data drawn from multiple sources.
P20 WIRE / PULSE / INSIGHT / REPORTS
Te Londoner Macao hosted a grand celebration on May 25 to honour the completion of the integrated resort’s ambitious redesign.
A bold, British-themed reimagining of the Sands Cotai Central integrated resort, Te Londoner Macao has been refined over the past two years in anticipation of an influx of visitors, now that Macao is once again open to the world.
Te grand celebration event, themed “Te Journey Begins,” also commemorated the start of a new 10-year gaming concession for Sands China Ltd. As it embarks on this new era, the company has reaffirmed its commitment to Macao, its people and its economy, pledging to invest US$3.7bn (MOP 30.2bn) in the city over the next decade.
Sands China rolled out the red carpet to welcome international celebrities and VIPs for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic began. David Beckham, UK soccer icon and Sands global ambassador, was among the guests of honor, as were Macao’s top officials and business leaders.
Te grand celebration marked the culmination of Sheldon G. Adelson’s vision of the Cotai Strip as one of the world’s most spectacular leisure destinations. Te late Chairman and CEO of Las
Vegas Sands Corp. saw Cotai’s enormous potential and invested in its development. Te Londoner Macao, along with all of Sands China’s other resorts in Cotai, has realized that vision while raising the benchmark for hospitality, entertainment and gourmet experiences.
Offering a global take on English style, tradition and hospitality, Te Londoner Macao comprises five lavish hotels – including the award- winning all-suite flagship, Te Londoner Hotel, and the ultra-luxurious Londoner Court – with nearly 6,000 rooms and suites in total.
On site are three spas, four health clubs, more than 20 dining options, boutiques from 150 world-renowned brands, and state of-the-art conference facilities, including the new 6,000- seat Te Londoner Arena. It boasts a façade modeled after the Palace of Westminster and Houses of Parliament that comes to life in the evenings with the Londoner Light and Sound Spectacular. Tere is a life-size replica of London’s Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben) that chimes every hour and a costumed “Changing of the Guard” performance inspired by the daily ceremony at Buckingham Palace.
Malaysia Genting Malaysia moves back into profit
Genting Malaysia, operator of Resorts World Genting in the Malaysia highlands, has seen a 33 per cent year-on-year lift in revenue for the three months to 31 March 2023, although quarter by quarter they fell due to a slower than anticipated return of international players.
Te operator also reported a pre- tax profit of RM41.3m, compared to a pre-tax loss of RM116.1m in the same quarter last year ‘mainly due to deferred tax provisions recognised in the quarter’.
Revenue came in at MYR2.28bn (US$493m) with Resorts World Genting generating MYR1.40bn (US$303m) up 42 per cent, compared to last year but down 12 per cent from the last quarter. Te company’s casinos in the US and Bahamas improved by 29 per cent
with revenues reaching MYR460.7m (US$100m) but revenues from the UK and Egypt dropped by 11 per cent to MYR352.5m (US$76m) due to the impact of ongoing inflation.
Nomura analysts, Tushar Mohata and Alpa Aggarwal, commented: “Management still faces shortage of permanent laborers and needs to hire temporary staff for peak timings to open up more tables. Capacity at RWG has still not reached 2019 levels but it has also increased electronic gaming machines (ETGs) as a proportion of total tables.”
Genting Malaysia said revenues would ‘continue to be supported by domestic demand’, adding that the country’s economic expansion is expected to moderate in line with a slower global economy.
Australia
GLI Group has acquired all the outstanding shares in iTech Global Pty Ltd (iTech Labs), a global gaming testing laboratory. Te company is now a wholly owned subsidiary of GLI Australia.
iTech Labs will continue to operate its global network of testing laboratories independently while coordinating its efforts with GLI’s larger sales and back- office staff globally. Te arrangement allows iTech’s clients to benefit from GLI’s global network of laboratories and relationships with regulators worldwide.
Te entire management, testing and sales teams of iTech Labs will continue to operate and be licensed in the jurisdictions they serve.
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