Wire ASIA & OCEANIA
Hong Kong Prize Money at Record Levels
PHILIPPINES – Bloomberry Resorts Corp has confirmed it is on course to launch the company’s second Manila integrated resort, Solaire North, next year. Chairman and CEO, Enrique K Razon Jr., said: “We’re still on track for a 2023 opening. Solaire North will be an upscale mass-focused offering that, together with Solaire and the revamped Solaire Club, will profoundly expand our gaming footprint to take advantage of what we anticipate to be burgeoning post-pandemic domestic mass and regional premium mass demand.”
Bloomberry saw a 22 per cent year-on-year rise in GGR to Php27.6bn (US$529m) in 2021, with EBITDA booming by 265 per cent to Php5.2bn (US$100m) .
Mr Razon added: “If this environment continues, and other Asian countries start lifting their own inbound travel restrictions, then we will have a clear runway to ramp up to pre-pandemic levels.
“We are hopeful that in the near future, in the medium term, that [online gaming] will be a large part of the business. So far it has grown strongly and has been delivering substantial revenues monthly from zero a year-and-a-half-ago. We are highly confident in this development and have been focusing on this area.”
AUSTRALIA - The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has commenced civil penalty proceedings in the Federal Court alleging contravention of s 15(2A) of the Interactive Gambling Act 2001.
Action is being taken against Rhys Edward Jones who provided prohibited online gambling services to Australians from March 2020 to March 2021, Diverse Link Pty Ltd, which provided those services from March 2021 to the present and Brenton Lee Buttigieg, who was involved in promoting and referring customers to those services.
This action follows a detailed ACMA investigation into the prohibited online gambling services, which originally operated under the name ‘PPPfish’, but subsequently rebranded to ‘Shuffle Gaming’ and later ‘Redraw Poker’. The ACMA alleges that these were online poker services which is a type of gambling that is prohibited under s5 of the IGA.
SINGAPORE – G2E Asia 2022 will be held Singapore at Marina Bay Sands from August 24 to 26. Organisers Reed Exhibitions and the American Gaming Association have said the show will replace the previously announced trade event, scheduled for The Venetian Macao from August 30 to September 1 2022. The event has been titled G2E Asia Special Edition: Singapore.
P24 WIRE / PULSE / INSIGHT / REPORTS
Hong Kong racing will offer record total prize money and incentives of HK$1.62bn across the 2022/23 season with the purse bolstered by a record single-season.
Hong Kong racing will offer record total prize money and incentives of HK$1.62bn, approx. £158.6m across the 2022/23 season with the overall purse bolstered by a record single- season increase of 11.5 per cent (HK$167.2m), featuring a range of innovations, including stunning increases in prize money across middle-distance races and a new bonus system.
In announcing this major investment, the Club stated that it is looking beyond the current challenges created by the pandemic and reaffirming its long-term strategy of providing the right incentives structure to reward owners who invest in high-quality horses that are the club’s foundation.
Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, Chief Executive Officer of Te Hong Kong Jockey Club, outlined the challenges faced by the organisation due to the COVID-19 pandemic: “Te last two and a half years have been among the most challenging times in Hong Kong racing history. Despite this, we have been able to continue racing and we would like to thank everybody in the industry for working together to make it happen.
“With various kinds of COVID-19 measures including overseas travel restrictions, it has made it difficult for owners and trainers to go to the sales to source horses for two racing seasons. Furthermore, we are facing an increased competition to source good horses due to prize money increases around the world, especially Australia which is the main source of our bloodstock. Te popularity of overseas racing syndicates, which are less willing to sell horses as well as highly competitive power from gulf countries also makes the issue harder.
“We recognise all of these factors, but firmly believe that the impacts of this will be short- term. We have seen Hong Kong emerge as one of the world leaders in racing both in terms of its quality and its international recognition. We have also successfully pioneered large scale international commingling, and now the World Pool. We firmly believe that Hong Kong racing will have room for further growth and we are fully committed to making the necessary investments to achieve this, both through major plans for significant capital investments in our racecourses and training facilities in Sha Tin and Conghua, as well as in a prize money pool that rewards owners who invest in horses.”
Japan Wakayama throws in the towel on its IR bid
Plans to develop an Integrated Resort casino in Wakayama have now ended following a vote in Wakayama Prefectural Assembly committee by 18 votes in favor, 22 votes against with Wakayama Governor Yoshinobu Nisaka saying it was ‘a bitter blow.’
It leaves only Nagasaki and Osaka in the bidding for two of the three casinos licences being offered by the Japanese government.
Te move pulls the plug on Caesars Entertainment looking to break into Asia as the chosen operator for the Clairvest Group bid. Te two has planned to build an IR at Wakayama Marina City, covering 569,000 sq. m. with the gaming floor taking up 38,000 sq. m. Tere would have been 2,700
hotel rooms, an international exhibition hall and conference hall and a focus on nature with a theme of ‘a land of wood and a land of water.’
Te Clairvest consortium failed though to piece together a suitable financing package. Te aim was to open in the autumn of 2027.
Wakayama Governor Yoshinobu Nisaka commented on the bid: “Te prefectural assembly’s decision is regrettable, as a casino resort would be a catalyst for regional development.” Kazumi Yoshii, a local assembly member of the LDP, added: “Te fund- raising plan is vague and uncertain, so the central government won’t accept the project.”
Australia
Tekkorp Capital is joining forces with the Australian media and gaming industry to form a new sports betting venture with News Corp Australia, and online sports betting pioneer, Matt Tripp, the former founder and Chairman of Sportsbet and CEO of BetEasy.
Tekkorp Capital, the investment fund and strategic advisory firm founded by Matt Davey, advised on the transaction and will be investing significantly in this new venture.
Te venture will also benefit from Davey and Tekkorp Capital President Robin Chhabra’s experience in the Australian online wagering market and track record of success in delivering value from media- wagering partnerships.
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