Business/Financial
Venture Capitalists Infuse More Money Into Betable
London-based online gambling website Betable has just received another $18.5 million in a round of funding led by Venture51, according to Christopher Griffin, CEO of Betable. So far, the Web gambling firm has raised an impressive $23 million in venture capital.
From The Wall Street Journal:
Borgata Sees 7 Percent Increase in 3rd Quarter Revenues
ATLANTIC CITY — (Associated Press) - Revenue at Atlantic City’s top casino increased by nearly 7 percent in the third quarter of this year.
The Borgata reported net revenue of more than $200 million, an increase of 6.9 percent.
Its earnings were up nearly 40 percent to $46.6 million due to better luck at table games.
The casino also increased its share of the Atlantic City casino market by three percentage points, to 21.4 percent.
Caesars Entertainment Post Worse-Than-Expected 3rd Quarter Losses
LAS VEGAS (Associated Press) — Caesars Entertainment Corp. said Tuesday that its third-quarter loss expanded by more than 50 percent due to weakness in the U.S. gambling market and stiffer competition.
Casino revenue fell 7 percent because of fewer visitors to its properties in Atlantic City and other U.S. markets outside of Nevada. Caesars also lost revenue from selling part of its stake in a casino in Uruguay.
The company lost $761.4 million, or $6.03 per share, for the quarter that ended Sept. 30. A year earlier its loss was $505.5 million, or $4.03 per share.
Las Vegas Sands Earnings Beat 3rd Quarter Earnings
(Reuters) - Casino operator Las Vegas Sands Corp. , owned by billionaire Sheldon Adelson, on Thursday posted better-than-expected third-quarter earnings, boosted by positive trends at its Macau and Singapore operations.
The company, which operates the Venetian in Las Vegas, also said it increased its common dividend by 42.9 percent to $2 per share yearly, or 50 cents per quarter, for the 2014 calendar year.
Caesars Stock Price Slides 12 Percent: No Right to Online Gambling IPO
Caesars Entertainment Corp. has sold 10.3 million shares of its common stock to a Swiss banking firm for $200 million, resulting in a sharp 12 percent decline in its share price Tuesday (October 15). This represents the biggest decline of the year so far.
The stock began trading without rights to participate in an IPO of the company’s online gambling unit. Anyone purchasing the stock as of the 15th would not enjoy rights to the new unit. Those already owning stocks in Caesars will be able to purchase Caesars Acquisition Co. stock.
Anticipated Positive Results With This Week’s Sands Earnings Report
Las Vegas Sands (LVS) is expected to report its Q3 2013 earnings this coming Thursday October 17 and results should be positive according to Zacks Investment Research’ Steve Reitmeister.
Return of Miss America Pageant to Atlantic City Doesn’t Boost Revenue: Costs $400k
Atlantic City, NJ – (Associated Press) - The return of the Miss America pageant to Atlantic City brought attention to the seaside gambling mecca and a boon to police and public works employees.
The Press of Atlantic City reports the pageant cost the city about $400,000 in overtime. The city’s business administrator tells the newspaper that some of the costs will be reimbursed, possibly by the state. But it isn’t known how much, or when.
Vault of Satoshi Offering Trades Between Fiat Currency and Bitcoin
A new Canadian exchange promises cheaper rates at 0.5 percent or below and an advanced API.
The Toronto-based Vault of Satoshi will offer trades between fiat currency and either bitcoin or litecoin, two anonymous digital currencies.
William Hill Issues Profit Warning
(Reuters) - British bookmaker William Hill said a poor retail performance in its third quarter meant operating profit had fallen 20 million pounds ($32.5 million) below expectations, warning that shortfall may not be recovered by the year end.
Quiet trading in July helped push retail net revenue in the 13 week period to Oct 1 down 4 percent on an underlying basis, the firm said on Thursday, with gross margin wins falling 0.8 percentage points as football results went the way of customers.
William Hill Issues Profit Warning
(Reuters) - British bookmaker William Hill said a poor retail performance in its third quarter meant operating profit had fallen 20 million pounds ($32.5 million) below expectations, warning that shortfall may not be recovered by the year end.
Quiet trading in July helped push retail net revenue in the 13 week period to Oct 1 down 4 percent on an underlying basis, the firm said on Thursday, with gross margin wins falling 0.8 percentage points as football results went the way of customers.
PerHead Offers Live Dealer Casino
Per head businesses are no longer just about managing reports and providing online software for bookmakers and agents. These businesses must stay competitive and one way to do this is to offer a whole suite of extras such as smartphone compatible platforms, live betting, full track horse racing, and even an online casino.
Ladbrokes Chief Head on Chopping Block: Shares Plunge 10 Per Cent
Ladbrokes shares fell nearly 10 per cent Thursday amidst news the UK’s second largest bookmaker’s operating profit would come nowhere near that of last year’s numbers.
Forecasts now call for between £10million to £14million this year compared with market forecasts of £27.5million.
Macau Casino Shares Soar to Highest Level in More Than 3 Months
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares soared to their highest in 17 weeks early Monday, buoyed by Lawrence Summers' withdrawal as a candidate to head the Federal Reserve and by Macau election results that made its gambling sector a standout performer.
News that Lawrence Summers pulled out of the race to head the Fed lifted most Asian markets, which feared that the policy hawk could accelerate tapering of the Fed's aggressive monetary easing.
Could Google Really Be Looking at Buying Bwin.Party: Shares Up Nearly 6 Percent
Shares in Bwin.party rose 5.6 percent Friday following rumors that search engine giant Google could acquire the struggling online gambling firm.
Macau Gambling Growth Up 17.6 Percent
(Reuters) - Gambling revenue in Macau rose 17.6 percent in August year-on-year, buoyed by a steady flow of wealthy Chinese punters to China's only legal casino hub.
August's revenue of 30.7 billion patacas ($3.88 billion) was the second strongest figure this year, according to government data released on Monday. Analysts had forecast August growth in the world's biggest gambling market to be up 17-19 percent.
A Portuguese colony until 1999, Macau's gambling revenues are closely twinned with China's economy as more than two-thirds of its visitors coming from the mainland.
Investment Group Closing in on Atlantic City Casino
The Press of Atlantic City is reporting that an investment group is on the verge of purchasing a casino on the boardwalk but will not yet name the property.
From the Press of Atlantic City:
US Government to Get $47.4 Mil From Sheldon Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands Corp
LOS ANGELES (Associated Press) — Casino operator Las Vegas Sands Corp. has agreed to pay $47.4 million after failing to flag millions of dollars in money transfers made by a gambler linked to drug trafficking.
In return, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles will not seek an indictment against the casino operator, prosecutors said Tuesday.
The deal, finalized late Monday, also brings the government's criminal investigation to a close, but requires Las Vegas Sands to boost its efforts to monitor suspicious financial transactions for the next two years.
Ladbrokes Luck About to Change: Deutsche Bank Upgrades Shares to ‘Buy’
Ladbrokes, the UK bookmaking behemoth, has endured a rough ride in recent months but Deutsche Bank sees things changing for the better.
Analyst Richard Carter upgraded the share price of Ladbrokes from ‘hold’ to ‘buy’, believing that the stock is worth 232p and noting that the ‘headwinds’ affecting the group’s recent performance are now factored into the bookmaker’s valuation.
Fashion Empire Versace Enters Macau Gambling Industry
One doesn’t typically associate the name Versace with casino gambling, but the fashion house has announced its plans to build a luxury hotel at a casino resort in the Asian gambling Mecca of Macau.
In a joint statement with local casinos operator SJM Holdings Ltd, Versace said the five-star Palazzo Versace hotel will be part of a resort SJM is building in the former Portuguese colony's Las Vegas-style Cotai strip.
Bahrain-Based Investcorp Sells Majority Share in Online Payment Processing Co Skrill
(Reuters) - Bahrain-based Investcorp said on Monday it agreed to sell a majority stake in British online payments services firm Skrill Group to private equity group CVC Capital Partners for 600 million euros ($800 million).As part of the deal Investcorp will keep an approximate 25 percent stake in the company, sources said. It will also retain a seat on Skrill's board, the company said in a statement.
New York, US Open Investigations Into Bitcoin as Senate Asks for Guidance
New York State and federal law enforcement agencies are beginning to investigate the shortcomings of the virtual currency bitcoin just as it is on the verge of becoming more popular in the mainstream market.
New Jersey Casino Revenue Down 3.6 Percent: Revel Sees Improvements
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — (Associated Press) - An aggressive slot refund promotion helped Atlantic City's newest casino to a banner month in July, but most of the rest of the casinos got off to a cool start as summer heated up.
The casinos won $297.2 million from gamblers in July, down 3.6 percent from $308.2 million last July.
They won $215.5 million from slot machines, and an additional $81.7 million from table games last month.
William Hill Acquires Australian Bookmaker Tom Waterhouse
(Reuters) - British betting giant William Hill Plc (WWHL) has agreed to buy Australian online betting firm Tom Waterhouse NT for up to A$110 million ($100 million) including debt, looking to become Australia's biggest online bookmaker.
William Hill, the world's largest betting agency by market value, has agreed to pay A$34 million up front and assume A$6 million in debt for tomwaterhouse.com, in a country that has the world's biggest gambling habit per capita.
MGM Loss Narrows With Vegas Commitment
(RTTNews.com) - Casino operator MGM Resorts International MGM reported Tuesday a loss for the second quarter that narrowed from last year, as Las Vegas continued to rebound and MGM China reported record results.
Las Vegas, Nevada-based MGM Resorts reported a net loss of $92.96 million or $0.19 per share for the second quarter, narrower than $145.45 million or $0.30 per share in the prior-year quarter. Stripping out one-time items, MGM posted earnings of 4 cents per share.
Facebook Passes $38 Initial IPO Offering Price
NEW YORK – (Associated Press) - Facebook's stock has passed its $38 IPO price for the first time since its rocky public debut last May, crossing a symbolic hurdle that has eluded it for more than a year.
Caesars' 2Q Misses Expectations
LAS VEGAS (Associated Press) — Casino operator Caesars Entertainment Corp. posted a smaller loss for its fiscal first quarter on Monday, but results still missed expectations as slots and tables drew fewer gamblers.
Caesars owns or manages more than 50 casinos, most of them in the U.S. and Britain.
The company saw casino revenues decline by $116.8 million, or 7.5 percent. CEO Gary Loveman said food and beverage sales may ultimately replace those dollars.
Wynn Macau Q2 Revenues Not Entirely Impressive
LAS VEGAS — (Associated Press) - Wynn Resorts Ltd. said Monday that it made less money than expected in the Chinese gambling enclave of Macau, and its second quarter missed analysts' forecasts.
Excluding special items, Wynn made $1.51 per share on revenue of $1.33 billion in the latest quarter.
Analysts polled by FactSet forecast, on average, earnings of $1.57 per share on revenue of $1.34 billion
Macau Revenue Dips: First Time in a Long Time
Macau, the Asian gambling Mecca, has witnessed a rare decline in revenue.
RBC Capital Markets analyst John Kempf said gross gaming revenue for table games and slots last week was $105.5 million, down from $116.3 million the week before, Investors Business Daily noted.
"If we assume that the remainder of the month will come in at last week's rate, then gross gaming revenues for July will increase 13%," Kempf said in the note, which "may give some ammunition to the 'China bears.'"
Red-Faced Reuters Says ‘Ignore Alert on SHFL’: Shares Still Surge
Shares in gaming device manufacturer SHFL surged following news of its acquisition by Bally Technologies.
Reuters News agency was later forced to put out a notice Wednesday advising readers to ignore an overnight warning regarding the potential negatives of this deal, claiming said report was issued off a press release from an unrelated law firm, Robbins Arroyo LLP.
Bitcoin Mining vs. Litecoin Search Interest Betting Odds
Bitcoin mining vs. Litecoin search interest betting odds have been released by the brand new Bitcoin betting exchange Predictious.
