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Genting Malaysia drops Empire Resorts restructuring after $300M note redemption

A MYR1.2 billion ($300 million) note redemption has ended Genting Malaysia Berhad’s planned capital restructuring of its U.S.-based subsidiary Empire Resorts Inc., with the parties agreeing not to proceed with the proposal after the debt was repaid in full.

In a Bursa Malaysia filing, Genting Malaysia said Empire had on July 2nd, U.S. Eastern time, redeemed the full nominal value of its MYR1.2 billion ($300 million) 7.75 percent senior notes due November 1st, 2026. With the redemption completed, the parties to the restructuring proposal agreed that the plan would not move forward.

The cancellation closes a proposal first announced on August 15th, 2025, which was intended to enhance Empire’s capital structure and financial position. At the time, Genting Malaysia said the plan was expected to leave Empire debt-free and improve its cost structure.

Under the earlier proposal, Empire was to sell its non-gaming assets, including the 332-room Resorts World Catskills hotel, the 99-room Alder Hotel, the 18-hole Monster Golf Course, the 2,500-seat Resorts World Catskills Epicenter and several restaurants, to the Sullivan County Resort Facilities Local Development Corporation for MYR2.2 billion ($525.0 million) in cash.

Empire also planned to purchase 1,554.6 acres of land parcels from EPR Properties for MYR848.1 million ($201.3 million), funded by proceeds from the disposal. Part of the same proceeds was to be used to redeem the MYR1.3 billion ($300 million) Empire Bond, according to the August filing.

The proposal also included a land lease with the Sullivan County entity through February 15th, 2066, and a 20-year management agreement for Empire to manage the non-gaming assets, with automatic renewal for two successive five-year periods.

Genting Malaysia had said the structure would allow Empire to own the land underlying Resorts World Catskills’ gaming and non-gaming assets, as well as vacant land with development potential. It also expected the disposal to generate surplus cash of about MYR42.1 million ($10 million) for general working capital.

With the notes now redeemed separately, Genting Malaysia said the restructuring will no longer proceed.

Australian pension fund sells 15M SkyCity shares, cuts stake below 7%

AustralianSuper has reduced its substantial holding in SkyCity Entertainment Group to 6.95 percent after selling more than 15 million shares in the New Zealand casino operator over a two-week period.

According to a substantial product holder disclosure filed with the New Zealand Stock Exchange, the Australian pension fund now holds 76.6 million SkyCity ordinary shares, down from 91.7 million shares previously. Its stake fell from 8.32 percent to 6.95 percent.

The transactions were carried out between June 22nd and July 2nd through JPMorgan Nominees Australia Ltd, with all disclosed movements listed as share sales. The largest single sale took place on July 2nd, involving about 4.28 million shares.

The latest disclosure was triggered by a movement of more than 1 percent in AustralianSuper’s substantial holding. The filing did not provide a reason for the reduction, nor did it identify the buyers of the shares.

AustralianSuper remains a substantial shareholder in SkyCity following the sale. The group is one of the region’s major institutional investors and had previously disclosed its SkyCity position on June 23rd.

SkyCity operates casino and entertainment properties in New Zealand and Australia. The company has faced heightened regulatory scrutiny in recent years, including enforcement action linked to its Adelaide operations.

Australia’s Federal Court imposes $16.8M in penalties over illegal online poker services

Australia’s Federal Court has imposed AU$24.24 million ($16.8 million) in penalties on the providers and promoters of prohibited online poker services operated under the names PPPfish, Shuffle Gaming and Redraw Poker, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) announced on July 6th.

Brisbane Poker Pty Ltd was ordered to pay AU$15 million ($10.4 million), Rhys Edward Jones AU$9 million ($6.25 million) and Brenton Lee Buttigieg AU$240,000 ($166,700) for contraventions of the Interactive Gambling Act 2001. Combined with the AU$5 million ($3.47 million) penalty imposed on Diverse Link Pty Ltd in March 2023, total penalties in the proceedings now stand at AU$29.24 million ($20.3 million).

The court found the services allowed members of the public to play online poker against other players using virtual chips that could be purchased and sold for real money.

In sentencing Buttigieg, Justice Rangiah rejected the AU$120,000 ($83,300) penalty jointly proposed by the ACMA and the defendant, doubling it on the grounds of general deterrence, according to the judgment. The court noted Buttigieg, who promoted the services through a private Facebook group, made a profit of AU$44,400 ($30,800), compared with the AU$7.2 million ($5 million) benefit received by Jones and Brisbane Poker.

The proceedings began in April 2022 following an ACMA investigation. The court also restrained Jones from providing, and Buttigieg from aiding, prohibited interactive gambling services for five years.

“This decision sends a clear warning that offering online poker to Australians is illegal and there are serious consequences for those who breach the law,” ACMA Chair Nerida O’Loughlin said.

Former Tak Chun director arrested in Taiwan over $313M World Cup betting ring

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A former director of collapsed Macau junket operator Tak Chun Group is among eight people arrested in Taiwan, after police raided an illegal World Cup betting operation estimated to have handled more than NT$10 billion ($313 million) in wagers, according to local media reports.

Police in Tainan stormed a luxury townhouse guesthouse in the city’s Anping District on July 1st, seizing dozens of computers, account ledgers, and large amounts of cash. The group, led by Sou Ieng Peng and a local suspect surnamed Lin, had been renting the property at NT$36,000 ($1,130) per day.

Sou, identified as the ringleader, previously served as a director at Tak Chun, where he was responsible for fund allocation, overseas expansion, and account management, police said. 

He and several other Hong Kong and Macau nationals entered Taiwan in late June on tourist visas, with Lam acting as their local contact.

Tak Chun was once one of Macau’s largest junket operators, running VIP rooms at major casinos and extending credit to high rollers. Its founder, Levo Chan, husband of Taiwanese actress Ady An, was sentenced to 14 years in prison in 2023, a term Macau’s Court of Final Appeal reduced to 13 years in late 2024, upholding convictions for criminal association, illegal gaming operations, and aggravated money laundering.

Sou denied any ongoing ties to Tak Chun during questioning, saying he sought other work after the group’s collapse, though investigators remain skeptical, suspecting he moved to Taiwan to rebuild operations.

The case has been referred to the Tainan District Prosecutors Office under organized crime, gambling, and anti-money laundering laws, with police probing whether local gangs provided cover for the operation.

Juroszek-linked investors urge DigiPlus to prioritize buyback over land-based investments

Investment foundations linked to Poland’s Juroszek family are urging the board of DigiPlus Interactive to launch a substantial share buyback, arguing the Philippine digital gaming operator is the lowest-valued B2C gaming company among global listed peers and that repurchases would create more value for shareholders than new land-based investments.

In an open letter to the board dated July 6th, Betplay Capital Foundation, ZJ Foundation and MJ Foundation, which together hold approximately 1.4 percent of the company, said DigiPlus trades at around 2.4x estimated 2026 EV/EBITDA, roughly one-third of the peer median, while offering a free cash flow yield of around 32 percent, more than six times the peer median of roughly 5 percent.

Applying peer median multiples to DigiPlus’ financials implies a valuation of roughly PHP30 ($0.49) per share, more than 150 percent above the recent market price in the low teens, according to the letter, signed by Tomasz Juroszek.

The foundations said the company’s balance sheet ‘remains a fortress’ with more than PHP20 billion ($325 million) in cash and virtually no debt, giving it ‘all the firepower it needs’ to fund repurchases from its own cash generation.

The letter also argued that ‘further land-based investments are not optimal at this stage and can be deferred’, suggesting any non-committed land-based capital expenditure be postponed and the entire free cash flow redirected toward buying back and canceling shares. ‘Shares repurchased and canceled in the meantime will prove to have been bought at once-in-a-cycle prices,’ the letter said.

The recommendation touches directly on DigiPlus’ most prominent land-based move: its push into Manila’s casino sector through Hong Kong-listed International Entertainment Corp, owner of New Coast Hotel Manila. DigiPlus completed its subscription to HK$1.6 billion ($204 million) of IEC convertible notes in two equal tranches in March and June, under an agreement signed last November. Full conversion would hand DigiPlus a 53.89 percent controlling stake, although the company has yet to convert any of the notes into shares.

The appeal comes just after a key deadline: the share repurchase authorization approved by the board a year ago expired on July 4th, and the foundations urged the board to renew it.

DigiPlus, operator of BingoPlus, ArenaPlus and GameZone, has faced a difficult twelve months, as the delinking of e-wallet access from licensed online gaming platforms disrupted user activity through 2025, while the fuel crisis triggered by the war in Iran tempered consumer sentiment. Still, first quarter 2026 revenue of around PHP17.2 billion ($280 million) stood about 27 percent above the same period in 2024, the letter noted.

The appeal lands against a mixed picture among DigiPlus’ major shareholders. Chairman Eusebio Tanco spent PHP1.04 billion ($16.9 million) on February 27th to lift his stake to almost 16 percent, while Clearspring Holdings, another substantial shareholder of the company, sold 113.12 million shares at the same price on the same day, according to disclosures to the Philippine Stock Exchange.

The foundations themselves said they have held DigiPlus shares for approximately two and a half years and continue to increase their position at current prices. However, Juroszek told Forbes Poland in February 2025 that the family had begun selling its stake in the Philippines’ largest online casino operator, which he did not name, after a return of more than 150 percent in under a year.

AGB has reached out to DigiPlus for comment. No response had been received by the time of publication.

Asia Gaming eBrief: Singapore unveils Greater Sentosa Master Plan to boost tourism

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Good morning. Singapore is reimagining its island playground. Sentosa Development Corporation has unveiled a two-decade master plan folding neighboring Brani into the resort destination, aiming to double visitor numbers around Resorts World Sentosa. The $5 billion RWS 2.0 expansion anchors the pipeline, a timely boost for Genting Singapore as Marina Bay Sands pulls ahead. Meanwhile, Bangladesh has swung hard the other way, criminalizing online gambling with up to 10 years in prison and fines of $405,500. The new law replaces a colonial-era statute and arms regulators with AI-driven monitoring and asset seizure powers.

What you need to know

On the radar


AGB Intelligence

Singapore unveils Greater Sentosa plan to double visitors, expand hub around RWS

Singapore unveils Greater Sentosa expansion

Singapore’s Greater Sentosa Master Plan will combine Sentosa with neighboring Brani in a two-decade transformation aimed at doubling visitor numbers and expanding the tourism precinct around Resorts World Sentosa. The plan includes new hotels, attractions, improved transport links, reimagined beaches and major landmarks, with RWS 2.0 anchoring the near-term pipeline through a $5 billion redevelopment due by 2030.

Industry Updates


Corporate Spotlight

How Crypto Adoption in Asia is Changing iGaming Payments

Yevhen Krazhan, CSO for GR8 Tech

Yevhen Krazhan, CSO at GR8 Tech, explores how surging crypto adoption across Asia is revolutionizing iGaming payments, stating: “When I look at what’s changing fastest in Asia, it’s payment behavior,” as wallets, stablecoins, and seamless cross-border transfers become deeply ingrained in player habits. The winning operators will be those that offer fast, reliable, and local deposits and withdrawals. To make sense of it, Yevhen breaks Asia into two crypto realities.


INTELLIGENCEASEAN | AWARDSCAREERS | EVENTS

NSW ruling party commits to higher pokies taxes and 10-year cut to machine numbers

The most profitable clubs in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) face higher taxes on poker machine earnings, and the state has pledged to “significantly reduce” its machine numbers over 10 years, under a motion passed unanimously at the ruling Labor party’s state conference on Sunday, July 5th.

Clubs earning more than AU$20 million ($13.1 million) in profits from gaming machines would pay more tax under the plan, which also includes a moratorium on licenses for new machines, according to The Guardian, which first reported the development.

Premier Chris Minns will take the tougher stance to the state election next March, after being pushed to adopt the approach by the party’s left, amid surging profits for operators and accusations of inaction on reform.

The plan would see 50 percent of machines removed from operation when transferred between venues. The original proposal from Darcy Byrne, the Labor left mayor of Sydney’s inner west, had called for half of NSW’s 90,000 poker machines to be scrapped.

The motion also commits to mandatory facial recognition in every gaming room to support a statewide exclusion register, policies the government is understood to be already developing.

Minns is not compelled to legislate the policies, though Labor sources said his government had been indirectly involved in negotiations, brokered by Unions NSW Secretary Mark Morey. NSW Gaming Minister David Harris spoke in favor of the motion.

“Momentum for real reform of poker machine harm is becoming unstoppable,” Byrne said, telling delegates that “the private interests of the poker machine lobby have trumped the public interest of preventing addiction and harm.”

Soft2Bet bolsters leadership with Ryan Collinge as EVP

Soft2Bet has announced the appointment of Ryan Collinge as Executive Vice President of Group Business Development & Strategic Partnerships, bringing over two decades of commercial, product, and operational expertise in both retail and online gaming to its senior leadership team.

In his new role, Collinge will support Soft2Bet’s continued growth and strengthen its relationships with leading operators and entertainment brands.

Soft2Bet names Ryan Collinge EVP of Business Development & Strategic Partnerships
Andrew Cochrane and Ryan Collinge

Andrew Cochrane, Chief Commercial Officer at Soft2Bet, said: “Ryan brings the commercial judgement, industry relationships and operational experience needed to support Soft2Bet’s growth. His appointment strengthens our executive team as we expand our work with leading operators and global entertainment brands.”

Collinge joins Soft2Bet with a proven track record of delivering commercial success across the gaming industry. His background includes leading international sales teams, formulating growth strategies, and overseeing content, product, and studio operations for major gaming businesses.

His extensive casino content expertise and understanding of market trends will enable Soft2Bet to further refine its offering and provide clients with solutions that meet the evolving needs of today’s competitive iGaming landscape.

InOut Games expands reach in new emerging markets via QTech Games

QTech Games continues to build on its content pipeline momentum, bolstered by a new partnership with emerging supplier InOut Games.

InOut Games is one of iGaming’s fastest-rising content studios, building high-quality games that online casinos actually want to feature. In under two years the studio has grown a portfolio of nearly 70 titles spanning an eclectic mix of genres and themes — each engineered to do one thing exceptionally well: keep players coming back.

Chicken Road-InOut Games

The studio first made its name with Chicken Road, the crash game that went viral and pulled in millions of players worldwide. Rather than ride a single hit, though, InOut Games turned that breakout into a launchpad — charging into the slots arena with a rapidly expanding lineup led by its first slot, Chicken Royal. Every game is built with both sides of the table in mind: short, addictive betting cycles and standout visuals for players; high retention and durable lifetime value (LTV) for operators.

Integrating games from one of the more visually impressive and creative studios adds more muscle to QTech Games aggregation platform, which is taking the most diverse range of games to emerging markets, with established names sitting alongside the industry’s most exciting up-and-coming providers. This deal also broadens InOut Games’s international footprint, unlocking unmined jurisdictions for diversified global growth.

Vlad Snak, CEO at InOut Games, said: “QTech Games is a hotbed for superior games and a rarefied air for the player experience. We are rapidly widening our gaming suite and scope across developing regions and their market-leading platform provides an agile pathway to some previously overlooked territories. Needless to say, agreeing this new deal tracks our core strategy to fully leverage our reach, and we look forward to seeing how new audiences embrace our games.”

Philip Doftvik, CEO of QTech Games
Philip Doftvik

As the fastest-growing aggregator over the past few years, QTech’s platform offers the most expansive gaming portfolio around, localised for each region, with native mobile apps, powerful reporting and marketing tools, and 24/7 local-language support.

Philip Doftvik, CEO at QTech, added: “After a breakout beginning in the crash games domain, InOut Games is now proving itself as a broader provider of thrilling and innovative casino content, with a focus on creating quality, cutting-edge slots that are delivered reliably to our partners via our premier platform – on time, every time. Like us, they understand that localised solutions comprise the key to success across this patchwork quilt of opportunities.”

South Korea extradites alleged operators of $3.9 billion illegal gambling networks from UAE

South Korean authorities have extradited two alleged operators of separate illegal online gambling networks from the United Arab Emirates, marking the culmination of a years-long international manhunt coordinated by multiple government agencies.

The two suspects, identified only as A and B, arrived at Incheon International Airport on 4th July after being arrested in the UAE through cooperation between South Korean and Emirati authorities. Combined, the two men are accused of operating illegal gambling businesses that processed approximately KRW5.3 trillion ($3.9 billion) in wagers. Authorities said the cases are unrelated and that the suspects operated separate criminal organizations.

Suspect A is accused of running an illegal online gambling operation that handled approximately KRW4.8 trillion ($3.5 billion) in betting volume while based across several Southeast Asian countries, including the Philippines, Malaysia and Cambodia. According to investigators, A fled South Korea in 2014 and spent more than a decade moving between jurisdictions to evade capture before being located and arrested in the UAE after 12 years on the run.

In addition to illegal gambling offenses, A is accused of evading KRW66 billion ($48.6 million) in taxes. Authorities said further investigations will examine allegations relating to drug offenses, prostitution and suspected involvement in the death of a South Korean national in Malaysia in 2018.

The second suspect, B, allegedly operated a separate illegal gambling network that processed approximately KRW500 billion ($367 million) in wagers. Prosecutors allege B worked with members of a domestic criminal organization and recruited middle and high school students to act as so-called distributors for the illegal gambling business.

The extraditions were coordinated by South Korea’s Special Response Task Force for Transnational Crimes, a multi-agency unit comprising the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Intelligence Service, Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, National Police Agency, Korea Customs Service, National Tax Service and Financial Services Commission.

Authorities said the task force spent years tracking the suspects through intelligence analysis, international cooperation and financial investigations, including tracing criminal proceeds and identifying accomplices operating across multiple jurisdictions.