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Alliance Global injects $172M to upgrade Newport and construct Westside City

Viviana Chan
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Alliance Global injects $172M to upgrade Newport and construct Westside City

Alliance Global Group (AGI), a Philippine business conglomerate, announced on Thursday its plan to invest PHP75 billion ($1.29 billion) this year to support ongoing growth initiatives.

This allocation includes PHP10 billion ($172 million) earmarked for its gaming and leisure subsidiary, Travellers International Hotel Group (TIHG).

Travellers International Hotel Group is responsible for Newport World Resorts, located next to Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

In a press release, AGI noted that the funds will mainly be used for the expansion and upgrade of Newport World Resorts. TIHG is currently refurbishing the Newport Mansion, a new hospitality haven that will feature all-suite rooms, garden villas, and bay suites.

AGI also explained that part of its capital expenditure (Capex) will be utilized for developing the commercial area in Westside City, including the construction of the Grand Opera House, theaters, and cinemas.

The Westside City project, where Suntrust Resort, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-listed LET Group, is developing a $1.1 billion hotel and casino complex under a lease agreement with Travellers, will benefit from these enhancements.

Westside City Project, Philippines, Suntrust Holdings
Manila Westside City
Westside City prject

Just one day ago, LET Group disclosed that it has entered into supply and installation agreements with various contractors for the Westside City project. The supply of audiovisual equipment and installation works is targeted to be completed before June 30th, 2025.

The Westside City project is now scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2025, previously slated for 4Q24.

Possible IR project in Clark still in preliminary stages: Belle Corp

Nelson Moura
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Possible IR project in Clark still in preliminary stages: Belle Corp

In response to a recent Reuters article reporting on plans to invest in an integrated resort north of Manila, Belle Corp. has issued a clarification regarding the status of its potential casino project in the Clark Freeport Zone, stating the project is still in very early stages.

The article stated that Premium Leisure, a subsidiary of SM’s Belle Corp., had applied for a license to build and operate a casino, convention center, and hotel in Clark, Pampanga province.

However, Premium Leisure has now reiterated that any information on potential investments or specific plans for a project within Clark City is still too preliminary at this stage.

The company explained that its gaming-focused investment unit has indeed applied for a gaming license from government regulators, but no final investment decisions have been made.

‘We are still in no position to make any confirmation on the details of this potential project, as the application for the license has yet to be acted upon,’ the company said in a statement. ‘We will make the appropriate disclosures once any investment decisions have been finalized.’

Premium Leisure holds a stake in the City of Dreams Manila casino resort in the Philippine capital.

City of Dreams, Premium Leisure Corp. Manila, Philippines, Belle Corp

The company recently delisted from the Philippine Stock Exchange and is now a privately-held subsidiary of Belle Corp., which is in turn owned by SM Investments Corp., the country’s most valuable conglomerate.

In comments to Reuters, industry analyst Juan Paolo Colet of China Bank Capital suggested that Premium Leisure’s planned investment in Clark could also benefit from the upcoming IPO of Hann Resorts, another gaming and leisure group operating in the Clark Freeport Zone.

While the Reuters report provided details on the potential scale of Premium Leisure’s Clark project, valued at over $300 million, the company has now emphasized the preliminary nature of these plans.

Blueprint Gaming treats players to super stacked wins as Trailblazer cranks up the heat

AGBrief Editorial
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Blueprint Gaming treats players to super stacked wins as Trailblazer cranks up the heat

Blueprint Gaming fires up the action in its latest release Trailblazer, where players aim to win big from Blazing Spins as well as test their luck on the Dual-Action Gamble feature, with a host of lavish cash rewards on offer.

Set in a fiery inferno across a 5×4 playing grid, classic fruit symbols occupy the grid accompanied by fire orbs acting as scatter symbols, with a whopping 40 paylines on offer and a maximum win of 5,000x the bet.

Landing three scatter symbols on reels one, three and five rewards the player with eight Blazing Spins. During the bonus feature only the top three symbols and wilds are in play – turning up the heat and the chance to win big.

When wilds land during the bonus game, they will also be collected by the game’s exciting add on, the Trailblazer Trail. Completing this will see players granted additional spins and win multipliers of up to a stunning 10x.

Offering fast-paced action throughout, Trailblazer marks the latest release from Blueprint Gaming with a host of highly anticipated releases still on the horizon during the studio’s jam-packed summer slot schedule.

Jo Purvis, Director of Marketing, PR and Events at Blueprint Gaming, said: “Trailblazer is a prime example of Blueprint’s effortless ability to blend slot enthusiasts’ love for classical-themed games with stimulating action and mechanics that enhance gameplay.

OpenBet powers more than 140M bets during Euro 2024

AGBrief Editorial
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OpenBet powers more than 140M bets during Euro 2024

OpenBet, a leading content, technology and services provider to the sports betting industry, has reported strong performance following this year’s UEFA European Football Championship, processing more than 140 million bets across all channels with more than £850m wagered during the month-long tournament.  

Statistics from the final reveal that the game attracted substantial wagering activity, with more than £73 million staked during the game. OpenBet’s trading team was central to this effort, generating odds, delivering trading content and providing Managed Trading Services through risk and liability management for operators.   

Bet slips generated across the global customer base for SportCast’s BetBuilder also showed a significant 470% increase compared to the 2021 tournament, driven by new features, bettor demand and new players adopting the product.  

Florian Diederichsen, CTO at OpenBet, said: “Euro 2024 captured the imaginations of sports fans and bettors across Europe, with OpenBet truly ‘bringing it home’ for operators. Our robust platform technology once again played a match-winning role in processing a significant volume of bets and delivering a reliable and safe betting experience for our customers. We delivered new records in bets processed per-minute and overall bets placed for operators and are proud to play a key role in their success towards continued growth.”

Macau gaming operators’ suspicious transaction reports up 57% in 1H24

AGBrief Editorial
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Macau gaming operators’ suspicious transaction reports up 57% in 1H24

The number of Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) issued by Macau’s gaming operators rose by 56.7 percent year-on-year, to 2,181, in the first half of 2024, up from 1,392 in the same period last year, according to the Financial Intelligence Office (GIF).

In the first half of 2024, the Financial Intelligence Office received a total of 2,879 reports of suspicious transactions, marking a 51.2 percent increase compared to the previous year. 

Macau gaming operators' suspicious transaction reports up 57% in 1H24

Reports from gaming operators constituted 75.8 percent of these, underscoring the ongoing rise in visitor arrivals and business activity since border restrictions eased in January 2023.

The total included 556 STRs from financial institutions and insurance companies, up from 373 in 1H23, and 142 from other institutions, slightly up from 139.

Universal Entertainment announces special board meeting to vote on dismissal of former CEO

Nelson Moura
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Universal Entertainment announces special board meeting to vote on dismissal of former CEO

The Board of Directors of Universal Entertainment Corp. will convene an extraordinary general shareholders’ meeting in September 2024 in which a vote will be held to decide if the group will dismiss former CEO, Jun Fujimoto, from its Board.

The decision comes after a Tokyo High Court ruling in August 2019 that found Fujimoto, who previously served as the company’s President and CEO, had breached his fiduciary duty by authorizing the transfer of nearly $43.5 million out of Universal Entertainment without proper justification and without adhering to internal decision-making procedures.

The court determined that Fujimoto’s actions constituted a breach of his duty of loyalty as a director, and ordered him to be liable for compensation to Universal Entertainment.

Fujimoto has since stepped down from his executive roles but remained on the company’s Board of Directors.

In its announcement, Universal Entertainment, the parent company of the Okada Manila casino resort in the Philippines, stated that it has taken necessary measures to preserve its right to claim damages against Fujimoto in case the court judgment becomes final and binding.

Okada Manila, Universal Entertainment, Philippines

The company has also established a task force to ensure the proper implementation of these preservation measures and strengthen cooperation with outside directors and corporate auditors.

The extraordinary shareholders’ meeting is scheduled for September 2024, with August 8th, 2024 set as the record date to determine the shareholders entitled to exercise their voting rights.

Universal Entertainment plans to propose the dismissal of Fujimoto from the Board of Directors as the main agenda item for the meeting.

The company stated that further details regarding the date, time, and location of the extraordinary shareholders’ meeting, as well as the specific proposals to be put forward, will be announced in the near future.

Daily Asia Gaming eBrief: Macau has too many croupiers, says Insider

AGBrief Editorial
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Daily Asia Gaming eBrief: Macau has too many croupiers, says Insider
Good Morning. There can be too much of a good thing. For Macau, currently that’s croupiers, as the post-pandemic conditions have caused a mismatch between availability and demand. Staff retention programs, the new gaming licenses and smart tables are all having an effect on this surplus, notes an insider. Still in Macau, CLSA has lowered its GGR forecast for this year, with uncertainties from a slower pick-up in the second quarter and China’s stance on illegal money exchange.

What you need to know

On the radar

AGB Intelligence

MACAU

Macau Casino Croupier, casino Worker, recruitment

Macau is currently suffering from an excess of croupiers, a position that can only be held by local residents, as the post-COVID recovery trails off and amongst changing market conditions. Mandated retention of staff during the pandemic, the closure of satellite casinos and the attractiveness of the role has caused a glut. Smart table technology is also having an impact, says an insider, as tables are more efficient, overall requiring less manpower.

Corporate Spotlight

Know Your Enemy: An Interactive Guide to Online Gaming Fraud

Sumsub, Online Gaming Fraud, verification platform

Online gaming fraud is on the rise in the iGaming industry. In Q1 2022, there was an 85% increase in fake account registrations compared to Q4 2021. While players are undoubtedly affected by gaming fraud, iGaming platforms also suffer due to damaged reputations, huge financial losses, and legal consequences.

How 1xBet dominates the Asian market: conditions and approach

1xBet, Asian Market

1xBet operates in several dozen countries in Asia, and the number of partners in this region is growing steadily, which indicates the effectiveness of the 1xPartners affiliate program. The brand offers favorable conditions and a modern set of tools for making money on the Internet.

Industry Updates

MEMBERSHIP | INTELLIGENCE | ASEAN | CAREERS

City of Dreams Manila’s Premium Leisure Corp parent seeking $300M casino-resort in Clark

Kelsey Wilhelm
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City of Dreams Manila’s Premium Leisure Corp parent seeking $300M casino-resort in Clark

The parent company of Premium Leisure Corp, a joint partner with Melco Resorts & Entertainment in City of Dreams Manila, is reportedly aiming to invest at least $300 million in a new casino-resort in Clark.

The investment is said to be undertaken by SM Investments – the Philippines’ most valuable company and the parent of Belle Corp, parent of Premium Leisure Corp.

Speaking to Reuters, a source said “aside from the casino, there will be a convention center and a hotel”.

Premium Leisure has already applied for a license to build and operate the casino and resort, sources told the publication.

The move would help create further synergy for Clark as a gaming hub, with Hann Resorts also seeking an IPO of up to PHP20 billion ($343.6 million) by early next year.

Banyan Tree, Hann Reserve, Hann Resorts, Philipines
Banyan Tree, Hann Reserve, Hann Resorts, Philipines
Hann Reserve

The group operates the Hann Casino Resort and is developing the multi-billion-dollar Hann Reserve, both in Clark.

While it’s still uncertain whether Melco Resorts will have a stake in the newly-proposed project in Clark, the group has been pursuing numerous opportunities outside its base in Macau – such as City of Dreams Mediterranean, in Cyprus and City of Dreams Sri Lanka, in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Melco currently rents space from Belle Corp for City of Dreams Manila, as well as splitting revenue from the property with Belle Corp.

SkyCity Auckland estimating $3M loss from mandated five-day closure

Kelsey Wilhelm
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SkyCity Auckland estimating $3M loss from mandated five-day closure

SkyCity Entertainment Group has reached an agreement with New Zealand authorities to temporarily close the gambling area of its SkyCity Auckland casino for five consecutive days due to a failures to detect continuous play by a customer.

The casino closure would occur from a Monday to a Friday, with the dates still to be agreed on between SkyCity and New Zealand’s Secretary for Internal Affairs.

SkyCity is currently estimating that the five-day closure will negatively impact underlying Group EBITDA by ‘around NZ$5 million ($3.04 million)’.

The group has now revised its FY25 underlying Group EBITDA to between NZ$245 million ($148.93 million) and NZ$265 million ($161.1 million).

The closure agreement is still conditional on ‘the Gambling Commission consenting to the withdrawal of the Application by the Secretary’. This application related to a temporary suspension of SkyCity’s Auckland casino operator’s license for a period ‘in the range of 10 days’.

This application followed a compliant to the Department of Internal Affairs in February 2022 ‘by a former customer who gambled in the SkyCity Auckland casino from August 2017 to February 2021’.

In it, the Secretary alleged that SkyCity did not abide by requirements in its Host Responsibility Program (HRP).

SkyCity puts the incident down to ‘a design error in a technology system developed by SkyCity to monitor continuous play by carded customers (which has since been rectified)’.

The company did acknowledge that it ‘failed to exercise the level of vigilance required by the HRP to use staff observation independently and alongside the technology to identify those incidents of continuous play by the customer and then act accordingly’.

However, it noted that the complainant’s ‘problematic behavior was silent or hidden’.

SkyCity implements further measures against money laundering

Speaking of the event, SkyCity’s Chair Julian Cook noted: “reaching this agreement to close the SkyCity Auckland gambling area for five days resolves this matter. However, there is still considerable work required and underway to improve our risk systems, including our approach to mitigating financial crime and problem gambling“.

SkyCity has recently undergone a raft of management changes and improvements to its AML/CFT framework, after being investigated in New Zealand and Australia for non-compliance.

The group notes that it further intends to have ‘mandatory carded play across its New Zealand casinos by mid-2024, and at the SkyCity Adelaide casino by the end of 2024’.

IGT CEO Global Lottery Renato Ascoli inducted into Lottery Industry Hall of Fame

AGBrief Editorial
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IGT CEO Global Lottery Renato Ascoli inducted into Lottery Industry Hall of Fame

International Game Technology (IGT) PLC has announced that Renato Ascoli, IGT CEO of Global Lottery, will be inducted into the Lottery Industry Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2024.

Renato Ascoli, IGT
Renato Ascoli, CEO, Global Lottery, IGT

Ascoli will be honored later this year at an event hosted by the Public Gaming Research Institute (PGRI) in conjunction with the World Lottery Summit in Paris.

“I am incredibly honored to be inducted into the Lottery Industry Hall of Fame‘s Class of 2024,” said Ascoli. “Working in the lottery industry with many great leaders and innovators has been an absolute privilege. The future of the lottery industry is bright, and I look forward to helping our customers propel the modernization of lottery worldwide while continuing to generate funds for philanthropic causes.”

In his current role, Ascoli is responsible for global lottery and iLottery sales and operations, product and sales development, and technology and support for IGT’s 90-plus lottery customers worldwide. Since the merger of GTECH and IGT in 2015, Ascoli has successfully led both the Global Lottery and Global Gaming business units for the Company.

Some of the key achievements within his tenure have been launching sports betting with the Rhode Island Lottery, partnering with the Mississippi Lottery to initiate operations, deploying lottery terminals in Walmart retail stores, and rolling out IGT’s proprietary Cash Pop draw game, which is now live in over 15 jurisdictions.

“With nearly 20 years of experience serving in high-level positions in the lottery and gaming industries, Renato Ascoli is an accomplished senior executive whose leadership has been paramount in driving new business and innovation,” said Vince Sadusky, IGT CEO. “Renato has a keen ability to identify and realize business growth opportunities, and his contributions will benefit the lottery industry for years to come. IGT congratulates Renato on his well-deserved induction into this year’s Lottery Industry Hall of Fame.”

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