Good morning.
Analysts from J.P. Morgan believes that Crown is likely to retain its licenses in Victoria and Western Australia, despite the royal commission revealing a number of skeletons in the closet for the casino operator.
In Singapore, the government in its commitment to “keep up with the times”, has amended gaming regulation to allow social, in-person gambling between family and friends. It is part of an overall revamp of gambling laws in Singapore, including a plan to establish a new gambling regulator sometime this year.
Las Vegas Sands is making its first moves investing into the digital gaming space, with news it will be building a digital gaming investment team, lead by Davis Catlin, who will join the company after 14 years in a “leading” investment firm.
Our feature article today comes from Sally Gainsbury and Robert Heirene, who have recently conducted a study into the use of responsible gambling tools in Australia’s online gambling space.
First, the news
- Crown likely to keep licenses, with conditions: J.P. Morgan
- Singapore may update laws to allow in-person social gambling
- LVS to build a digital investment team for online expansion
- Online operators need to encourage the use of RG tools
- Macau July GGR up 50% as travel restrictions ease
- MGM 2Q21 loss forecast narrowed by Jefferies
- Macau visitor arrivals gain after Guandong travel easing
- India’s Delta swings to 1Q21 loss on Covid shutdowns
- Genting unit spent $1.22m in New York lobbying in 2020
- Supervision of data planned for Greater Bay Area
What you need to know
LVS to build a digital investment team for online expansion
Las Vegas Sands has given the first glimpse of how it plans to expand into the digital gaming space, with news it will build a digital gaming investment team. The company said it plans to be a strategic investor in business-to-business digital gaming technologies. The investment team will be lead by Davis Catlin, who will join the company after 14 years in a “leading” investment firm, LVS said. Goldman Sachs has forecast that online sports betting and internet casinos could generate $39 billion and $14 billion respectively by 2033.
Crown likely to keep licenses, with conditions: J.P. Morgan
Despite Crown being dragged through the mud in the Victorian and Western Australian royal commission, analysts from J.P. Morgan believe the company will be able to retain its licenses in both states, but with conditions. Analyst Don Carducci made the prediction based on previous royal commissions in adjacent industries, such as the royal commission in the banking, superannuation, and financial services industry between 2017-2019, which inquired into money laundering, terrorism financing, and statutory reporting responsibility.
Singapore may update laws to allow in-person social gambling
Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is proposing legal amendments that would explicitly allow social gambling, at least when conducted face-to-face between family and friends. This is part of an overall revamp of gambling laws in Singapore, including a plan to establish a new gambling regulator. Permission for social gambling will not extend, however, to the online sphere, due to the fact that it would cause “enforcement difficulties” to figure out if individuals are truly personal connections.
Insights
INDUSTRY VOICES: Sally Gainsbury & Robert Heirene
Online operators need to encourage the use of responsible gambling tools
Findings from a recent study into the use of responsible gambling tools in Australia’s online gambling space will likely have researchers and regulators questioning the effectiveness of current responsible gambling tools and policy. Researchers from Sydney’s Gambling Treatment and Research Clinic were recently granted unprecedented access to nearly 40,000 customers’ account data from six leading sports and race wagering sites in Australia. With this data on hand, they sought to find out several key questions.
Corporate Spotlight
Pragmatic Play Asia footprint set to expand
The well-known content provider in the iGaming industry— Pragmatic Play will continue to expand its footprint in emerging markets worldwide. The increasing acceptance of iGaming has resulted in a gradual shift in attitude toward regulation, with more and more markets taking an approach to deliver legislative roadmaps that will drive business in a period of hyper-growth.
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