Part two in a series of news reviews covering the online casino and gambling
sector. May – Las Vegas Sands win a casino licence to build the first
casino in Singapore, costing three billion dollars. A bid from Coventry to
operate one of the super casinos in the U.K was thrown out by the
government, leaving the city’s officials demanding answers. Kent town,
Dartford, suffered similar fate, where as Sheffield went the over way and
was put on the shortlist of candidates. The full list of candidates in
competition for the UK’s first super casino was announced: Blackpool,
Wembley Stadium, Cardiff, Glasgow, the Millennium Dome, Manchester,
Newcastle upon Tyne and Sheffield were all short-listed. Two men were jailed
in Nottingham after they raided a casino and escaped with £45,000. They
received a total of 22 years in prison. Kerzner International sells their
casino operation to its management in a $3.2 billion deal, netting the
Cayzer family $237 million. June – As the world cup begins, bookies reveal
they are having a hard time as all the favourites seem to be performing as
expected. However, they appear to be crocodile tears, as a survey conducted
by Nielsen/Net Ratings showed that approximately 2.5 million Britons went on
to gambling sites, with bookies doubling their winnings to over £1 billion
from the last world cup in 2002. Lads’ mag, Maxim, agrees to lend its name
to a £640 million Las Vegas hotel and casino. 32Red buy Littlewood’s ailing
Bet Direct in a deal for over £11 million and was met with open arms by
investors. However, that optimism would not last the whole year as Bet
Direct turns into the industries hot potato. There are calls in Australia
for revenue gained from betting on sports events by gambling companies to be
put back into the sport. The French National Lottery is accused of cheating
players by printing scratchcards in a predetermined fashion. A successful
businessman, Robert Riblet, went on to file a two million Euro lawsuit
against the lottery. Tessa Jowell confirms that the UK will host an
International Gambling Summit, scheduled for October, in an attempt to unify
the various legislations of the numerous regulatory bodies. July – In a
massive shock to the gambling industry, David Carruthers, chief executive of
online gaming group BetOnSports, was arrested as he changed planes in
America en route to Costa Rica. He was charged by American federal
prosecutors with racketeering, conspiracy and fraud.
Shares in online gambling companies plummet as panic spreads throughout the
industry and many close their US facing businesses. Sportingbet were amongst
the worst hit, losing 50% of its revenue as almost £1 billion was wiped from
the market in days.
UK Deputy Prime Minster, John Prescott, reacted angrily to claims of
corruption over his friendship with Philip Anschutz, as the US tycoon looks
to open a super casino at London’s Dome.
Top Irish jockey, Kieren Fallon, loses his appeal over allegations he was
involved in a betting scam but always maintained his innocence.
The government announce that casinos, betting shops and online gambling
websites will be allowed to advertise on television from next year, under
new proposed laws in the Gambling Act.
Ladbrokes return to the casino industry after a gap of more than five years
when it opened the £5 million Ladbrokes Casino and Sports Bar at the Hilton
in Paddington, London.
Rank look into the possibility of selling its world-renowned restaurant
business, the Hard Rock Café for a potential £500 million.
August
The government face more criticism as it’s revealed that Anschutz
Entertainment Group (AEG) have admitted they have started building work on a
casino at the Millennium Dome. AEG claimed it would be too costly to wait
for a decision on the location of the UK’s new casinos. Many see this move
as antagonising and somewhat presumptuous.
The world’s very first strip poker tournament was hosted by Paddy Power in
London. Winner John Young from Slough generously gave the £10,000 prize
money to charity.
After the world cup in Germany, bookies report record figures with over $2
billion wagered would wide. William Hill announced that punters were betting
almost £30 million per day.
Spain begins to look more closely into the possibility of regulating
gambling as a partnership between William Hill and Codere hint at a possible
relaxing of laws.
Harrah’s eyes a potential buyout of the UK’s Stanley Leisure and London
Clubs International.
Ladbrokes announces that it will not be entering the US market, although the
decision was not final and would be up for review in the coming months. That
review would turn out to be very brief indeed.
There is speculation that PartyGaming is the prime candidate for acquiring
the Victor Chandler Group which includes an online casino, online poker
room, sportbook and telephone betting operation.
