Bricks & Mortar

Australia is again turning up the heat on gambling companies, this time with a bill that will make them responsible to compensate victims of players who used funds obtained illegally.

Information from the Statistics and Census Service shows that inward direct investment flows into Macao jumped by 167.8 percent year-on-year to MOP 53.99 billion ($6.7 billion) in 2019. Analysed by industry, inflows of direct investment in the Gaming sector and Financial Activities totalled MOP 43.31 billion and MOP 8.52 billion respectively.

Delta Corp shares surged after it said its casino in Sikkim would reopen from Nov. 1, whilst casinos in Goa are also expected to reopen from the same date.

Caesars Entertainment, Inc. said it agreed to sell Tropicana Evansville to Gaming and Leisure Properties and Twin River Worldwide Holdings for $480 million in cash, subject to a customary working capital adjustment.

Aquis Entertainment said its operating cash flow in the recent quarter was positive and although visitation is down, business is strong. It has now also recalled most of the staff laid off during the Covid-19-mandated closures.

Bank of America has expressed doubts about Las Vegas Sands' ability to offload its casino assets given a dearth of potential buyers due to the pandemic. The bank says there is a very small pool of buyers able to make a $6 billion acquisition and at the moment access to capital market finance is also less favourable.

Macau, which last year was given a strong bill of health when it comes to efforts to combat money laundering and financial crimes, has taken further action by signing an AML risk assessment accord with a unit of the World Bank.

International tourists arrivals plunged by an annualised 70 percent during the first eight months of 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, the World Tourism Organization (WTO) has reported.

Las Vegas Sands lobbed an “October surprise” into the world of the gaming industry, confirming it’s seeking buyers for its Nevada casinos, effectively leaving it as an Asia-only operator, with properties in Macau and Singapore.

This pandemic has changed the lives of many Macanese and millions of others globally. In this part of the world, we have moved from controlling its proliferation to managing a potential deep economic fallout as a result of it.