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Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ: WYNN) confirmed it has been granted the first commercial casino license in the history of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Middle East at large, paving the way for Wynn Al Marjan Island to include a gaming venue.

The Las Vegas-based gaming company made the announcement late Friday, noting the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA), the UAE’s first gaming regulatory agency, approved a commercial gaming facility operator permit. The GCGRA, which was formed last year, hasn’t issued a statement regarding the Wynn approval, but the casino operator said it won the license after a “diligent and extensive review” by the regulatory body.

Wynn Resorts thanks the GCGRA for the confidence and trust the license grant signifies and is proud to be the recipient of the first commercial gaming facility license in the UAE,”

Located in Ras Al Khaimah, the $3.9 billion Wynn Al Marjan Island has been under construction for several months and is expected to open in early 2027. Development of the property is a partnership between the gaming company and RAK Hospitality Holding.

Wynn UAE Casino Could Reshape Gaming Industry

For decades, regulated gaming has been off limits in the Middle East, but recent developments indicated the UAE could break that thaw. Those include the formation of the GCGRA in 2023 and the July approval of a lottery license for an Abu Dhabi-based company.

Over the long-term, it could prove to be a prescient move by Wynn because some analysts believe, at maturity, the UAE casino market could generate as much as $5 billion in annual gross gaming revenue (GGR). The emirates are attractive to gaming companies due to vast amount of oil wealth, the soaring number of high-net-worth residents, and the UAE’s status as one of the region’s prime tourist spots.

Additionally, viable global growth outlets are hard to come by in the gaming industry. For example, Macau appears unlikely to add more licensees and the Singapore duopoly is locked up close to another 30 years.

Wynn Will Soon Provide UAE Casino Update

Investors could soon gain more insight about Wynn’s UAE casino project because the company is holding an event for analysts and institutional investors on Tuesday, Oct. 8 at its namesake integrated resort on the Las Vegas Strip.

“Craig Billings, Chief Executive Officer, along with other members of the Wynn Resorts global leadership team will deliver presentations, including on the resort’s expected financial performance. The Analyst & Investor Update Meeting will commence at 11:30 a.m. Pacific Time and conclude at approximately 2:30 p.m. Pacific Time,” according to a statement from the gaming company.

When that invitation-only event was announced, analysts speculated it was a sign Wynn would be approved for a casino license in the UAE.

The post Wynn Resorts Lands UAE’s First Casino License appeared first on Casino.org.

The Florida Gaming Control Commission (FGCC) is looking for a partner to help develop a program to prevent compulsive and addictive gambling in the Sunshine State.

On Wednesday, the FGCC issued an Invitation to Negotiate (ITN), a competitive solicitation process that asks vendors to offer recommendations to the gaming regulatory as to how it might best achieve limiting gambling harms.

The gaming agency is seeking input on how to go about crafting responsible gaming protocols that companies engaged in the state’s gaming industry will need to include in their advertising materials. The FGCC additionally wants to create an educational and awareness campaign enlightening Floridians about their legal gambling options, the possible drawbacks of participating, and how to determine what is and isn’t legal gambling.

As the landscape of legal gaming and sports betting evolves in Florida, as well as illegal gambling facilities and sites, we recognize the need to have adaptable solutions and expansive options as part of our Compulsive or Addictive Gambling Prevention Program,” said Lou Trombetta, executive director of the Florida Gaming Control Commission. “This process will ensure that Floridians can benefit from innovative and comprehensive options, and that the selected vendor is able to help FGCC provide resources that reach all demographics.”

The FGCC is a five-member regulatory body that governs parimutuel wagering, cardrooms, and racino and jai alai slot facilities in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. The agency is additionally responsible for the oversight of tribal compacts. The FGCC does not regulate the Florida Lottery.

Expanded Gambling

The Seminole Tribe maintains a monopoly on slot machines and most house-banked table games outside the two counties mentioned where slots are allowed. The tribe, through its revised 2021 Class III gaming compact negotiated with Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), added the exclusive rights to sports betting, both in-person and online.

Along with sports betting, the 2021 compact authorized roulette and craps at the Seminoles’ six brick-and-mortar tribal casinos. As a result, gambling is more widespread in Florida than ever before.

“While many Floridians and visitors enjoy legal gaming and sports betting, offering robust resources and valuable services to those who may find themselves impulsively participating in these activities is highly important,” added Julie Brown, vice chair of the FGCC. “My fellow commissioners and I look forward to the results of this process and to provide progressive resources and scalable services in Florida that will have a clear impact.” 

Safeguard Shortcomings

The FGCC initiative to establish a program to fight compulsive and addictive gambling comes after a prominent study found Florida to be lacking in responsible gaming standards.

Vixio researchers found that the Seminole’s 2021 compact does not include a policy commitment to responsible gaming. The revenue-sharing agreement also does not mandate the tribe to train staff to promote responsible play.

The compact does require the tribe to make an annual donation of at least $250K to the research, education, and treatment of gambling-related harm.

The post Florida Gaming Regulators Seek Vendor to Help Develop Responsible Gaming Program appeared first on Casino.org.

A veteran gaming regulator who oversaw one of the country’s largest gambling markets says states should have uniform minimum ages to participate whether it be to enter a casino or buy a lottery ticket.

David Rebuck retired in March after leading the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) for nearly 13 years. As director of the state gaming regulatory agency, Rebuck was responsible for enforcing the state’s Casino Control Act, the governing framework for the nine casinos in Atlantic City.

Rebuck says New Jersey’s gaming regulations need updating, as many of the laws were put on the books decades ago and have become antiquated in today’s digital age where billions of dollars are being gambled online each year.

Rebuck believes the appeal of sports betting to young adults is of utmost concern.

The former DGE boss thinks sports betting’s allure has also mainstreamed gambling as a whole. Rebuck suggests New Jersey raise the minimum age to play daily fantasy sports and purchase lottery products from 18 to 21 to fall in line with the age requirement to enter a casino, place a sports bet, or access a regulated iGaming platform.

Uniform Age 

New Jersey considers fantasy sports a contest of skill, not chance, and therefore it’s exempt from being regulated by the Casino Control Act. Controversial so-called skill games, online sweepstakes, and social casinos where no real money can be won also fall outside the scope of the New Jersey gaming law.

Rebuck says those channels are gateways to gambling and addictive behavior. He believes it would be smart to block young adults from getting their feet wet for three more years to provide ample time for those 18 to 21-year-olds to better understand the risks associated with the state’s many gambling channels.

Revising the age sends a powerful message that all gambling is an adult privilege. For some youth, gambling results in at-risk behavior with damaging lifelong consequences,” Rebuck wrote in a regulatory essay.

“Minors and 18 to 21 years old will undeniably benefit from the extra time to fully understand and prepare for any form of legal gambling engagement in the future,” Rebuck continued.

Internet Gaming Keeps Growing

Online gaming continues to bloom in the Garden State.

Internet slot machines and table games took $1.92 billion off of remote gamblers in 2023, a record high for New Jersey’s online casinos. Through eight months of 2024, iGaming gaming win is up another 23% to more than $1.52 billion.

In 2019, iGaming revenue totaled $482.7 million, meaning online gaming has grown 300% in just five years.

Sports betting continues to grow, too. Oddsmakers won an all-time high of more than $1 billion in 2023, a 32% year-over-year surge. Oddsmakers have kept $715.8 million of the bets wagered this year, almost 20% higher than they won through eight months last year.

In 2019, sports betting revenue totaled a little less than $300 million, meaning it has grown by 233% over five years.

Rebuck believes state gaming regulators — not politicians — are best suited to tailor their regulations.

“It’s mind-boggling to me the arrogance of saying ‘we know more than you do,’” Rebuck commented.

The post Veteran Gaming Regulator Calls for Uniform Rules to Protect Young Adults appeared first on Casino.org.

The Securities and Exchange (SEC) announced today it charged DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG) with divulging nonpublic, material information over CEO Jason Robins’ social media accounts. The gaming company agreed to pay $200,000 civil penalty to settle the charges.

On July 27, 2023, Robins posted on his personal  X (formerly Twitter) account that the company he co-founded continued to see “really strong growth” in the states in which it was offering iGaming and sports betting. Later that day, a public relations firm representing DraftKings posted similar remarks to Robins’ LinkedIn profile. Problem was those posts occurred a week prior to the gaming company releasing its second-quarter results.

According to the order, even though Regulation FD required DraftKings to promptly disclose the information to all investors after it was selectively disclosed to some, DraftKings did not disclose the information to the public until seven days later when it announced its financial earnings for the second quarter of 2023,” said the SEC in the statement.

While LinkedIn and X are widely trafficked forums, public companies cannot fulfill SEC disclosure guidelines simply by posting information relevant to investors on those sites because in the eyes of regulators, not all of a company’s shareholders rely on social media for investing information.

DraftKings Lawyers Have Been Busy

The SEC charged DraftKings “with violations of Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act and Regulation FD.” The gaming company neither admitted nor denied the findings in the order, but it pledged to refrain from future violations of those protocols.

That litigation arrived just weeks after the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) sued DraftKings, claiming the sportsbook operator potentially owes it tens of millions of dollars for using player names and images in its now defunct Reignmakers nonfungible tokens (NFTs) game.

DraftKings  previously faced a class action complaint in which plaintiffs claim those NFTs were investable securities and that they suffered losses when the NFT market collapsed. In July, DraftKings shuttered its NFT marketplace and halted Reignmakers, pledging to provide some compensation to those that played the fantasy game.

Not First Time Robins’ Post Have Raised Eyebrows

The posts that drew the ire of the SEC aren’t the first instances of Robins flirting with controversy on social media. In an eight-tweet thread on X on March 28, 2023, the DraftKings chief executive officer commented on his bullishness about the company’s long-term outlook.

He didn’t explicitly mention the stock in those tweets and it’s a good thing, too, because that same day he sold 300,000 shares.

The SEC made no mention of the March 2023 posts. Under regulations set forth by the commission, any publicly traded company disseminating material information via social media must first tell investors on which platforms that data will be released.

The post SEC Charges DraftKings with Disclosure Violations Over Robins Tweet appeared first on Casino.org.

It took DraftKings less than two weeks to pull the plug on a plan to levy winning sports bets in select high-tax states and it’s a good thing the company did that because had it proceeded, it apparently would have drawn the ire of New York regulators.

That state, which has the highest sports wagering tax in the US, along with Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Vermont, was at the center of the gaming company’s proposal to apply modest levies to winning sports bets. Customers immediately decried the move, saying it amounted to DraftKings passing its tax exposure onto clients. The proposed move didn’t sit well with New York State Gaming Commission Chair Brian O’Dwyer, either, who said he viewed the plan “with great alarm.”

I view that proposal as both misleading and detrimental to the consumer,” O’Dwyer said at the commission’s Monday meeting. “I am, of course, pleased that the proposal has been withdrawn, and I remind all our licensees, however, that this commission is committed to protecting the consuming public, and that any proposal such as the one advanced by DraftKings will be a subject to the strictest scrutiny, and if appropriate, be rejected.”

New York applies a 51% tax rate to online sports betting.

DraftKings Swiftly Killed Surcharge Idea

DraftKings unveiled the surcharge plan when it delivered second-quarter results on August 1, after rivals BetMGM and Caesars Sportsbook reported financial results without making mention of a similar tax plan.

Within an hour of the Flutter report, DraftKings announced that it listened to its customers and decided to abandon the four-state surcharge plan. For its part, New York knows it has the advantage of being the fourth-largest state in the country and currently the largest with a competitive online sports betting market, meaning it doesn’t need to change its tax structure to benefit operators.

“New York remains an attractive venue for those who are in the business of sports betting, and I see no reason why we should alter our present regulatory or taxing environment,” added O’Dwyer.

Operators Looking for Ways to Deal with High Taxes

In some populous states like Illinois, New York, and Pennsylvania that gaming companies want to operate in, high sports betting taxes are simplay a fact of life. The need to be in those states and others is prompting operators to examine avenues through which they can deal with those taxes while continuing to generate and grow profits.

At Bank of America’s Gaming and Lodging Conference earlier this month, DraftKings CEO Jason Robins said the company is examining remedies when it comes to contending with high taxes, adding it’s nonsensical for “anybody to completely just eat any tax increase that happens anywhere.”

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