Latest Gambling News: Another Satellite Falls: Macau’s Casino Grand Dragon To Close, and more

Catch up on some of the stories our gambling compliance analysts have covered lately, and stay up-to-date on the latest news.

Another Satellite Falls: Macau’s Casino Grand Dragon To Close  

Casino Grand Dragon, one of the longest surviving “satellite” casinos in Macau and the only one operating under a Melco Resorts & Entertainment licence, is the latest victim of the government’s ultimatum to satellite bosses.

Melco Resorts said on Monday (June 9) that Casino Grand Dragon and three Mocha Clubs (electronic gaming parlours), including one on the same property, will close by the end of the year, owing to the company’s “overall development strategy and in accordance with Macau law” on satellite operations.

From 2026, “satellite” casinos must operate on properties owned or leased by one of the six casino concessionaires. Satellite operators will only serve as management companies and can no longer enjoy revenue-sharing arrangements.

Melco Resorts said all employees and gambling equipment will be relocated to its other properties.

However, the company said it will apply for three other Mocha Clubs to continue operations.

Casino Grand Dragon was launched as Casino Taipa Square in 2008 and, for a time, was Melco Resorts’ second licensed property after Crown Macau, later retitled Altira.

One of Macau’s smallest casinos, with only a handful of tables at the end of its life, the property was nonetheless appealing to influential former legislator and satellite casino king Chan Meng Kam, who brought it into his stable and renamed it Grand Dragon.

With the closure of Chan’s three other Dragon-branded casinos – under an SJM Holdings licence – at the end of 2022, the demise of Grand Dragon brings several threads of Macau history to an end.

Government efforts to neuter the diverse and often controversial semi-dependent satellite casino segment have so far shuttered around half of the satellites that operated at their peak.

FanDuel Unveils Illinois Surcharge, DraftKings To Follow Soon

FanDuel will introduce a $0.50 fee for each wager placed by sports betting customers in Illinois in response to a new per-wager tax on online bets approved by state lawmakers during recent budget negotiations.

Both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly approved House Bill 2755 on June 1, which contained a provision to tax sports-betting operators an additional 25 cents on every online sports wager up to the first 20 million wagers accepted annually, with any wager beyond that threshold being taxed at 50 cents per bet.

The flat per-wager tax is the first of its kind in any U.S. jurisdiction, and appears to be equally without precedent internationally, according to Vixio GamblingCompliance research.

In response, Flutter Entertainment, FanDuel’s parent company, confirmed Tuesday (June 10) that from September 1, FanDuel will introduce a $0.50 transaction fee on each bet placed on its platform.

The introduction of the fee follows the decision in July 2024 to create a new tiered tax structure for sports betting, ranging from 20 percent to 40 percent, up from the initial 15 percent.

Should the state reverse the fee on each wager, “FanDuel will immediately remove the $0.50 transaction fee,” the company said Governor J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat, has yet to sign the budget into law.

DraftKings expects to follow in FanDuel's footsteps but did not release any details on Tuesday.

“In response to the recent and prior mobile sports wagering tax increases in Illinois, DraftKings anticipates taking action and expects to share more information soon,” a company spokesman said in an email.

Louisiana Lawmakers Approve Sports-Betting Tax Increase

Republican Governor Jeff Landry’s signature is all that is needed for Louisiana to become the latest state to increase taxes on mobile sports betting.

House Bill 639, authored by Republican Representative Neil Riser, was approved by the Senate on a 35-3 vote late on Sunday (June 8), after previously passing the House 74-15.

Senate President J. Cameron Henry Jr., a Republican, signed the bill on Tuesday (June 10), sending it to the governor. Landry is expected to sign it into law.

Riser’s bill would increase the sports-betting tax rate from 15 percent to 21.5 percent. Under the new tax, Louisiana is expected to receive $77m annually, with $20m deposited into the Supporting Programs, Opportunities, Resources and Teams (SPORT) find to benefit athletes at eleven of the state’s public universities.

Louisiana is not the only state to increase taxes on wagering. Last week, both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly approved a unique flat per-wager tax of 25 cents on every bet up to 20m, and then 50 cents on each bet after that.

Maryland Governor Wes Moore, a Democrat, signed a new budget last month that included an increase to 20 percent from 15 percent. Other states, including New Jersey and North Carolina, are debating tax-rate increase measures.

New York Attorney General Confirms Sweepstakes Crackdown

New York Attorney General Letitia James confirmed Friday (June 6) that a total of 26 sweepstakes platforms have agreed to stop the sale of sweepstakes currency in the state after her office sent cease-and-desist letters.

In the letters, the Attorney General’s office wrote that most sweepstakes casinos are illegal in the state, as virtual currency that can be exchanged for money or prizes constitutes something of value to be wagered, and that counter arguments that the currency can be obtained for free through mail-in requests are “without merit”.

In a statement, James said sweepstakes casinos were “illegal, dangerous, and can seriously ruin people’s finances”. She credited the New York State Gaming Commission and state Senator Joseph Addabbo, who is sponsoring legislation to prohibit dual-currency sweepstakes operations, for partnering with her office on the issue.

Among the brands that have agreed to stop selling virtual coins in New York are VGW-operated Chumba Casino, High 5 Casino, and sweepstakes sportsbook Fliff.

Many operators withdrew shortly after the letters were sent by James' office in March, although VGW held out until late May before announcing it would stop the sale of the sweepstakes currency.

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