Latest Gambling News: Wynn Resorts Drops New York City Casino Bid, 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.

Wynn Resorts Drops New York City Casino Bid

Wynn Resorts has become the second Las Vegas-based gaming company to pull out of New York City, confirming that it will no longer pursue a downstate casino license.

“After careful consideration, we have decided not to apply for a gaming license in New York City,” Wynn Resorts said in a statement released Monday (May 19).

Last month, the City Planning Commission voted 9-2 to advance the $12bn proposal to bring an integrated resort to Hudson Yards, being proposed by Related Companies and Wynn. The Las Vegas-based company attributed its decision to a “recent rezoning process made it clear to us that there are uses of our capital more accretive to our shareholders.”

Wynn, which has properties in Las Vegas, Boston and Macau, believes the capital could be better spent in their existing and upcoming developments and stock buybacks. The company has been focused on its Wynn Al Marjan Island development, a $5.1bn project in the United Arab Emirates that is scheduled to open in 2027.

During its first-quarter earnings call, CEO Craig Billings described New York as a complicated market but was prepared to offer a “fair proposal.” In April, Las Vegas Sands announced it was dropping its bid for a downstate casino license, expressing its concern about the impact potential legalization of iGaming on the “overall market opportunity and project returns.”

UK Arcade Licence Suspended Over Harm Reduction, ADR Failures

An adult gaming centre (AGC) in the UK has had its licence suspended for not participating in a multi-operator self-exclusion scheme.

The Gambling Commission said it suspended the licence of Wyke Gaming & Amusement Centre in Bradford, near Leeds, with immediate effect for failing to participate in a gambling harm reduction initiative and for lacking a complaints and disputes process.

The company also had no arrangement for customers to refer disputes to an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) entity.

An AGC licence allows companies to offer an unlimited number of Category C and D gaming machines, with only up to 20 percent of machines to be in the categories of B3 or B4. The operator also failed to comply with this requirement.

“The suspension will remain in effect at least until the Commission has been able to verify that the Licensee’s facilities are operating compliantly,” the regulator said in a statement on May 22.

Louisiana Sweepstakes Ban Passes House Committee

A bill to prohibit online sweepstakes casinos in Louisiana moved closer to final passage on Wednesday (May 21) after a House committee approved the measure.

Senate Bill 181, authored by Republican Senator Adam Bass, was unanimously passed by the House Administration of Criminal Justice Committee.

Bass explained that his measure simply “clarifies that online real-money sweepstakes casinos constitute illegal gambling.” Bass told the committee that Louisiana citizens spend $4.5bn annually on illegal online gambling and are being ripped off.

The proposed measure changes the penalty from a maximum of $20,000 to a range of $10,000 to $100,000 for any individual or entity that operates or promotes illegal gambling online.

At the hearing, the bill was supported by Aristocrat, Golden Nugget, Boyd Gaming, and The Cordish Cos. No one spoke in opposition to SB 181.

The legislative session ends on June 12, so the bill has three weeks to pass a full House vote. If Republican Governor Jeff Landry signs SB 181, Louisiana would become the second state this year to ban online sweepstakes casinos.

Earlier this month, Montana's Republican Governor Greg Gianforte signed Senate Bill 555, which does not directly mention sweepstakes but revises the existing definition of internet gambling to include online casinos.

Ohio Lawmakers To Debate Second iGaming Bill

Republican Representative Brian Stewart introduced a bill Tuesday (May 20) to legalize online casino games in Ohio.

House Bill 298 includes several provisions to protect Ohio’s brick-and-mortar casinos, including allowing licenses to be issued only to companies that currently operate the 11 casinos and racinos in Ohio. Incumbent casinos would be able to launch one iGaming platform each, but they could partner with operators such as FanDuel and DraftKings as so-called “internet gambling management companies”.

Stewart, who is chair of the House Finance Committee, proposes to tax iGaming at 28 percent, with 1 percent going to problem gambling resources and the other 99 percent going to the state’s general fund. The licenses would cost $50m, and then $10m to renew a license every five years.

HB 298 would prohibit credit cards from funding accounts, as well as promotional credits being issued to attract gamblers to iGaming sites. But the bill would allow an operator to issue promo credits online to get a patron to visit a land-based casino or racino.

A second bill proposing to authorize iGaming in Ohio was introduced on May 13.

Senate Bill 197 is scheduled to have its second hearing on Thursday (May 22) before the Senate Select Committee on Gaming.

Louisiana House Approves Sports-Betting Tax Increase

Louisiana’s House of Representatives has approved a bill to increase the state’s tax rate for sports betting.

Lawmakers voted by a margin of 74-16 late Tuesday (May 20) to pass House Bill 639. The bill will now be considered by the Louisiana Senate, where it also requires a two-thirds majority.

As introduced, HB 639 would have raised the tax rate from 15 percent to 32.5 percent in order to align the rate with Louisiana’s video poker industry. However, the bill was amended on the House floor on Tuesday to instead impose a lower increase of 21.5 percent of operators’ net proceeds.

As highlighted by Vixio’s most recent U.S. Sports Betting Outlook, Louisiana is one of several states actively considering a tax increase on sports betting.

Maryland is set to raise its tax rate from 15 to 20 percent as of July 1, with tax increases also under consideration by lawmakers in New Jersey and North Carolina.

IGT Wins Italian Lotto Contract Renewal

International Game Technology (IGT) announced Monday (May 19) that LottoItalia, a consortium led by IGT, Allwyn, Arianna 2001 and Novomatic Italia, has been recommended to remain as the operate of Italian Lotto, with final approval expected within the next 35 days.

The final approval will be issued by the Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli (ADM).

“The Italian Lotto is one of the most prestigious lottery contracts worldwide,” said Marco Sala, the executive chair of IGT’s board. “IGT and its predecessor companies have successfully managed this license for over 30 years, continuously innovating and integrating cutting-edge technology.”

IGT will pay an upfront licence fee of €2.23bn, with €500m and €300m payments in 2025 and the remainder in 2026. This compares to the €1bn minimum payment and is substantially larger than the €770m payment in the prior 2016 process.

Barry Jonas, an analyst with Truist Securities, said IGT’s announcement potentially removes what had been a clear investor overhang around losing its largest contract, representing more than a third of reported EBITDA. IGT’s nine-year concession ends later this year, and it was competing with Flutter Entertainment for a new nine-year concession.

"The €2.23bn investments in upfront fees reflect the significant value of the new license and IGT is confident that the investment will enhance our revenue and profit potential," said IGT CEO Vince Sadusky in a statement.

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