Sun-Sentinel – Palm Beach County inched closer toward becoming slot-friendly on Monday. Sen. Maria Sachs, D-Delray Beach, told fellow members of the Senate Committee on Gaming that she is amending a sweeping bill that would add two casino resorts to South Florida. She wants the six counties that have recently passed nonbinding referendums for slots to be allowed to join Broward and Miami-Dade counties in offering them at dog tracks, horse tracks and jai-alai frontons. “I’ve been doing some serious thinking, and I bet on this great state of Florida,” she said. “And I’m very proud to represent counties that…

Gaming Intelligence – Leading gaming machine suppliers Inspired Gaming and SG Gaming have called for the mandatory enforcement of responsible gambling measures across all categories of the UK gaming market including land-based and online products. It follows the launch of the first phase of the Association of British Bookmakers (ABB) Code of responsible gambling measures on Category B2/B3 machines. Inspired Gaming chief executive Luke Alvarez said the measures need to be developed and implemented across all land-based and online products in the UK market. While Alvarez welcomed the introduction of the responsible gaming protections for machine gaming, he warned that…

Reuters – Australia’s Queensland government reported strong interest on Wednesday from both local and foreign bidders for its plan to build as many as three casino resorts, underscoring the northern state’s position as the country’s next gaming frontier. Australia is looking to build large casino resorts and other tourism attractions to lure high-end Asian spenders to compete with places like Macau and the Philippines. Australia’s 13 casinos currently capture just 1 percent of the $34 billion market for high-roller gamblers in Asia annually. A total of 19 companies have registered to make a potential bid for the licences for the…

To the naked eye, not much has changed in the year that passed since Malaysia-based Genting Group announced plans to build the $2 billion to $7 billion Resorts World Las Vegas on 87 acres on the Strip. The concrete-and-steel structure — remnants of the unfinished Echelon development mothballed by Boyd Gaming Corp. in 2008 — remain standing. A year later, other than a few signs touting the coming of the hotel-casino, the site appears unchanged. But Resorts World Las Vegas is alive and well. Genting representatives and government officials say the development — the Strip’s first new resort complex since…

Philly.com – Having proposed and then scrapped a plan to build a casino in Atlantic City, the Seminole Indian tribe of Florida appears to be interested in the New Jersey gambling market again. The tribe, through its Hard Rock franchise, has made filings with state casino regulators indicating it may take another shot at establishing a presence here. Hard Rock, the global casino and entertainment company, asked New Jersey gambling regulators for a ruling on whether the tribe would need to qualify for a casino license should the company acquire or build one here. The company has been rumored for…

iGaming Business – Professional services company Deloitte has been selected by the Cypriot government to provide consulting services for the licensing of an integrated casino resort in the country. According to the Balkans.com website, Deloitte was awarded the contract following an international public tender procedure. Permanent Secretary of the Energy Ministry Stelios Chimonas signed the contract on behalf of the government. Deloitte held its first meeting on February 20 with the members of the Ministerial and Steering Committees that have been set up to proceed with the implementation of the project. SOURCE

Hospitality Net – As part of its asset management strategy, Accor announces the sale of its participation in the Reef Casino in Australia. This participation includes a 29% stake in Reef Casino Trust (RCT), a listed entity, as well as its 50% stake in the related businesses of RCT, i.e. Casinos Austria Cairns, and Reef Corporate Service. Total proceeds for Accor will amount to AU$85m (c. €55.5m). Reef Casino is a complex located in Cairns (Northern Queensland, Australia), that includes a 128 room Hotel, and a Casino with over 500 gaming machines. The buyer is Aquis, a Hong-Kong based Investment…

The Press Democrat – Rival attempts to legalize Internet poker in California are underway in the Capitol, setting the stage for a lobbying and political showdown over a market worth hundreds of millions of dollars annually. Two measures unveiled on Feb. 21, the deadline to introduce new bills for the year, would authorize online poker websites, letting gamblers participate from anywhere they can access the Internet. Similar efforts failed last year after heated negotiations between tribal interests and lawmakers ended without an agreement on the final form of the complex legislation. This year, again, there are divisions. “There are a…