It’s a fashionable and long-held belief that some UK betting shops prey on the poor. High street betting shops spring up in deprived areas, says received wisdom, in order to exploit those already suffering from economic hardship. Leading bookmaking companies – such as William Hill, Ladbrokes and Paddy Power – have always strongly denied this, and a new report seems to bear them out, suggesting that the “poverty exploitation” theory is a myth. The independent report, which was conducted by data analyst the Local Data Company at the behest of the Association of British Bookmakers (ABB), concludes the UK’s poorest…

Times Union – Whither harness racing in Saratoga Springs? A day after the Saratoga racino announced it had deserted plans to pursue casino gambling in Saratoga Springs in favor of East Greenbush, hundreds of patrons placed bets on the racino’s video lottery terminals while trotters and pacers at the harness track enjoyed a day off. Simmering beneath the calm at Saratoga Casino and Raceway, however, was uncertainty and nervousness. Horsemen were worried the state’s casino sweepstakes were leaving them behind. They said the future of the sport looked cloudy. “There could be a serious situation down the road, serious effects…

Courier Journal – Corporate leaders from Louisville-based Churchill Downs Inc. talked about the new over-sized video board at its namesake track and other issues facing the company in a Thursday conference call with investors and analysts to discuss the company’s $700,000 first-quarter loss. …An analyst asked when Churchill would begin to see returns on its investments for an Internet gambling platform for games like online poker. “We believe that over time the Internet gaming market in the U.S. will develop into a significant opportunity for us and for others as well, of course,” Evans said. “We plan to be a…

iGaming Business – The Scottish National Party (SNP) has become the latest political party to speak out against fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs) and has called for “sensible regulation” of such machines in the UK. Gamblers in Scotland staked a reported £4.4 billion (€5.3 billion/$7.4 billion) on the machines last year, an increase of more than £100 million on the amount spent in the previous year. SNP politician Stuart McMillan has joined a number of political figures in backing the Fairer Gambling Campaign’s call to reduce the current maximum stake on FOBTs from £100 to £2. UK chancellor George Osborne…

Forbes – The Philippines hopes to be the next big thing in Asian gaming, and its biggest step toward that goal just completed its first year of operation. Solaire Resort and Casino opened in March last year (see page 77; payment required), the first of four planned US$1 billion-plus integrated resorts (IRs) in Entertainment City on Manila Bay. Solaire’s parent company Bloomberry Resorts this month released its full year results for 2013, as did its current main rival, Resorts World Manila, where ownership also holds a license for an Entertainment City IR. But the results sow doubts about building more…

Calvin Ayre – Much has been made of the enormous potential of Japan’s casino market, including throwing out estimates on how much gross revenue the country’s (future) casinos can earn in a year. Telsey Advisory Group’s Senior Gaming & Lodging Analyst Chris Jones recently issued a 44-page analysis of Japan’s casino potential. Jones estimated that the country could stand to earn as much as $23.8 billion a year, which translates to 0.4 percent of the country’s GDP, roughly what US casinos earn relative to America’s GDP. A far more conservative, if not more likely estimate would be about $16.5 billion…