From Commercial Appeal In just a decade, the center of gambling has migrated from Las Vegas to a tiny Chinese territory an hour’s ferry ride from Hong Kong. The gambling mecca of Macau now handles more wagers than all U.S. commercial casinos put together. But as U.S. gambling companies have remade Macau, Macau has also remade them. Amid a soft regulatory climate in America, U.S. gaming companies have been hit with allegations of improper conduct, including allowing Chinese junkets linked to Asian gangs into Las Vegas. Macau is the only place in China where gambling is legal. Each month, 2.5…

Bally Technologies has agreed to acquire SHFL Entertainment, a maker of casino games, for nearly $1.3 billion in cash. Formerly known as Shuffle Master, SHFL makes products like automatic card shufflers and roulette chip sorters, as well as proprietary table games and electronic gambling machines. The company, based in Las Vegas and founded in 1983, went public in 1992. In its most recent quarter, about 45 percent of its revenue came from Australia and Asia. Bally is paying $23.25 a share, which represents a premium of 24 percent over SHFL’s closing price on Monday and a premium of 37 percent…

Calcasieu Parish authorities say a 1 1/2-year drug and horse racing investigation as part of were funneling “lab quality” methamphetamine into the area has resulted in 18 people being arrested. The investigation, dubbed “Operation Havana Speed,” involved several people with ties to horse racing. The American Press reports (http://bit.ly/15ol8kn) the operation’s results were announced this week. On Monday, officers began arresting suspects in Louisiana and Texas. Lake Charles Police Chief Don Dixon says 11 search warrants resulted in the seizure of “pounds” of crystal meth, several weapons and the discovery of three active meth labs. Of the suspects arrested, most…

From iGaming Business Australian interactive lottery firm Jumbo Interactive Limited has announced that it has been awarded five-year licenses enabling it to sell official lotteries via the web and mobile in every one of Germany’s 16 states. Awarded through its German subsidiary, the licenses will see Jumbo Interactive permitted to sell lottery games including the EuroJackpot, Lotto 6 From 49, Keno, Plus 5, Super 6, Spiel 77 and GlucksSpirale to the nation’s estimated 68 million eligible players on a non-exclusive basis. “Jumbo Interactive now has all the licenses it needs to start selling across the entire country,” said Mike Veverka,…

From Baltimore Business Journal Atlantic City tourism officials should be getting quite an eyeful on Wednesday. That’s the day New Jersey releases its casino revenue figures. And it just might also be the day when Garden State officials get a sense of how big a bite Maryland’s casinos have taken out of the boardwalk. On Friday, the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency reported that revenue for the state’s four casinos, jumped to $66.5 million in June, up 57 percent from June 2012. New Jersey’s revenue figures for May show that Atlantic City’s 12 casinos had a combined $227.5 million…

Not many people think about the US casino industry on a regular basis. In Frank Fahrenkopf’s D.C. corner office, which is located a block off Pennsylvania Avenue, are the custom desk from London he had crafted 24 years ago, an American flag standing in the corner and a knickknack of herding elephants signifying the job he once held as chairman of the Republican National Committee. The wall of framed photos with political heavyweights from Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher to Barack Obama — reputedly one of the more impressive collections in town accumulated over 30 years — has been taken…

Horse bets in Hong Kong reached a record $12.1 billion in the past season as the race organizers poured wine and hosted concerts to attract younger punters to its events. Revenue in the 2012/13 season rose 9 percent from a year earlier, surpassing the previous record set in the 1996/97 season, Hong Kong Jockey Club said in a statement on its website. The 83 races drew over two million attendees, according to the statement. The racing year was “one of the best seasons we’ve had, ever,” said Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, Chief Executive Officer at the Jockey Club. The club’s strategy “helped…

iGaming Business – Global lottery and gaming giant GTECH SpA has announced the signing of a pair of contract extensions with American state lotteries that could see it earn revenues of up to $67m. Previously known as Gruppo Lottomatica SpA, GTECH revealed that it has finalised a three-year agreement to continue providing the Kentucky Lottery with technology and related services through to July of 2021. “The Kentucky Lottery also exercised an option in its existing contract with GTECH allowing for the company to provide equipment and services for keno,” read a statement from GTECH. “Keno is expected to be introduced…