Luxury boutique chain Nobu Hotel will set up its first Asia hotel in a $1.3 billion Philippines gambling complex operated by Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd , mainly targeting wealthy Chinese punters. The Manila-based City of Dreams casino resorts is a joint venture of Melco Crown and local leisure firm Belle Corp . The Nobu will be one of three in the complex, which aims to open by the middle of the year and will also feature the largest nightclub in the city and a Hollywood-style theme park. “This is a bet on the Philippines and it is a bet on…

Earlier this month representatives of online gambling operators and regulators from Spain, Germany, Portugal, France and the UK met for a round of informal talks with the Italian Autonomous Administration of the State Monopolies (AAMS) to discuss ways of improving the sharing and exchange of information and good practices. The idea is to try and help the work of the Group of Experts on Gambling Service which was created by the European Commission in 2012. During the meeting the group visited the premises of the Italian company SOGEI and discussed a number of issues ranging from the evolution of regulated…

New York Times – Singapore’s tourism receipts doubled to $18 billion within two years of opening the Marina Bay Sands and Sentosa casino resorts in 2010, and visitor arrivals jumped nearly 50 percent. Lured by Singapore’s success, the Taiwan Legislature could soon allow the opening of casinos. And Japan, with an official goal of tripling the number of foreign tourists in 20 years, is considering building casinos. Analysts believe that gambling in Japan could generate gross revenue of $15 billion annually. But these countries should also pay attention to another aspect of Singapore’s experience apart from revenue. Singapore has gone…

Courier Mail – TOWNSVILLE’S casino will be sold to a hotel and brewing group linked to entrepreneur Chris Morris, the gaming venue’s owner Echo Entertainment revealed on Friday. The price of $70 million is close to the $75 million price tag Echo was murmured to be seeking late last year when it raised the idea of selling the 20-table, 320 gaming facility. The buyer is Colonial Leisure Group, which bought in 2011 the luxury Orpheus Island on the Great Barrier Reef. CLG said it runs 15 hotels in Victoria and Western Australia along with a brewery in the west. In…

Vegas Inc – For years, gaming regulators have created barriers between debit or credit cards and slot machines so that gamblers wouldn’t drain their bank accounts or ruin their credit ratings. While they’ve allowed automated teller machines at casino properties, regulators have never crossed the line of enabling players to put their cards into a slot machine to access money directly. But now, a Las Vegas company is proposing a change in state gaming regulations that would allow the use of a prepaid card for slots that puts casinos one step closer to a player’s bank account. The biggest trade-off…

Daily Herald – The lawmaker seeking approval for expanded gambling in Illinois will conduct several hearings to get public input. Rep. Bob Rita, a Blue Island Democrat, said Thursday that the first hearing will be Jan. 28 at the Casino Queen riverboat casino in East St. Louis. Rita took over the expansion plan last spring after Gov. Pat Quinn vetoed past attempts for lacking ethical and legal safeguards. The idea would add five casinos — including one in Chicago — and slot machines at the city’s airports and the state’s horse racing tracks. Rita says he believes expanded gambling would…