Reuters – Sri Lanka has approved Australian Crown Resorts Ltd’s $400 million complex along with two similar projects, but without any explicit permission to operate casinos at them, the island’s junior investment minister said on Tuesday. However, Crown’s chief, gambling tycoon James Packer, would still be able to operate a casino in his mixed-development project through his local partner, the minister said. The government’s decision to alter the deal’s terms came after opposition politicians said Packer was getting concessions not given to local entrepreneurs and Buddhist leaders said the casino could be detrimental to Sri Lanka’s culture. Faizer Mustapha, the…

CBC – A development permit has been issued with conditions to Paragon Gaming to build an urban resort in downtown Vancouver. The $535-million project includes two hotel towers, a conference centre, restaurants and a new and expanded location for the existing Edgewater Casino, with twice the floor space of the existing facility at the Plaza of Nations. Opponents of the plan voiced their concern over gambling addiction in light of Provincial Health Officer Perry Kendall’s report on the health effects of gaming. Two years ago, the city rejected any expansion of gambling at the proposed site next to BC Place Stadium….

Las Vegas Review-Journal – The biggest gaming story of 2014 might be a 2016 or a 2017 event. Malaysia-based Genting Group is expected to begin construction sometime in 2014 on the $2 billion-to-$7 billion Resorts World Las Vegas, returning construction activity to the 87-acre Echelon site that has sat dormant for almost five years. It will take at least two to three years to complete the 3,500-room Resorts World, which would become the Strip’s first new megaresort opening since the 2010 unveiling of The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. It’s unclear, however, when work might begin. Since the company’s over-the-top project…

Poker News – Jean-François Vilotte, president of France’s gambling regulator ARJEL, announced late last week that he will be leaving his post in January to join a firm in the private sector. Vilotte has headed up the ARJEL since 2009 and has played an integral role in the establishment of France’s Internet gambling regulation. When the country’s regulated iGaming market launched in 2010, the ARJEL contacted unlicensed operators and forced them to cease offering services to French customers, eventually blocking access to the unregulated sites. He has since been in charge of overseeing the French market, ensuring the safety and…

Inquirer – The group of Japanese gaming tycoon Kazuo Okada may be able to finalize in the next few days a property deal with local partners, thus addressing the foreign equity limit on land where a $2-billion gaming and entertainment complex will rise. Privately held local firm First Paramount Holdings 888 Inc., one of the local partners, expects to finalize the agreement this week. The firm is likewise evaluating the possibility of investing in Okada’s local gaming operations on top of the property deal at Pagcor Entertainment City. “I really believe in the project of Mr. Okada,” said Alice Eduardo,…

The Guardian – Queensland has lifted the limit on the value of notes poker machines can accept in a move that the premier, Campbell Newman, says will have little impact on problem gamblers. For the past 12 years, electronic gaming machines in the state’s pubs, clubs and casinos were restricted to accepting nothing larger than $20 notes. Queensland’s attorney general, Jarrod Bleijie, has approved a change to allow $50 and $100 notes. The move, lobbied by major casino owner Echo Entertainment, was condemned by charities and counselling services, which claim it will affect problem gamblers. Newman told reporters the change…