Economist – Kabukicho, Japan’s biggest fleshpot, swarms over a crowded one-kilometre block of Tokyo. It is a gaudy patchwork of clubs, massage parlours and seedy hotels, a short walk from what is probably the world’s busiest train station. Hoodlums from Yakuza crime gangs tout illicit thrills from a well-thumbed menu of sex, drugs and gambling. Takeshi Iwaya, a politician, wants to pull gambling out of the seedy company it keeps in Kabukicho and put it into giant family-friendly casinos. He is lobbying for Japan to lift its ban on casinos. A share of Macau’s eye-watering gambling revenues is the goal….

Forbes – While the casino companies have been riding high on the success in Macau, Singapore remains a key market for Las Vegas Sands. (Read – Las Vegas Sands Revised Estimates And Outlook) According to our estimates, Singapore operations contribute more than 20% to Las Vegas Sands’ value making it far more valuable than the company’s U.S. operations. Singapore’s economy has been struggling in the past few years, but it has shown signs of recovering in 2013, and this is aiding Las Vegas Sand’s overall growth. While the recent recovery will boost the revenues in the near term, we believe…

The Times Herald – Many within the America Indian community are warning Bay Mills to “Stay away from the U.S. Supreme Court.” They fear Bay Mills’ fight to reopen its Vanderbilt gambling facility is a loser for all Indians. In 2011, 240 tribes operated 460 gaming facilities throughout America. To some degree, they all are exposed to the risk presented by Bay Mills’ legal play. A year ago, the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that federal Judge Paul Maloney did not have the authority to close Bay Mills Vanderbilt casino. When Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette appealed the…

Trefis – Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ:WYNN) recently applied for an online gambling license in the state of New Jersey, which legalized online gambling in February this year. [1] Online gambling accounts for only 3.3% of overall gambling profits in the U.S. and can offer tremendous growth for the operators in the coming years. In the recent quarterly earnings, the company saw muted growth in Macau while its domestic operations surged 16%, including some signs of recovery on the Las Vegas Strip. (Read – Wynn Q2 2013 Numbers Disappoint As Growth In Macau Stalls) While we continue to believe in the Macau…

Gaming Tech Law – The Italian gaming market has suffered a period of high tension today when the Italian Parliament has approved a motion instructing the Goverment to urgently ban for 12 months both online gaming and land-based gaming systems located in public places (i.e. AWP and VLTs). However, the Ministry of Finance immediately issued a statement declaring that such motion is inapplicable and would create catastrophic consequences in terms of claims from operators, massive loss in tax entries and fostering of the gambling black market. While the political party named Lega Nord is celebrating for the victory of their…

Gaming industry analysts continue to have high expectations for The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. The multibillion-dollar resort was hailed as the next generation of Las Vegas hotel-casino when it opened Dec. 15, 2010, with singer/songwriter Mayer Hawthorne throwing a nine on a craps table. The hotel-casino, now in business for 10 full financial quarters, is still operating in the red, although the property’s recent EBITDA, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization figures point toward profitability, analysts say. “I’m happy with where we are,” Cosmopolitan CEO John Unwin said. “I’m never as happy as I want to be. But our…