Author: Olivia Cole

The Royal Commission into Crown Resorts in Victoria is set to carry out deeper checks than the ones held by the inquiry in New South Wales (NSW). As revealed by former judge Ray Finkelstein, the probe is set to put the gambling operator’s management of gambling addiction in the centre of its checks, although it has not been a matter directly included in its terms of reference. On the first day of the inquiry, it became clear that the Royal Commission has still not received a response from the Australian…

UK gambling giant Entain has completed its public cash offer for the acquisition of the Baltic markets operator Enlabs AB at a price of £4.48 (SEK53) per share. The revised offer, which was placed through Entain’s wholly-owned subsidiary Bwin, has been accepted by shareholders owning 94.2% of the total number of the company’s shares and votes. Entain declared the takeover bid unconditional as all conditions of the completion of the proposed deal have been satisfied, with the settlement of Enlabs shares set to be completed by March 30th, 2021. The…

The US private equity firm Blackstone Group has addressed the struggling Australian gambling giant Crown Resorts with an acquisition bid of A$8 billion. The investment firm’s offer has valued Crown’s shares at AU$11.85 each, which is a 20% premium to its closing share price last week. In order to be finalised, the deal would need the official approval of the Australian gambling regulators to allow Blackstone to own and operate the gambling giant’s casino venues in Sydney, Perth and Melbourne. The takeover offer is also subject to due diligence and…

This week, it was revealed that the US media business Fox Corporation has been working with other investors over a potential offer for certain parts of the Australian gambling operator Tabcorp. According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the potential takeover bid would involve Tabcorp’s betting and media unit. According to people with knowledge of the industry who asked not to be named, Mr Murdoch has been considering possible collaborations with Australian gaming operators. He has already capitalised on some investments into the US betting market. As revealed by the anonymous…

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) revealed that a gambling company will have to undergo an extensive investigation following some regulatory findings of marketing, money laundering and social responsibility failures. The major UK gambling regulator imposed an official warning and a monetary fine amounting to £3.4 million on InTouch Games Limited – the operator that currently runs a number of gambling platforms, including cashmo.co.uk, casino2020.co.uk, mrspin.co.uk, bonusboss.co.uk, drslot.co.uk, pocktwin.co.uk, casino.mfortune.co.uk, slotfactory.com and mfortune.co.uk. In addition to the aforementioned measures and as part of a new licence condition, InTouch Games is required…

A few days ago, the shares of the largest UK gambling operator reached record highs, at a time when it has revealed that it is considering a possible stock market listing for part of its assets in the US. Flutter Entertainment shared that it could spin off a small part of its shareholding of FanDuel – an announcement that shot its stock up 6.8% that estimated the company at almost £30 billion. This basically means that the assets’ value has increased threefold in the last 12 months. Reportedly, Flutter Entertainment,…

The Chairman of the English Football League (EFL), Rick Parry, has warned that smaller football clubs, which are already struggling to manage financially because of the coronavirus pandemic, would be greatly affected by a possible ban on gambling sponsorship deals. As previously reported by Casino Guardian, football clubs are facing potential restrictions associated with sponsorship agreements as part of an extensive review that is being held by the UK government into the country’s gambling laws and which is expected to be finalised in the weeks to come. According to anti-gambling…

Two Members of Parliament, who are also part of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Gambling Harm (APPG), have criticised the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC), saying it has failed the Football Index’ users. As revealed by The Athletic, this week politicians are expected to ask questions about the virtual stock market gambling website-related problem in Parliament. The MP from the Conservative Party Richard Holden told The Athletic that the UK gambling regulatory body must immediately address some crucial questions associated with oversight. According to Mr Holden, the existing regulation is unfit…

The British sports betting and gambling operator Entain has received all necessary regulatory approvals that would allow it to proceed with the planned acquisition of Enlabs. As Casino Guardian reported at the time, Entertain revealed the initial bid for the takeover deal in January 2021, only a few days after rejecting the acquisition offer of its US partner MGM Resorts. However, the takeover deal was rejected by some minority shareholders of the Baltic-facing operator Enlabs, saying that the offer “materially undervalued” the company. As a result, last week Entain decided…

In a report that is expected to be officially presented to the UK Government by the end of the day, a reputable think-tank has revealed that the implementation of stricter gambling legislation is likely to bring additional tax revenue and be boost the country’s economy. The report comes at a time when local lawmakers have been considering a long-awaited crackdown on the gambling sector. Although the staggering £8 billion have been contributed by gambling operators to the country’s economy in 2019, and another £4.3 billion have been received by the…