The GI Newswire: 5 Dec 2022

BGC: World Cup has “increased gambling misconceptions”

The Betting and Gaming Council says betting on the World Cup is normal for some people, but adds that the tournament has “sparked baseless allegations against those who bet and betting operators.”?Authored by BGC Chairman Brigid Simmonds OBE, the article accuses anti-gaming lobbyists of being backed by poorly informed commentators, who claw at “extreme reasons” to substantiate the gambling harm the World Cup will cause.?Simmonds cites statistics from an assessment of betting in the UK by an?independent regulator, saying that despite 22.5 million adults either placing a bet, playing the lottery or gaming online, the rate of problem gambling in the country only stands at 0.3%.?Read the full story here.

Other stories from Europe:

• Charity lotteries are not in competition with state lotteries, report says (Read)??
• Kansspelautoriteit urges providers to stop supplying cashback bonuses (Read)?
• M&A: "Mutual and amicable" – Glitnor Group calls off KaFe Rocks acquisition (Read)?

Wynn sells Encore Boston Harbor real estate assets for $1.7bn

The buying company is Realty Income Corporation , which will still allow Wynn Resorts to operate Encore Boston Harbor via a triple net lease agreement worth $100m over thirty years, which has another thirty-year renewal option. Wynn states that: "The rent will escalate annually at a rate of 1.75% for the first ten years and the greater of 1.75% or CPI (capped at 2.5%) over the remaining initial lease term." The deal has received all regulatory approvals, while Wynn says the proceeds from the sale will ‘further strengthen the company’s global liquidity position to $4.4 billion.’ Read the full story here.?

Other stories from North America:

• The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario bans all #UFC bets after 'suspicious betting paterns' (Read)
• Iger's return to Disney complicates sports betting deal at ESPN (Read)?
• Illegal wagers still worth $500bn per year in US, dwarfing regulated market (Read)?

Macau November GGR down 56% year-on-year

#Macau has reported gross gaming revenue (GGR) of MOP$2.99bn (US$370m) for November 2022. The figure represents a 56% decrease from November 2021, when GGR amounted to MOP$6.74bn. November 2022’s total is also a 23% decline from October 2022’s total of MOP$3.89bn. The latest figure also represents an 87% decline from November 2019, when Macau recorded GGR of MOP$22.88bn. The decreases come despite China’s National Immigration Administration resuming electronic applications (eVisas) for travel from the mainland to Macau under the Individual Visit Scheme. Read the full story here.?

Other stories from Asia-Pacific:

• Sri Lanka to set up casino body (Read)
• BetMakers Technology Group agrees new Malaysia partnership with Selangor Turf Club (Read)?
• Kazuo Okada: Jun Fujimoto “sought to defame me” (Read)?

Singapore: Age of the VIP

As lockdown after lockdown broke the back of the Chinese gambling hub, #Singapore took the business it valued the most, precious VIPs that had accounted for so much of Macau's income. Macau was forced to watch as the money simply halted its pilgrimage to China – and Singapore, with its Covid acceptance policy, welcomed the wealthy.?We look at Singapore's high prospects for growth, amid rising VIP revenue. Read the full article here.

All individual articles from the Nov/Dec edition of Gambling Insider are available to read here.

Gambling Insider reviews 2022 from the crypto casino perspective, with affiliate Gamblineers, as Adam Gros walks us through the highs and lows of the past 12 months – and what to expect going into 2023. Watch the interview here.