The casino and overall gaming industry in the Asia Pacific - Australian regional remains as competitive as ever, with Crown Casino, Star City and Jupiters Hotel and Casino all enjoying expensive upgrades, some into the multi million range. To top it off, another proposed development, Jewel Casino, is earmarked for regional Victoria. This update comes in the week that the Australian Productivity Commission released its long awaited report into gaming and gambling. Media Man and Gambling911 take you to the battle zone, narrowing avoiding a dash of friendly fire...
Media and gaming buzz.... mergers, takeovers, acquisitions. How much is just talk and much is real? Speculation is a plenty.
Tabcorp and arguable its main prize, Star City in Sydney, has been the talk of takeovers for about a decade. In fact the late, great, Kerry Packer, Australia's first (legal) casino king, is understood to have stopped a young James (Packer) scooping it up in the early 2000s ... think circa 2003.
Insiders still see a Crown (other other co) takeover on the cards, but its unlikely to happen for a few more years.
Tabcorp is understood to send a release to the Australian Securities Exchange (former Australian Stock Exchange) noting rumours for a 7% jump in its shares.
Texas Pacific Group is touted as being a prime funding partner in any deal, due in part to its gaming - gambling sector smarts and know how thank to its ownership of the Harrah's Entertainment casino "super whale".
There are however too many complications for a deal to occur overnight, this week, or even this year, unless a miracle happens (which Packer is capable based upon recent stunning performances).
The group is starting a $350 million, give or take another 100 or 200 mil, redevelopment of Star. ROI, "earnings uplift" and other bean counter elements won't be clear for a few years, say the experts.
Also, keep in mind the X factor - Tabcorp's Victorian wagering licence, due to expire in 2012.
Packer's Crown aka 'World Of Entertainment' has its hands full between renovations, some tied to GenerationOne job development, and Melco Crown - City Of Dreams business, fighting it out for its share of "dolphins" and "whales" aka High Rollers. Unfortunately, just a normal catch of tuna, plankton and algae are not going to pay the bills. The business model factors in a certain number of "whales" and "super whales", and Team Packer is keen to see theme not drift off course to other potential competitors in the Philippines, downtown Mandalay Bay.
Melbourne and Sin City Sydney chit chat is suggestion that certain financial analysts advise Crown has put on ice its corporate development team, a move that "proves" that major acquisitions are not on the cards for multiple years.
Tabcorp comes at a heavy price, and a ocean liner full of debt. Think debt funding running into $1 or $2 billion, as a round figure estimate. Yep, these are big boys toys, with debt to boot. Insiders question if the debt could be handled, and worked into a deal, in the current financial market (which is close to terminal... stuffed, despite Prime Minster Kevin Rudd and Treasure Wayne Swan defending Australia's financial position).
Red tape, paperwork and legal eagles would have a field day should a pro active deal get on the way, and that's before any more regulatory changes take place.
Industry analyst's advise consent would need to be required from five state governments and about a bakers dozen of regulators.
As they say, never say never, but don't hold your breath.
To wrap up on a positive note, both Crown and Tabcorp are "swimming, not drowning", as is Not the case for much of the world's gaming and casino industry, with Las Vegas and Atlantic City suffering much of of the fallout.
Crown and Star are also adapting to the new media - internet landscape, and are plugging into the exciting and headline grabbing mainstream entertainment industry, to which will help lure in the masses who can afford to pay for quality entertainment, be it KISS, Kylie, Elton John, WWE, UFC, Dita Von Teese or other.
Australia may be known for 'Underbelly', but Crown and TAB are no mugs nor small time crooks. Smart operators they are, and they can accord to play the game and launch heavy fire when the time is right. You can bet that Gambling911 and Media Man will be there when heavy ammunition in unleashed. How friendly things remain is speculation, but punters, always remember, "A Friend In Need Is A Pest"... just kidding, "A Friend Indeed" or in debt!
Gambling911 and Media Man remind readers to bet with your head, not over it, and have fun.
*Greg Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911
*Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company.
*The writer owns shares in Crown Limited and Virgin and is a pro active member of Virgin Unite
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5/25/10
Australian Casino, Gaming And Sports Betting Trends, by Greg Tingle - 25th May 2010
It's a red hot week, month in fact, for the Australian and Asia Pacific gaming and igaming sector. Following the public release of the Aussie government Australian Productivity Report. Media Man and Gambling911 continue to dissect the report, and what it means to both casual and hardcore gamblers, gamers, punters et al...
Australians are as passionate as ever about having a punt.. slots, poker, online casino games, bingo, horse racing, and sports betting is enjoying massive growth, fuelled by deals with Australian and international news media broadcasters, see punting talked about and referenced considerably in cricket, NRL, AFL, and even MMA via Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Typical Australian households are investing 3% of its income on gambling.
Online and offline sports betting has picked up the slack from bricks and mortar casinos, clubs and hotels, with the majority of gamblers being well aware of the number of attacks and criminal matters having accorded at licensed premises. Those who prefer to smoke while gambling are largely staying home and betting online.
Casino and Club Poker Machines
Aussies are keeping up the tradition of trying their luck on the pokies. Over 70% of punters money allocation going to the "one armed bandits". The pokies sector, much of which is controlled by Woolworths and Mr Bruce Mathieson has grown an average 1.2% per year over the past five years. Machines bring in $109.4 billion a year!
Horse Racing
Following pokies, racing comes in with 11.5% of spending, a .5% lift in five years. Spending rose from $15.6 billion to $17.6 billion during the past five years. The sector grew 2.5%. Horse racing and a "day at the races" is a totally acceptable form of gambling and social pastime to women and their families, with fashion houses, brands and the like getting in the thick of the action.
Casinos (land based)
Casinos are down, despite James Packers' Crown Casino in Melbourne make things appear their up. Tabcorp's Star City in Sydney and Jupiters Hotel & Casino on the Gold Coast have been spending up big on renovations, PR and advertising, and further plugging into the tourism and entertainment sector, attracting the creme of the world's performing artists and sporting events. 'Aussie Millions' remains Australia's biggest poker tournament by far, Crown being its home.
Casinos are understood to have lost market share in the past five years, down from 12.3% total spend in the 2004 - 2005 window to 11.9% currently. Total spending in casinos has risen in the window from $17.5 billion up to $18.3 billion. Despite what many consider to be a long period of national and international recession, the Aussie casino sector has somehow expanded by 0.9% per annum.
Lottery (via newsagents)
Staying steady. 3.5% of gambling spend. Up .2% from 5 years ago. $5.3 billion a year is invested in Aussies each year in attempt to win 'The Big One'. The sector is up by 2.3% over the past 5 years.
Sports Betting
Increased market share of gambling spend up from 1.1% in 2004-2005 to 1.9%.
Annual spend - $2.9 billion. In 2005 it was only $1.6 billion! 12% growth on average. Online sports betting has taken off, attracting a wide and passionate audience. Australians enjoy the skill element to it, just as they do with poker and online poker. Punters test their knowledge, inside info, and try to best their mates, putting down money where their mouth is. Despite a number of sports betting scandals, punters can't get enough. 50% Packer owned Betfair is powering along, also pushing attracting affiliate programs offerings to web publishers such as Media Man via agencies like DGM. Betfair main competitor Centrebet is in the top 2 sports betting firms for Australia based on revenues and active accounts. Betfair and Centrebet are looking to expand into other gambling offerings, with Centrebet already starting to offer online slots, including Marvel Entertainment, no doubt become aware of PartyGaming's popularity with branded online slot games. TAB sub group, Luxbet, entered the market a few months ago, along with Bet365 with a mixed result. SportingBet, Betstar are in the top 10. Many NRL Footy clubs joined up with Betezy (former Media Man client), with sports club branded betting ie: TitanBet (Gold Coast Titans and SharksBet (Cronulla Sharks). Punters are generally remaining very loyal to Betfair and Centerbet. Fairfax (inc The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald) and News Limited (inc The Daily Telegraph, Herald Sun, The Advertiser, Perth Now and The Courier-Mail and The Australian) are both advertising sports betting firms and also have what are understood to be "white label" in house deals, the details of which appear to be closely guarded. Google ads are often featured on Australia's leading newspaper websites and print ads for sports betting and gaming appear in newspaper print weekly.
What's Hot For Betting
State Of Origin, UFC, World Cup Soccer
Other Growing Areas
Female Gambling - online bingo, online sports betting, celebrity betting ala reality TV, politics
Areas Expecting More Growth
Online Casinos, following PartyGaming's global success of branded slot games, incorporating the likes of Marvel Entertainment, Paramount Pictures, IGT. Virtual worlds continue to enjoy popularity, especially with the younger audience, and rumors persist that SecondLife may once again incorporate a gambling - casino element. PKR's 3D poker room appears to be driving a popularity with the 3D casino sector. Richard Branson's Virgin Games has a global push, including with both gaming and gambling, with a launch of a new Virgin Games product in the US next month. It's expected to be related to AWOMO (A World Of My Own), a project in association with Game Domain International.
Concerns
Numerous gaming and igaming companies, both national and international, are concerned with the Australia government's stance on censorship, both online and offline, as well as government attempting to crack down on independent press and freelance journalists, be it Wikileaks or other.
Media Man 'Online Casino Of The Month' Winner
PartyCasino.com
The New Wave
Tech giant Google is expected to do a hard launch of Google Games in the near future, already pushing classic game 'Pac Man'. Just when they release Google gambling remains to be seen. Google already brings in substantial revenue accepting gambling and gaming ads via its AdWords etc, which are advertised in most parts of the western word. Google's YouTube portal is expected to become a massive gaming hub. Google TV was put into the public domain via news media late last week, but Media Man understands gambling was not discussed, but gaming was. 'Play For Free' or 'Play For Money' options looks to stay part of the new wave, and multi currency casino options and internet portals incorporating games - skill and games of chance is a growing trend. Sports betting is tipped go start a 3D trend and mobile gaming, on phones, SmartPhones etc is on the upswing, despite news media reports advising punters to be alert to heavy data charges associated with so called Smart Phones.
Australia remains in the world's top ten, a number of insiders saying approximately 3rd biggest gambling national on earth.
The general population finds gambling totally acceptable, with only a small but vocal group of campaigners continuing to bombard newspapers with negative stories in an attempt to facilitate "attack journalism".
Gambling is stronger than ever in the land down under, becoming almost one with the world of sports, mainstream entertainment and the general internet landscape.
Media Man and Gambling911 encourage gamblers to know the odds, bet with your head, not over it, and have fun.
*Greg Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911
*Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. Gaming (including sports betting) is just one of a bakers dozen of sectors they cover on a global basis. Media Man's casino news flagship brand is Casino News Media
They also publish Australian Sports Entertainment
*The writer owns shares in Crown Limited and Virgin
Website Network
Media Man International
Media Man Australia
Media Man Canada
Media Man Asia
Media Man Games
Media Man Casino
Media Man Poker
Global Gaming Directory
Casino News Media
Australians are as passionate as ever about having a punt.. slots, poker, online casino games, bingo, horse racing, and sports betting is enjoying massive growth, fuelled by deals with Australian and international news media broadcasters, see punting talked about and referenced considerably in cricket, NRL, AFL, and even MMA via Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Typical Australian households are investing 3% of its income on gambling.
Online and offline sports betting has picked up the slack from bricks and mortar casinos, clubs and hotels, with the majority of gamblers being well aware of the number of attacks and criminal matters having accorded at licensed premises. Those who prefer to smoke while gambling are largely staying home and betting online.
Casino and Club Poker Machines
Aussies are keeping up the tradition of trying their luck on the pokies. Over 70% of punters money allocation going to the "one armed bandits". The pokies sector, much of which is controlled by Woolworths and Mr Bruce Mathieson has grown an average 1.2% per year over the past five years. Machines bring in $109.4 billion a year!
Horse Racing
Following pokies, racing comes in with 11.5% of spending, a .5% lift in five years. Spending rose from $15.6 billion to $17.6 billion during the past five years. The sector grew 2.5%. Horse racing and a "day at the races" is a totally acceptable form of gambling and social pastime to women and their families, with fashion houses, brands and the like getting in the thick of the action.
Casinos (land based)
Casinos are down, despite James Packers' Crown Casino in Melbourne make things appear their up. Tabcorp's Star City in Sydney and Jupiters Hotel & Casino on the Gold Coast have been spending up big on renovations, PR and advertising, and further plugging into the tourism and entertainment sector, attracting the creme of the world's performing artists and sporting events. 'Aussie Millions' remains Australia's biggest poker tournament by far, Crown being its home.
Casinos are understood to have lost market share in the past five years, down from 12.3% total spend in the 2004 - 2005 window to 11.9% currently. Total spending in casinos has risen in the window from $17.5 billion up to $18.3 billion. Despite what many consider to be a long period of national and international recession, the Aussie casino sector has somehow expanded by 0.9% per annum.
Lottery (via newsagents)
Staying steady. 3.5% of gambling spend. Up .2% from 5 years ago. $5.3 billion a year is invested in Aussies each year in attempt to win 'The Big One'. The sector is up by 2.3% over the past 5 years.
Sports Betting
Increased market share of gambling spend up from 1.1% in 2004-2005 to 1.9%.
Annual spend - $2.9 billion. In 2005 it was only $1.6 billion! 12% growth on average. Online sports betting has taken off, attracting a wide and passionate audience. Australians enjoy the skill element to it, just as they do with poker and online poker. Punters test their knowledge, inside info, and try to best their mates, putting down money where their mouth is. Despite a number of sports betting scandals, punters can't get enough. 50% Packer owned Betfair is powering along, also pushing attracting affiliate programs offerings to web publishers such as Media Man via agencies like DGM. Betfair main competitor Centrebet is in the top 2 sports betting firms for Australia based on revenues and active accounts. Betfair and Centrebet are looking to expand into other gambling offerings, with Centrebet already starting to offer online slots, including Marvel Entertainment, no doubt become aware of PartyGaming's popularity with branded online slot games. TAB sub group, Luxbet, entered the market a few months ago, along with Bet365 with a mixed result. SportingBet, Betstar are in the top 10. Many NRL Footy clubs joined up with Betezy (former Media Man client), with sports club branded betting ie: TitanBet (Gold Coast Titans and SharksBet (Cronulla Sharks). Punters are generally remaining very loyal to Betfair and Centerbet. Fairfax (inc The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald) and News Limited (inc The Daily Telegraph, Herald Sun, The Advertiser, Perth Now and The Courier-Mail and The Australian) are both advertising sports betting firms and also have what are understood to be "white label" in house deals, the details of which appear to be closely guarded. Google ads are often featured on Australia's leading newspaper websites and print ads for sports betting and gaming appear in newspaper print weekly.
What's Hot For Betting
State Of Origin, UFC, World Cup Soccer
Other Growing Areas
Female Gambling - online bingo, online sports betting, celebrity betting ala reality TV, politics
Areas Expecting More Growth
Online Casinos, following PartyGaming's global success of branded slot games, incorporating the likes of Marvel Entertainment, Paramount Pictures, IGT. Virtual worlds continue to enjoy popularity, especially with the younger audience, and rumors persist that SecondLife may once again incorporate a gambling - casino element. PKR's 3D poker room appears to be driving a popularity with the 3D casino sector. Richard Branson's Virgin Games has a global push, including with both gaming and gambling, with a launch of a new Virgin Games product in the US next month. It's expected to be related to AWOMO (A World Of My Own), a project in association with Game Domain International.
Concerns
Numerous gaming and igaming companies, both national and international, are concerned with the Australia government's stance on censorship, both online and offline, as well as government attempting to crack down on independent press and freelance journalists, be it Wikileaks or other.
Media Man 'Online Casino Of The Month' Winner
PartyCasino.com
The New Wave
Tech giant Google is expected to do a hard launch of Google Games in the near future, already pushing classic game 'Pac Man'. Just when they release Google gambling remains to be seen. Google already brings in substantial revenue accepting gambling and gaming ads via its AdWords etc, which are advertised in most parts of the western word. Google's YouTube portal is expected to become a massive gaming hub. Google TV was put into the public domain via news media late last week, but Media Man understands gambling was not discussed, but gaming was. 'Play For Free' or 'Play For Money' options looks to stay part of the new wave, and multi currency casino options and internet portals incorporating games - skill and games of chance is a growing trend. Sports betting is tipped go start a 3D trend and mobile gaming, on phones, SmartPhones etc is on the upswing, despite news media reports advising punters to be alert to heavy data charges associated with so called Smart Phones.
Australia remains in the world's top ten, a number of insiders saying approximately 3rd biggest gambling national on earth.
The general population finds gambling totally acceptable, with only a small but vocal group of campaigners continuing to bombard newspapers with negative stories in an attempt to facilitate "attack journalism".
Gambling is stronger than ever in the land down under, becoming almost one with the world of sports, mainstream entertainment and the general internet landscape.
Media Man and Gambling911 encourage gamblers to know the odds, bet with your head, not over it, and have fun.
*Greg Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911
*Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. Gaming (including sports betting) is just one of a bakers dozen of sectors they cover on a global basis. Media Man's casino news flagship brand is Casino News Media
They also publish Australian Sports Entertainment
*The writer owns shares in Crown Limited and Virgin
Website Network
Media Man International
Media Man Australia
Media Man Canada
Media Man Asia
Media Man Games
Media Man Casino
Media Man Poker
Global Gaming Directory
Casino News Media
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