The post SkyCity Sues Contractor for NZ$330m Over Six and a Half-Year Construction Delay appeared first on Vegas Slots Online News.

SkyCity Entertainment is taking legal action over a project that is six and a half years behind schedule. The casino company blames the construction company for causing extensive delays to the New Zealand International Convention Centre (NZICC), which is why SkyCity is suing Fletchers for NZ$330m (US$199m).

Allegations in the complaint include gross negligence and flagrant, persistent, or willful neglect to complete obligations as per the building works contract.

the planned timeline is to open the property in February 2026

The initial catalyst for the slow development was a fire in 2019. While SkyCity attempted to reach an out-of-court settlement with Fletchers, they couldn’t come to a deal. The original finish date of the project was January 2019, three years after development began. Now the planned timeline is to open the property in February 2026.

SkyCity is currently recruiting people to work at the facility. Talking about the project, SkyCity CEO Jason Walbridge said that the convention center is “a project of key importance not only for SkyCity but also Auckland and the wider New Zealand economy.”

Fletchers rejects the casino company’s claims, saying that it did not breach the contract as alleged. It noted that the fire was a setback, as were COVID-19-related delays. Fletchers is unwilling to pay liquidated damages over the maximum amount the building works contract details.

The post SkyCity Sues Contractor for NZ$330m Over Six and a Half-Year Construction Delay appeared first on Vegas Slots Online News.

The post Star Entertainment Pleads for AU$300m Cut to AML-Related Fine appeared first on Vegas Slots Online News.

Back in trouble

Less than three months after Bally’s Corporation saved Star Entertainment from administration, the Australian gaming giant is back in financial jeopardy.

“manifest failures” by the casino group

News emerged Thursday that Aussie financial watchdog AUSTRAC was seeking a penalty of AU$400m ($259m) for what it says were “manifest failures” by the casino group. 

According to reports, Australia’s Federal Court on Wednesday alleged senior Star execs failed to properly impose adequate anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism-financing measures at its Brisbane, Sydney, and Queensland casinos. 

AUSTRAC wants Star to pony up $259m for its multiple failures. Star, however, says it just doesn’t have that much money.

Dire straits

AUSTRAC attorney Simon White SC said the AU$400m fine was “appropriate” rather than “oppressive.” Star, though, used the first day of the court hearing to express a very different, and desperate, position. 

According to AAP News, Star appealed to Justice Cameron Moore for the much lower fine of AU$100m ($66m).

Star’s plaintive plea, which came on the back of admitting its past failures of AML-linked processes, was that it could essentially only afford to pay US$66m. That’s US$193m shy of AUSTRAC’s penalty. In Aussie dollars, AU$300m short. 

Star stated that its offer was the most it could pay “without being pushed into liquidation.”

False sense of security?

The embattled Aussie casino giant has been counting the pennies for some time now, despite Bally’s saving the firm from financial collapse in April via a $300m rescue package. While the Bally’s Hail Mary deal gave Star space to breathe, the wolves are now back at its door. 

The Federal Court hearing resumes Thursday.

The post Star Entertainment Pleads for AU$300m Cut to AML-Related Fine appeared first on Vegas Slots Online News.

The post Wynn Completes Takeover of Exclusive London Casino appeared first on Vegas Slots Online News.

Wynn Resorts has finalised its acquisition of an exclusive members-only casino in Mayfair, London.

The venue, which will be known as Wynn Mayfair, has a long history of providing private gambling in the wealthy London neighborhood. After approval from the UK Gambling Commission, Wynn will now take over the license from Crown Resorts.

Wynn Mayfair, at 27-28 Curzon Street, London, was established as the White Elephant Club and became legendary for hosting parties frequented by major Hollywood stars from Richard Burton to Charlie Chaplin.

A stone’s throw from Buckingham Palace and Savile Row

It was later converted into a casino by John Aspinall in 1992, who used the proceeds to establish several animal sanctuaries and zoos. A stone’s throw from Buckingham Palace and Savile Row, the venue consists of two townhouses with 20 tables, a rooftop terrace, public dining room, and several private gaming rooms.

Wynn has declined to release any of the financial details of the acquisition, and has also announced no plans regarding operational changes at the venue.

The post Wynn Completes Takeover of Exclusive London Casino appeared first on Vegas Slots Online News.

The post UAE National Lottery Operator Posts Job Ads for Online Casino and Sports Betting Talent appeared first on Vegas Slots Online News.

While there’s been no announcement about an online casino or sports betting coming to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the posting of three job ads by the operator of the national lottery suggests that this might be the case.

company is looking for a casino games manager, data analyst, and commercial director

Skift first reported that Momentum was looking for talent to get on board with the “ambitious, early-stage online casino and sportsbook brand preparing to launch.” The company is looking for a casino games manager, data analyst, and commercial director.

Momentum got approved as the first-ever lottery operator in July 2024, with people in the emirate able to buy lottery tickets online, purchase scratchcards, and play a couple of instant-win games. This is a major move for a region that has always been very conservative when it comes to gambling.

The formation of the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA) led to the issuance of the lottery license and approval for Wynn Resorts to offer gambling at its land-based casino resort under development in Ras Al Khaimah. It is expected to open in 2027.

The post UAE National Lottery Operator Posts Job Ads for Online Casino and Sports Betting Talent appeared first on Vegas Slots Online News.

The post Roshtein Reveals Screenshot of Pragmatic Play’s New Hyperplay Feature on Stream appeared first on Vegas Slots Online News.

Popular gambling streamer Roshtein revealed that Pragmatic Play is getting ready to release its new ‘HyperPlay’ feature in a month. This will allow people to play slot games faster, as they don’t need to sit through the animations, but will still get the same return to player (RTP).

He showed viewers a sneak preview of the feature on Wednesday:

HyperPlay will allow players to keep track of results by compiling a history of all recent spins on a given slot game, allowing them to see every result, including the amount won, any multiplier hit, and if free spins were used.

The Pragmatic Play team in the chat confirmed that you can get a replay of any round or bonus if you want to watch the actual spin.

it’s only a matter of time before other developers follow suit

Roshtein mentioned how once Pragmatic Play rolls out a feature like this, it’s only a matter of time before other developers follow suit. He noted how NoLimit City has a similar feature for “spreadsheet spins” that he claims isn’t as polished.

While he doesn’t want to spin slots in this fashion at all times, he does think it will speed up spinning for players and will be more stream-friendly when doing a hunt to get bonuses faster.

Roshtein is excited, while also being a little bit scared, as this type of feature allows you to quickly play a lot of spins in a short space of time, which could lead to losses quickly ramping up.

The post Roshtein Reveals Screenshot of Pragmatic Play’s New Hyperplay Feature on Stream appeared first on Vegas Slots Online News.

The post The Best and Worst Bets of the 2024-25 Soccer Season appeared first on Vegas Slots Online News.

Another season of European soccer is completed, and there were loads of shocks and surprises along the way. With plenty of major trophies being picked up by outsiders, it’s time to look back at what the bookies got wrong and right about last season.

Premier League winner

The bookies had Manchester City and Arsenal as the leading two favorites going into the campaign, with City slightly favoured at 6/5 over Arsenal at 13/8. Of course, in reality, the title was won rather easily by the third-favorite Liverpool after a shocking mid-season collapse by City and an underwhelming campaign from Arsenal.

longest-odds Premier League winner since Leicester City’s improbable 5000/1 triumph

Liverpool was as long as 8/1 going into opening day, surprisingly making them the longest-odds Premier League winner since Leicester City’s improbable 5000/1 triumph – a feat that will likely never be replicated.

Premier League top goalscorer

Mohamed Salah had surprisingly long odds to win the top goalscorer award in the Premier League, but this was owed a lot to Erling Haaland’s terrifying form over previous seasons, which made him a huge odds-on favorite at 4/6.

Salah was available at 10/1 to finish highest on the scoring charts, making him a great win for whoever predicted his stellar campaign. Haaland’s low odds also opened up plenty of each-way value, with Alexander Isak and Chris Wood the picks of the bunch.

The Liverpool-Salah double would have seen slightly reduced odds as the two events are correlated, but would have still been available at odds of around 60/1, making it one of the best bets of the season.

Relegation

The three promoted teams were once again consigned to relegation in 2025, with all three quickly looking doomed and finishing well below 17th place. This reflected the odds going into the campaign, with Leicester, Ipswich, and Southampton priced at 4/9, 10/11, and 6/5, respectively, to move down.

Champions League

Few would doubt that Paris Saint-Germain was well deserving of their first-ever Champions League title, as they simply outclassed their opposition at every turn before utterly demolishing a very solid Inter Milan side in the final. However, this did not reflect their outsider odds of 18/1 at the start of the season, making them the highest odds winners of all the major tournaments.

Above them in the betting markets pre-season were Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, and Arsenal, all of whom had disappointing campaigns. Barcelona, who are now widely considered to have been the second-best team in Europe over the season, were just sixth favorites at 14/1.

Other leagues

The best bet to be found among league winners was probably Napoli, with Scott McTominay powering them to a shocking Serie A title. In simulations run by Opta’s supercomputer, the Partenopei were given just a 0.4% chance of lifting the title, but eventually secured it on the final day, in part thanks to their talismanic midfielder, who also picked up the Serie A player of the year. 

Napoli’s slim chances, according to the stats, weren’t backed by the bookie’s odds being quite so high, but they could still be gotten at 7/1 before the campaign kicked off. 

PSG were unsurprisingly very short odds, although the 1/4 might look like value in hindsight

Elsewhere, Real Madrid were heavily favored at the start of the season, with Barcelona being available at 7/2 before the season commenced. In Germany and France, meanwhile, the heavy favorites prevailed, with Bayern reclaiming the league title at 4/9 odds. PSG were unsurprisingly very short odds, although the 1/4 might look like value in hindsight, given how utterly dominant they were over the season.

Best bet of the season

A bet on Liverpool to win the Premier League, Barcelona to win La Liga, and PSG to win the Champions League sounds fairly reasonable in hindsight, although all were outsiders at the start of the season. Accordingly, $10 placed on this treble would’ve returned a whopping $7,695 at the end of the season.

Worst bet of the season

Betting on the underdogs would have been by far the best strategy for 2024-25, with only Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich winning major trophies after going in as favorites. Accordingly, there were plenty of low-odds bets that failed to materialize over the course of the season. Some of the picks where the bookies profited were Erling Haaland to win the Golden Boot at 1/8 and Real Madrid to win La Liga at 4/9. 

However, for some low-odds bets which were truly nowhere near hitting, the pick surely has to go on Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur to achieve top-four finishes at 21/10 and 9/4. In reality, the two finished just outside the relegation places after truly dreadful seasons, only escaping a relegation battle because of the particularly poor quality of the bottom three.

The post The Best and Worst Bets of the 2024-25 Soccer Season appeared first on Vegas Slots Online News.

The post PokerStars Fined $728k in Sweden After Failing to Quickly Check Source High Rollers’ Source of Funds appeared first on Vegas Slots Online News.

PokerStars is in hot water in Sweden after it wasn’t quick enough in conducting source of funds checks on high rollers, which violated the country’s anti-money laundering (AML) laws.

The Flutter Entertainment-owned brand will pay a SEK 7m ($728,199) fine and received an official warning from Sweden’s gambling regulator, Spelinspektionen, for its transgressions.

An investigation highlighted the slow checks on ten big spenders in 2023 and their insufficient accuracy in determining the users’ behavior in relation to their age bracket.

risk limits were also deemed to be too high to properly prevent fraud

The operator’s risk limits were also deemed to be too high to properly prevent fraud, with single transactions only sparking additional checks if they were $20,000 or $40,000 for combined net deposits.

While PokerStars fought back on certain aspects of the judgment, Spelinspektionen disagreed that its AML systems were sufficient.

The post PokerStars Fined $728k in Sweden After Failing to Quickly Check Source High Rollers’ Source of Funds appeared first on Vegas Slots Online News.

The post EPL Teams Have One More Season Before Front-Of-Shirt Gambling Ban Cuts Revenue by 60% appeared first on Vegas Slots Online News.

The prevalence of gambling-related advertising that people see while watching English Premier League (EPL) games is a hot topic in the UK. Fans are inundated with television commercials, pitchside hoardings, and logos on the jerseys of players for online casinos and sportsbooks.

Clubs agreed in April 2023 to stop showing gambling brands on the front of their shirts from the start of the 2026/2027 season, despite these advertising positions proving very lucrative for them.

these sponsors pay 38% more than market value

New research as part of The Sponsor’s ‘Premier League Fair Market Sponsorship Values’ estimates that the drop in revenue as a result of this change could be 60%, as these sponsors pay 38% more than market value for these spots.

There’ll be less competition when bidding for these spots once gambling companies exit the bidding war, with The Sponsor Editor Sean Connell saying that these companies are currently “propping up” the EPL sponsorship market.

11 EPL teams currently have front-of-shirt gambling sponsors.

Some brands are pivoting towards sleeve advertising positions, something which will still be permitted under the incoming restriction. According to The Sponsor’s report, an average sleeve sponsorship spot is now worth £7.2m ($9.7m).

The post EPL Teams Have One More Season Before Front-Of-Shirt Gambling Ban Cuts Revenue by 60% appeared first on Vegas Slots Online News.

The post BetMGM Reprimanded Over Advert Featuring Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal appeared first on Vegas Slots Online News.

BetMGM has received a stern slap on the wrist from the Dutch gambling regulator for featuring a famous soccer player in its recent advert.

Lamine Yamal, a 17-year-old winger for Spanish team Barcelona, featured in the BetMGM advert – something which the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) said violated its ad laws. Betting firms are not permitted to use images of or partner with famous people seen to have a lot of influence over younger demographics.

The KSA confirmed that it had only decided to warn BetMGM this time, claiming the operator acted quickly to remove the ad. The regulator did however note that BetMGM should have reported on itself when it noticed the violation. “Licensees are required to inform the KSA of errors on their part that could pose a danger to consumers,” the KSA said.

The post BetMGM Reprimanded Over Advert Featuring Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal appeared first on Vegas Slots Online News.

The post Alive and Well: ‘The Chip Race’ Poker Podcast Joins WPT Global appeared first on Vegas Slots Online News.

You didn’t really think “The Chip Race” poker podcast was dead, did you? On Sunday, the same day that the Global Poker Award-winner’s eight-year partnership with Unibet Poker came to an end, it announced that it is now part of the WPT Global family.

Hosted by Barry Carter and VegasSlotsOnline News contributors David Lappin and Dara O’Kearney, “The Chip Race” did seem to be in limbo if a new partner couldn’t be locked down. In an April piece for VSO News, Dara said that without a new sponsor, the end of the show was very possible.

the shenanigans will continue, for better or worse

But with WPT Global now on board, the shenanigans will continue, for better or worse. VSO News sat down with David Lappin to ask about how the new partnership came to be and what podcast listeners can expect going forward.

Congrats on the big move! Be honest though: did WPT Global just offer more biscuits?

Firstly, how did you know that I am paid in biscuits? Secondly, WPT Global was an easy choice. What really impressed us was how cognizant their team was of what “The Chip Race” is and what Dara and I could offer. It’s also a company with big ambitions and that’s exciting as an ambassador because you get to sell that vision to poker players, knowing that they will be valued if they play on the site or attend live events.

You made two very funny viral videos to initially tease and then announce the big move. What was the process like?

That was terrific fun. It was initially the product of a brainstorm between Dara, myself, and Barry. Then we got our partners involved and they added some more ideas and direction. With the first one, I just loved the idea that after only a week of the show being off the air, our lives had fallen apart and we missed each other. With the second, I really wanted to pull in some star power to help us make a big splash, but felt like making them say anything sincere or nice would be cringe and the Irish sense of humor is to be self-deprecating so it would be funny if people like Doug Polk, Tony Dunst, and Brad Owen took the piss out of us. We have a problem now, though, because I’m fairly certain Matt Savage meant what he said, so it’s going to be awkward next time we see him.

Will “The Lock-In” continue to feature low lighting, wine, and unmade beds, or are we going full studio now?

The USP of “The Lock-In” is that myself and Dara show and tell it like it really is. That means getting our raw, unfiltered takes on the poker Zeitgeist. It means seeing my modest trophy cabinet and Dara’s obscenely large one. It also means seeing the couch-bed that Dara sleeps in when he doesn’t want to wake his wife after a big winning session and the couch-bed that I sleep in when I get kicked out of the bedroom for snoring.

What will the transition be like going from Unibet to WPT Global? Like switching tables in a poker tournament, or going from NLH to PLO heads-up after three G&Ts?

I can only assume a G&T is some variation of SnG that I haven’t played yet. As for the transition, the two companies certainly have different brand identities and it’s our job to quickly ascertain what aspects of our personalities and our content we can emphasize. That might sound inauthentic, but it really isn’t. As podcasters, you do different kinds of interviews, so you get well-practiced at dialing up or down various traits to suit the guest. It’s similar for us now as brand ambassadors.

What advice would you give to aspiring poker players who want to land sponsorship deals…apart from “host an award-winning podcast and become beloved personalities?”

I’d tell them that hosting a three-time award-winning podcast is not enough. You also need to be an award-winning poker book author and an award-nominated journalist.

I was a terrible Twitcher because it was obvious I didn’t want to be there.”

Seriously though, the days of being patched up for just being amazing at the game are long gone. Maybe there are still a handful of those guys, but really, you have to be a content creator. You also have to love and focus on the craft of what you do in the content space. I was a terrible Twitcher because it was obvious I didn’t want to be there. “The Chip Race” works because Dara and I are passionate about hearing people’s stories.

And finally, what’s on the agenda for the next few months?

We are always about 3-4 episodes ahead of ourselves in terms of planning the show. Some of those segments are banked and some are booked. I don’t want to spoil the surprises, but what I can say is Doug Polk will be on the first “Chip Race” episode next week alongside Justin Young, Art Parmann, Sinéad Davenport, and Padraig O’Neill. After that, we have one of our long-time white whales – someone we’ve tried to book several times before and now that we got him, I know it’s going to be a great summer!

The post Alive and Well: ‘The Chip Race’ Poker Podcast Joins WPT Global appeared first on Vegas Slots Online News.