Stanley Ho's company that controls all nine casinos in Macau, experienced a 50% tumble in net profit last year compared to 1997. Sociedade de Turismo e Diversoes de Macau announced net profit of 1.85 billion patacas last year, but failed to give a full breakup of figures relating to its sea and air transport businesses. However, a statement said the company's gross casino takings had fallen 18.1 per cent on the previous year, due to a combination of the Asian financial crisis and Macau's public security problems.

Internet company sets up Australian subsidiary
Florida-based internet system supplier Atlantic International Entertainment has announced that it will list on the Australian Stock Exchange in September 1999, and will be renamed to Online Gaming Systems Ltd. As part of their move to capitalise on the growth of the Australian internet gaming legislation, it's subsidiary AIE Australia has appointed Sydney-based David Kinsman as its Chief Executive Officer and Peter Lawson as Senior VP, CFO and Treasurer.

Mastercard announces new rules for online gamblers Mastercard International is adopting a series of rules for using its credit card to gamble on the internet in order to protect itself from further potential lawsuits.
Under the first rule, Mastercard will require all internet gaming merchants to post a notice on their web sites to inform users that it may be illegal in some jurisdictions to gamble online.
By telling consumers to find out the legality of gambling in their state of residence, the onus and responsibility lies with the player.
The new rules also specify that internet casino merchants must ask prospective gamblers to identify where they live, and to maintain a list of responses. Contracts also require merchants to notify Mastercard of all gambling transactions.

New Aussie internet betting company booms
After launching internet betting in new South Wales in early July, the NSW state's largest bookmaking company SportOdds has reported a 10 per cent shift from its traditional phone betting to internet betting. The company has also recorded a significant increase in new business, recording 14,000 hits in the first week of trading and a deluge of new accounts within the first few days of launching the site, at www.sportodds.com.au
Chief Executive Mr Con Kafataris said that Australia is an attractive market for overseas punters because it is highly regulated and considered a secure market.
"We expect SportOdds' client base will grow from 13,500 to 100,000 over the next 18 months," Mr Kafataris said. "During that time we will continue to refine and improve the site, as well as expanding the services we offer."

Jupiters online company posts 50% increase
Centrebet, the Jupiters Ltd online sports bookmaker situated at Alice Springs, has lifted sporstbetting turnover to around A$120 million inFY1998-1999. More than half of its clients' reside overseas, and success is also based on a marketing drive for European players. The company's multi-lingual site is available in Finnish, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish, with a German language page about to be released.
Internet bettors are able to bet in their local currency and winnings are I the same denomination, which obviously offers a big plus to non-speaking English players. According to the company, soccer is the best business generator, followed by cricket, ice hockey and basketball.

Australia's online sports betting industry currently generates less than 4% of the nation's A$11 billion gambling spend, but this is expected to change over the coming years with an influx of international punters and internet legislation. An analyst told Intergaming that the international sportsbetting market is expected to reach $15 billion in revenues, and Australia is poised to capture a large chunk of this market because of
its squeaky-clean reputation for honouring bets and credibility through tight regulation.

Joint venture to save Reef Casino
The Casinos Austria Group has enlisted funds from Accor Asia Pacific in the recapitalisation of Queensland's troubled Reef Casino. The joint venture enterprise will invest an initial A$70 million rescue facility for the Cairns casino and 128-room hotel complex, and take a 50.2 per cent stake in Reef Casino Trust.
The yet-to-be approved deal is based on a memorandum of understanding signed by both parties, and could see ongoing co-operation with other casino projects on a global scale.
Accor Asia pacific parent company, Accor SA, operates nine casinos in France and one at Malta. Casinos Austria owns and operates Casinos Canberra in Australia, in addition to properties in Canada, South Africa, Palestine, Egypt, Costa Rica and on cruises.
It is expected that the regulatory approval process will be completed by November this year, which would give Accor the hotel's management contract to manage accommodation.
The five-star Reef Casino was expected to be a hit when it opened in January 1996. By late 1997 its financial difficulties were obvious when it negotiated a debt moratorium. Its founding shareholders have also seen their stocks plummet from $1 to 10c. The good news for this deal, if it goes ahead, is that the hotel and casino operations will be the responsibility of one party, rather than the two independent operating agreements of the past.

Pokie Jackpot odds to be displayed
Clubs and pubs in New South Wales will have to display the odds of winning a poker machine jackpot as well as available counselling services under new gaming laws currently proposed by the State Government for the September Parliamentary session.
In addition, a one-year review is underway of the technical standards of gaming machines to introduce a system whereby operators must display the amount won in dollars and cents, rather than the number of credits available.
Under the proposed amendment to toughen licensing obligations, automatic teller machines will also be banned from being near gaming machines and inducements to gamble through offers of bus trips and free drinks will be limited.

Surge in pokie prices
The cost to purchase a NSW hotel poker machine license has soared by 25% or A$20,000 in the past month, due to the lucrative nature of the
business and fear amongst publicans that gaming machines numbers will be capped.
According to industry feedback, a license to operate a single poker machine is being sold for up to A$100,000, due to the current restriction of 15 poker machines with 15 card machines per hotel venue.
Poker machine licenses have traded freely on an open market since the NSW Government auctioned them last year, and there are now 500 hotels boasting a turnover of more than $1 million a year in gaming revenue.

Australian report impacts gaming market
Australia has the world's highest rate of gambling addiction and should appoint an independent regulator to control the industry.
According to a 1000-page report released by the Productivity Commission mid-July, a massive 82% of adults gambled last year, with around 40% trying their luck once a week.
The draft report, Australia's Gambling Industries, is available on the internet at www.pc.gov.au
For operators, this may seem insignificant and non-important. But the key findings are far-reaching in their exposure of the growing gambling industry in Australia . On the one hand, it is referred to as a sector of the Tourism and Leisure industry (as an equity which also generates government revenue). On the other hand, the gambling industry is
referred to as a problematic cause to society due to its addictive nature and incentive for players to lose money.

The study could lead to automatic teller machines being banned from hotels, clubs, casinos and TAB's, and regulations authorising that odds of hitting a jackpot are displayed on gaming machines. The report also flagged the idea of an advertising slogan warning punters against gambling along the likes of: "If you think you can win, you're a loser!".

According to the Productivity Commission, the average Australian punter loses A$625 a year, which is almost double the loss compared to the US, New Zealand and Sweden. Moreover, problem gamblers account for 2.35% of the adult population, with 330,000 people losing an average of $12,000 a year. This is equivalent to 20 times the average amount gambled each year.
Analysts expect that many of the Productivity reports findings will be implemented, which will hit hard the gaming machine industry in
particular. Pokies are a likely target due to its market share of 21% of the world's gaming market in Australia. This prompted Prime Minister John Howard to comment that he was "ashamed" that that the nation is positioned as a slot leader.
While Australia has 21% of the world's gaming machine market, the study's associate commissioner focused on Aristocrat's popular Black Rhino pokie, as an example of player losses. He said that there is a lack of basic information about true gambling prices and the odds of winning.
In the case of Black Rhino, a player needs to hit the button 6.7 million times to have a 50 per cent chance of winning. Accordingly, it would take around 188 years to do so and cost $330,000 to win a $2000 prize. How do the odds compute, given an average 90% return to player?
The commission also received submissions from casino players expressing concern about the lack of "time" information information available at properties. Their viewpoint was that wall-mounted clocks would offer little benefit, and natural lighting would not be cost-effective for most properties and offer little benefit.
For the moment, the draft report is open to further discussion, with open submissions available prior to their delivery of the final report in November, which calls for tighter regulation of the gambling industry and greater public education.