
Through its acquisition of PSG, Penn National will gain 1,100 terminals across Illinois.
Penn nationwide Gaming, Inc. will acquire Prairie State Gaming (PSG), an Illinois operator of video gaming terminals (VGTs), for a fee that is undisclosed. The company adds the acquisition to its collection of some 31,000 video gaming machines in 26 facilities across America.
While Illinois lawmakers squabble about their budget plans, with the resulting standoff meaning that big tax revenues from hawaii’s VGTs will be held in limbo until they are able to concur terms, Penn nationwide is wanting to get its own slice of the profitable industry.
The deal, for an undisclosed all-cash deal, will see the Pennsylvania-based casino, racetrack, and racino operator acquire 1,100 terminals across a network of 270 different bars and retail gaming establishments statewide.
Big Company
In Illinois, anywhere having a liquor license is allowed to use a VGT, and it’s really big business. But that reality has generated something of a challenge to the state’s casino industry.
The VGT industry raked in $72.8 million in revenue in July, when compared with the combined $118.1 million in revenue of Illinois’ ten casinos, based on Fantini Gaming Research. For Penn National, which has three of those casinos, it’s a thought process of ‘if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.’
PSG, which is one of the VGT operators that are largest in Illinois, produced nearly $10 million in cash flow for the fiscal year ending June 30th.
According to Jay Snowden, chief operating officer of Penn National, the acquisition represents the latest phase in a long-term strategy for ‘growth through accretive acquisitions.’
In the company agreed to purchase the Tropicana in Las Vegas for $360 million, making it the operator’s second Sin City property april. The organization first bought off the debt for and in June of 2011 finalized its purchase of the M Resort and Casino regarding the South Las Vegas Strip.
Penn National currently operates 26 casino, racinos, and racetracks in 16 US and one jurisdiction that is canadian with almost all located in the Midwest while the South of the United States.
Placed for development
The deal will cement the company further’s position in Illinois, said Snowden. ‘We believe this acquisition provides us a solid platform for future development in the Illinois VGT market and possibly other states where this form of video gaming is authorized.
‘PSG is certainly one of Illinois’ many VGT that is respected, by having a strong track record of regulatory compliance and a reputation for dependable night and day solution backed by one of many industry’s many experienced teams,’ he added.
Penn National’s present financial performance has made the investment community sit up and simply take notice. Its Q2 results for 2015 have exceeded expectations, bringing in revenues of $701 million, and the company says it remains favorably positioned for continued development into the half that is second of year.
As well as the purchase associated with the Tropicana, Penn State opened Massachusetts’ first casino during the end of June. Called Plainridge Park Casino, the establishment that is slots-only onto the racecourse, and reported $6.1 million in gambling revenue in its first week of operation.
Optimal Payments’ Skrill Takeover to Complete by August 10
Optimal Payments acquisition of Skrill has gotten the go-ahead from UK financial regulators, as the payments industry looks to consolidate in the face of increased competition that is mobile . (Image: totallygaming.com)
NETELLER parent Optimal Payments has announced that its €1.1 billion ($1.2 billion) reverse takeover of Skrill, previously Moneybookers, will be finalized next Monday, August 10, after getting the green light from UK financial regulators.
Optimal received approval to acquire Skrill’s US business from American regulators in June. Both companies provide their payment solutions towards the new US online video gaming areas.
The deal highlights a time period of consolidation within the electronic payments industry, as competition increases and innovation that is mobile disruption result in the pooling of resources attractive. A month after the Optimal deal was announced in April, Skrill completed the acquisition of UK competitor Ukash.
The launch of Apple’s ‘wave and pay’ system on iPhone has spooked the digital wallets industry, which views the incursion of large non-traditional payment service provides into the re payment space being a threat that is highly disruptive. The ‘wave and pay’ system allows users to load credit card details onto their device, acting as a de facto e-wallet.
‘ Not Just a Defensive Move’
Optimal Payments has denied that the acquisition is a defensive move, citing growth that is steady. Instead, real-money-casino.club analysts have said the company that is enlarged which marries two of the UK’s biggest digital payment services, will benefit from greater scale. It’s estimated the group that is combined have a cash flow of around £117 million ($182 million); Optimal’s standalone figure is around £58 million ($90 million).
The offer will relieve both organizations’ reliance on the gambling that is online, consolidating their more mainstream ecommerce interests.
‘we are becoming more appropriate in the space that is e-commerce we come across organic growth both here and in gaming following the deal,’ Joel Leonoff, leader of Optimal, insisted recently.
Optimal also desires to minimize its present reliance on an unnamed customer that is asian which reportedly now represents over 33 percent of this organization’s sales.
Online Gaming Payments Giant
‘Over the last four years, we have successfully delivered significant growth in revenues and earnings for the shareholders,’ said Leonoff. ‘This development lead from performing our strategy to generate high quantities of organic growth and also to supplement this with accretive purchases.
‘The purchase of Skrill will produce a global tech champion within the fast growing digital payments space and now we think represents a transformational step forward that greatly accelerates our strategic plan. The Optimal Payments management group is extremely worked up about the prospects that are future the business.’
NETELLER was formed back 1999, at the time that is same PayPal. But while PayPal shied away from the grey legal area of online gambling in America, NETELLER embraced it.
By 2005, the business was processing 80 per cent of on the web gambling transactions globally, which accounted for 95 percent of its revenue flow, but was forced to grab of the US market completely after UIGEA made the processing of online gambling deals unlawful.
Gaming Industry Desires to See Regulation of Daily Fantasy Sports
Yahoo has joined an increasing number of major companies attempting to break into the day-to-day fantasy recreations industry. (Image: Eric Risberg/AP)
FanDuel and DraftKings have turned fantasy that is daily from a little niche product towards the fastest growing segment for the fantasy activities industry.
Now, aided by the valuations of each of the businesses reaching $1 billion or more, the video gaming industry is beginning to take notice, with some believing that the daily fantasy games deserve the exact same kinds of strict regulation casino businesses deal with on a daily basis.
Based on officials at many major gaming firms, there’s absolutely nothing actually incorrect with daily fantasy sports (DFS), and they don’t desire to see the offerings banned or restricted from the marketplace.
However, they genuinely believe that legislation is an important part of any sort of gambling product, something they feel relates to DFS sites just up to it does a casino or racetrack.
‘I think daily fantasy sports betting should be appropriate, just like I believe old-fashioned sports betting should really be legal,’ William Hill US CEO Joe Asher told Reuters. ‘But let us not pretend one is OK while the other is perhaps not. Drawing some line that is artificial the two makes no feeling as being a matter of law or policy.’
DFS Embraced by Leagues, Media Titans
All major DFS sites suggest that their tasks are totally legal, and both DraftKings and FanDuel stay out of five states where they feel laws do not allow fantasy sports games to offer real money prizes.
That argument seems to have lots of sway, as sports leagues and media businesses are both getting on board en masse: most leagues now have partnerships with several sites, ESPN has a major advertising and content deal with DraftKings, and both Yahoo and CBS have launched their very own DFS items in recent months.
But you will find those who are going for a closer glance at the growing industry.
In Nevada, the state gaming control board is analyzing the legality of DFS games, though the industry believes it really is quite clear that the contests are legal under a fantasy sports exemption into the 2006 illegal Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.
‘When you start providing day-to-day fantasy contests, then you begin to blur the line between skill and chance,’ said Nevada Gaming Control Board Chairman AG Burnett. ‘ When chance begins to govern the outcome more than skill, a form is had by you of video gaming, and that’s when the need for regulation kicks in.’
Lobbyists for the fantasy activities industry dispute that characterization, nonetheless, saying that their games are clearly more about skill than luck.
‘ They’re not like games of chance, where no matter how skillful the players is, losing or winning always comes down to fortune,’ stated Jeremy Kudon, someone at Orrick who lobbies for the Fantasy Sports Trade Association.
For their part, FanDuel and DraftKings issued a joint statement for the Reuters report.
For the reason that statement, they said on the dream sports industry as our products are fundamentally separate from, rather than competitive with, casinos and gaming businesses. they work using officials into the gaming industry ‘to educate them’
Legal Actions Target Free Money Marketing Promotions
But you will find other threats to the industry as well.
DraftKings is facing class action lawsuits in at least three states, including Massachusetts, Florida, and Illinois, from players whom feel they were deceived by the business’s aggressive advertising campaign, particularly due to misunderstandings over the nature of how deposit bonuses work.
And while the Fantasy Sports Trade Association thinks fantasy that is daily must certanly be legal and never constitute gambling, even they will have expressed concerns within the advertising campaigns used by the 2 major web sites.
‘The money motivation ended up being never ever a key factor of fantasy sports,’ said FSTA President Paul Charchian. ‘ Now a complete lot of the marketing in daily fantasy sports is really exceptionally focused on financial gain.’
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