Gaming Law International

PartyGaming Executives Cash Out

PartyGaming Plc filed notice yesterday that three of its directors/senior management were selling their shares in the Company. The sale follows closely on the heels of a share sale a few weeks ago by PartyGaming founders Ruth Parasol, Russ DeLeon, Anurag Dikshit and Vikrant Bhargava of 200 million shares (5% of the issued and outstanding shares). Yesterday's share sale was as follows:

• General Counsel & Secretary David Abdoo sold his entire shareholdings of 1.71 million shares for approximately $3.6 million USD;
• Finance Director Martin Weigold sold his entire shareholdings of 2.74 million shares for approximately $5.8 million USD; and
• Chairman Michael Jackson sold 262,069 shares (less than a third of his shareholdings) for approximately $558,776 USD.

Chairman Jackson was quoted as saying that there was nothing sinister in his share disposition yesterday and that he sold shares to deal with personal tax issues. Nevertheless, the disposal by the Company's in-house lawyer and finance director of their entire shareholdings appears to have raised concern among some shareholders who sold shares following yesterday's news of the share sale. The Company is scheduled to file a trading statement for second quarter on July 21, 2006.

PartyGaming Founders Selling Shares

According to Forbes Magazine, PartyGaming Plc founders, including its main founder Ruth Parasol, placed close to 9% of the company's shares (valued at $840 million USD) up for sale earlier today. At the close of the market, only a 5% stake on the company was sold at a share price that was less than expected. Reuters has an updated story here.

Gretzky's Wife May Face Subpoena in L'Affaire Tocchet

Zulima Farber, New Jersey's new A.G., said in an interview with the Associated Press today that Janet Jones, Wayne Gretzky's wife, will be called to testify when a grand jury is convened to look at charges against Coyotes assistant coach Rick Tocchet and others for allegedly promoting gambling, money laundering and conspiracy.

Zulima Farber, la nouvelle procureure générale du New Jersey, dans une entrevue avec Associated Press aujourd'hui, a dit que Janet Jones, l'épouse de Wayne Gretzky, sera appelée à témoigner devant le grand jury qui enquête sur un réseau national de gambling.

Lawyer Can't Collect $7.9 Million Slot Machine Win

Jayshree Asalan, a lawyer from Chatworth, who won $7.9 million (CDN) at a slot machine at the Suncoast Casino in South Africa, is being told that she can't keep the win by the KwaZulu-Natal Gambling Board. The Gaming Board told Asalan that the slot machine was malfunctioning when it registered the $7.9 million win. Asalan told reporters that she will sue the casino and gambling commission over the loss win. See the Mercury for the story.

The Gaming-Spa Combo

The Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) reported that for the first time ever, casinos in Nevada earned more revenue from non-gambling sources than from tables and slots. For fiscal 2005, Nevada's 268 largest casinos earned 49.9% of revenue from gaming, down from 50.5% for the biggest casinos in 2004. The percentage of revenue from gaming has decreased each year as casinos have added more amenities such as spas, theaters, restaurants and hotel rooms to casino sites, according to the NGCB. In 2005, Nevada casinos recorded profits of $1.8 billion (USD).

Casinos in Canada are no doubt looking closely at the numbers. Woodbine Entertainment Group is planning a huge expansion at Toronto's Woodbine thoroughbred track which will include a hotel, restaurants, clubs, arcades and an arena to capitalize on the potential increased revenue by offering patrons a full-entertainment casino experience.

Nevada Gaming Revenue up 9%

The Nevada Gaming Control Board released the annual revenue figures for the state, showing a 9.63% increase in state casino gambling revenue in September from a year earlier to $1.01 billion. Casinos on the Las Vegas Strip, the heart of Nevada's gambling industry, reported a gambling revenue jump of 17.8% in September from a year earlier to $541.22 million. Read more here.The state's largest casino operators are:

• Harrah's Entertainment Inc.;
• MGM Mirage Inc.;
• Station Casinos Inc.; and
• Boyd Gaming Corp.

Gambling In-Flight?

The U.S. company eFlyte has introduced a new in flight gambling product they hope to market to major airlines. The product would allow airline passengers to gamble during flights using credit cards.

Good idea but from a legal gaming perspective, the plan seems too ambitious in the absence of any international treaties on gaming law. The airlines offering the product for use would become gaming service providers and, depending upon the jurisdiction, would be required to obtain gaming registration to provide such services in the jurisdictions over which they intend to operate (in terms of air space). Whether or not gaming authorities would regulate an airline to provide gaming services remains to be seen but it seems unlikely. One of the obvious difficulties, from a regulator's point of view, is the supervisory role airlines would have to have over the gaming activities of its passengers to ensure, for example, that children were not gambling on flights.

Treasure Bay Casino Grounded

  The Treasure Bay Casino in Mississippi, built on a barge to comply with a Mississippi legal requirement that casinos remain off terra firma, was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. The damage to Treasure Bay Casino and other Mississippi casinos is sparking a renewed call for a change in the law that would allow casinos to be built on land. You can read the full story here.

PartyGaming PLC Reports $257 Million Profit

PartyGaming PLC, the Gibraltar-based online gaming company, has announced earnings of $257 million for the last two quarters. PartyGaming is the world's biggest online poker operator and controls about 54% of the online poker market, now estimated to be worth $1 billion a year. Read the story here.

Hurricane Katrina Destroys Mississippi Casinos

Half of Mississippi's 13 casinos were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina and industry watchers fear some or all may not be rebuilt. You can read the story here.