Greece’s ongoing financial crisis and standoff with European leaders could have repercussions that impact the global economy.
That effect extends even to the gaming industry, as Greece’s attempts to avoid defaulting further on its debts may prove costly to companies like International Game Technology (IGT) and Scientific Games.
Those manufacturers had been hoping to provide video lottery terminals throughout Greece, aided by the games just days away from a launch that is planned. Nevertheless, the Hellenic Gaming Commission announced brand new lottery regulations in the wake associated with nation’s monetary crisis, leaving much doubt regarding the short-term future of the industry.
New Regulations Limit Play, Jackpot Size
Each day under the new regulations, daily loss limits were to be added to the machines, and gamblers would be limited as to how much time they would be allowed to play on a machine. Jackpot levels would also be reduced under the brand new regulations.
That didn’t sit well with OPAP, the Greek firm that operates the video lottery terminal network. In a statement, the business said that the new regulation would make operating the terminals ‘no longer viable,’ and immediately stopped the deployment of 16,500 machines through the entire https://casino-online-australia.net/planet-7-oz-casino-review/ country.
Considering the problem realistically, the timing of the brand new laws and OPAP’s choice that are coincidental, and it’s hard to see how it might be directly related to the battle over Greek financial obligation. But it doesn’t mean that the ongoing crisis won’t be a factor in the way the lottery terminal battle is resolved.
‘The delay doesn’t have anything related to the current financial obligation crises apart from maybe OPAP playing hardball utilizing the regulators hoping because they need the new tax revenue,’ said Todd Eilers of Eilers Research that they will cave.
IGT, Scientific Games Could Lose Revenue
If this is merely a tactic that is negotiating the part of OPAP, maybe it’s a pricey one for slot machine game manufacturers like IGT and Scientific Games. Both of those companies were producing terminals for the Geek market, and the delays may potentially price those two organizations millions in revenue.
IGT was awarded a merchant contract to deliver 5,500 lottery machines, while Scientific Games was slated to make 5,000 devices for the market. Two European manufacturers, Inspired Gaming and Synot, were also awarded vendor that is first-phase.
IGT was expected to make up to $30 million in yearly revenues from the machines provided to Greece, while Scientific Games could generate as much as $27 million.
The delays while the financial crisis have undoubtedly brought some uncertainty to the Greek video lottery terminal market, but Eilers says that in the long term, Greece should still be a profitable market for manufacturers.
‘We still believe the VLT market will move ahead and represents a sizable growth opportunity for vendors,’ he said.
The negotiations over the future of Greece’s lottery terminals comes at a right time when bigger battles are increasingly being waged over the nation’s economic future.
Greeks voted ‘no’ on the strict lending terms provided by worldwide creditors on Sunday, with over 61 percent of voters developing against the terms.
But that vote doesn’t mean that Greece isn’t willing to negotiate. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras states that the Greek federal government is still ready in order to make some changes in an effort to get assistance from Europe, and requested a three-year loan from the eurozone’s bailout investment on Wednesday.
$5 Billion Pinnacle Entertainment Takeover Is Odds On
Pinnacle Entertainment is having a banner year as far as their stock price is soaring. (Image: Pinnacle.com)
Pinnacle Entertainment’s share price rose to a yearly high on following a revised $5 billion takeover bid from Gaming and Leisure Properties (GLPI); a bid that analysts say Pinnacle would be mad to turn down tuesday.
The offer that is new an increase of $900 million on a bid Pinnacle rebuffed in March.
The news of the proposal delivered Pinnacle’s stock price up by 5.82 percent on the New York Stock Exchange, as investors took the view, shared by JP Morgan, that the takeover is practically a deal that is done.
‘We have time that is tough a scenario where Pinnacle’s board and management could create the same value in the same time frame that GLPI’s deal would, and we do not see the chances of a superior bid from another entity,’ JP Morgan Gaming Analyst Joe Greff told the nevada Review Journal on Tuesday.
Bing Crosby No On Board
GLPI, a corporate spin-off of penn National Gaming formed in 2013, trades on the NASDAQ and has 21 casino and racino properties across the United States, such as the Penn nationwide Race Course in Grantville, Pennsylvania.
Pinnacle, meanwhile, traces its history right back to 1938 when Jack L Warner, mind of the Warner Brothers Studio, opened the Hollywood Park Racetrack. Initial shareholders in the ongoing business included Walt Disney and Bing Crosby.
The group was initially referred to as Hollywood Park Entertainment, and later Hollywood Park Inc, before it changed its name to Pinnacle Entertainment when the racetrack had been sold to Churchill Downs in 2000.
Today, it owns 15 casino properties in the US, along with a managing stake in the race permit owner. It has 26 percent stake in Asian Coast developing Ltd, the dog owner and developer of the Ho Tram Strip in Vietnam, which has benefited from the current economic depression in Macau, as Chinese high-rollers seek to evade the scrutiny associated with Chinese government.
Better Deal
In 2013 Pinnacle acquired Ameristar Casinos for $869 million and $1.9 billion of assumed debt, adding nine properties that are new its profile and really doubling in size.
Under the brand new proposition, Pinnacle shareholders would also receive a better deal; GLPI is offering $47.50 per share of Pinnacle, and would also give Pinnacle shareholders a 28 percent stake of GLPI.
Nonetheless, the language GLPI has used, even its press releases, makes it clear that it is a aggressive takeover.
‘GLPI has committed financing in place and it is prepared to finalize this deal immediately, and we would expect to close our transaction within approximately six months of signing,’ the company said in a declaration. ‘Nevertheless, Pinnacle continues to produce brand new demands, delaying the signing of a definitive agreement and denying its shareholders a value-creating transaction that is clearly superior to Pinnacle’s previously announced standalone separation plan.
Bwin.party Confirms GVC Bid
Bwin.party board says it may ‘see the prospective advantages’ regarding the GVC /Amaya deal, because it files another disappointing financial report. (Image: pokergruond.com)
Today GVC’s Amaya-backed bid for bwin.party was confirmed by the board.
Yesterday, The Financial instances broke the tale that GVC had made a $1.4 billion offer to get the share that is entire of the online gambling firm; today, the bwin.party board said it absolutely was considering the offer and might see the ‘potential benefits’ to shareholders that are bwin.party.
It ended up being currently committed to resolving number of ‘transaction-related issues,’ it added.
It is confusing whether 888 Holdings, which made an offer for bwin.party in March, is still at the settlement table.
‘Any offer made by GVC for bwin.party Today would include part of the consideration in new GVC shares,’ said Kenneth Alexander, Chief Executive of GVC Holdings. ‘Based on our experience with all the successful Sportingbet acquisition and restructuring, we believe that the potential combination of GVC and bwin.party would result in substantial financial and running synergies and represent an excellent opportunity for both GVC and bwin.party shareholders.’
Amaya Offering ‘Some of this Capital’
Alexander was also in a position to make sure Amaya Inc is supplying ‘some of this capital’ in the deal, and would therefore take ‘some of the assets’ should it proceed.
It’s understood that in the event of the takeover, GVC would own the majority of bwin.party, while Amaya would get the company’s poker operations, thus offering it a foothold in the New Jersey that is regulated market.
It is thought Amaya would be given the also option to buy the sportsbook from GVC within the future.
The deal will be a reverse takeover comprised of a combination of new GVC shares and money, although all events have actually stressed that there can be no certainty that the deal will be accepted.
Poor Sportsbook Results
The news coincided with another disappointing financial report from bwin.party, which said that unfavorable activities results had led up to a decline in gross win margins for the first half of the season.
The company’s mobile operations have grown, however, with mobile accounting for 31 percent of total gross gaming revenue in June, up from 23 per cent within the year that is previous.
‘Despite challenging comparatives as well as the impact of EU VAT and POC tax, we’re pleased about our business performance in the first half,’ bwin,party CEO Norbert Teufelberger stated. ‘ We now have completed our brand new set-up that is organisational streamlined our decision-making procedures, significantly improving our operational performance.’
Despite the poor sports book outcomes Alexander remained positive about the potential of a bwin.party purchase. ‘It’s been an extremely market that is difficult bwin nonetheless it’s also been a very hard market for everybody,’ he said. ‘ From the GVC perspective, the one that