Massachusetts Casino Repeal Question Approved by Court

Massachusetts State Attorney General Martha Coakley opposed the repeal concern, but says she welcomes allowing the voters to really have a voice on the problem. (Image: Boston Globe)
In Massachusetts, casino companies have actually faced a few battles to be able to build resorts in the state. There has been town-by-town campaigns to win over local communities, plus in the actual situation of the more Boston area, a tough competition for just one single license. Now, operators are going to have one more challenge ahead of them before they can rest easy: a statewide repeal vote that could end casino gambling in Massachusetts before it starts.
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled Tuesday that voters will be able to see the casino law repeal question on a November ballot, possibly rolling back a 2011 law that legalized casinos in the state. That move leaves potential casino operators in an awkward position, as they may get licenses, but not know until later this 12 months whether they can actually do anything with them.
Unanimous Decision Sets Matter on Ballot
The court reached their decision unanimously, pointing out that supporters of the repeal had succeeded in gathering more than enough signatures to place the question on the ballot. The effort had been opposed by Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, now a Democratic candidate for governor, whom rejected the question this past year because she feared it could break the house rights of casino owners and developers.
But after hearing of the choice, Coakley showed up become fine aided by the Supreme Judicial Court’s (SJC) decision.
‘i am pleased that the Supreme Judicial Court has ruled on this presssing issue of great interest to voters in Massachusetts,’ Coakley said. ‘ I am happy that they have made a choice that now lets this go right to the ballot. And we are working these days to certify the relevant question.’
Coakley did add that she planned to vote up against the proposition, as did Governor Deval Patrick.
‘It is exactly what it is,’ Patrick said. ‘I’m going to vote for keeping expanded gaming on the publications. We think it’s a great balance between how we expand gaming and how we let our local communities make decisions being right for them.’
Fierce myfreepokies.com Battle Expected
Polling in the issue is sparse so far. A Suffolk University poll earlier this found that only 37 percent of voters in Massachusetts approved of casinos, but another from the Boston Globe found that 52 percent of likely voters would still vote against a repeal month. The ground that is shaky which the casinos stands means that the repeal vote could come down to the campaigns on both edges.
While not all casino firms commented in the decision immediately, those who did said that they would work hard to convince voters to allow casinos be built. Mohegan Sun released a declaration saying that they would explain to voters that the law was ‘good for workers, good for the economy and good for the commonwealth.’ Penn National, which has already won the state’s only slots parlor permit, said they would be doing an informational campaign.
‘For us, this campaign will be about education, it will be about informing voters about all the jobs that are at stake here,’ said Penn spokesperson Eric Schippers.
Meanwhile, casino opponents are also gearing up for a battle. That may mean that many regional anti-casino groups is going to be banded together to combat the expensive campaigns the casinos are expected to run, with Repeal the Deal likely to be a leading opposition group.
Bwin.Party Not on the market, Says Board
Chief executive of bwin.party Norbert Teufelberger and his board deny rumors that the company is buying sell-off (Image: onlinecasinoarchives.com)
Bwin.Party is denying rumors that it is looking for the acquisition, or even to sell off some of its assets. The company happens to be the subject of a flurry of speculation after a write-up this by Bloomberg which claimed that it was looking to sell off all or part of its business in order to revive its flagging fortunes week.
Bwin.Party, through its relationship with the Borgata, may be the largest provider of online poker in New Jersey, with over 40 percent of the market share, but its operations have been faltering in European countries recently. The author of the Bloomberg piece, Christopher Palmeri, said that he had received the given information from ‘two individuals with knowledge associated with matter’ whom wished to remain nameless. Bwin.Party had hired Deutsche Bank AG (DBK) to think about its options, claimed the sources, and would make a decision within two months.
The company itself waded in to quash the rumors, stating categorically that the company is not for sale while Bwin.Party’s shares, which had been declining of late, climbed by 4 percent on the London Stock Exchange in the wake of the rumors.
No Plans to Sell
‘The Board of Bwin.Party has noted the present speculation in the media regarding a possible break-up or purchase of this company,’ read the company’s official statement. ‘Since their visit as Chairman last month, Philip Yea has been working together with the executive management team on ways when the Group increases shareholder value, but we can verify there are no plans to break-up or sell the company.’
Palmeri speculated into the Bloomberg article that the supposed sell-off had been prompted with a difficult 2013, which saw revenue across all gambling operations tumble 19 percent to €652.4m ($887,971,854).
He quoted a meeting with Bwin Chief Financial Officer Martin Weigold in March in which Weigold had blamed ‘regulatory and competitive challenges in a number of markets’ for the slump in revenue, and added that the company had been looking to ‘divest non-core and surplus assets.’
Palmeri also wondered whether or not the purchase of PokerStars to Amaya Gaming and its return that is potential to US market had rattled Bwin.Party. PokerStars, he wrote, ‘could accelerate the wobbly start for online betting in three states, while introducing more competition for Bwin among others for anyone gamblers.’
2013 A Turning Point
However, Bwin.Party, itself the item of a merger between pioneering online sportsbook and poker web sites Bwin and Party Poker, correspondingly, recently said that it was extremely pleased with its poker operations in brand new Jersey, and it would be looking to consolidate its market-leading position in there within the next 12 months, as well as getting into other states that might legalize online gambling within their borders, such as for instance Pennsylvania which it described as a ‘significant business opportunity.’
Speaking in response to the company’s disappointing 2013, chief executive Norbert Teufelberger had been recently positive: ‘2013 had been a challenging year for our business, but it addittionally marked a turning point he said as we increased our focus on regulated and to-be-regulated markets, began to roll-out new and refreshed versions of our mobile and desktop products, and commenced the transformation of our technology infrastructure through the adoption of the Agile development methodology. ‘Having streamlined the design and size of our business we’ve got the fundamentals to go back our business to sustainable growth.’
PokerStars Could Return to Brand New Jersey Market by Fall
Founders Mark and Isai Scheinberg, whose treatment from the PokerStars equation may facilitate an entrance in to the New Jersey market. (Image: onlinpokerreport.com)
PokerStars’ carefully orchestrated sale to Amaya Gaming for $4.9 billion looks want it might well pay off for the entire world’s poker site that is biggest. The ink was nevertheless running listed below on that $4.9 billion contract when brand New Jersey gaming officials announced that they had met with representatives from Amaya, and this week they told the Associated Press that these people were optimistic that PokerStars might be able to become listed on the New Jersey market because early as this fall.
Papers in the Loop
Officials from the brand new Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE), which regulates and licenses gambling in hawaii, said that Amaya has recently begun submitting the necessary documents to New Jersey regulators to utilize for a situation license.
The division will be scrutinizing the post-acquisition corporate structure of the company, as well as the executive and management personnel and the software platform itself to make sure it’s in line with New Jersey regulatory standards in the coming months.
PokerStars has very long held designs on the New Jersey market. In 2013, anticipating legalization and regulation within the state, its moms and dad company, the Rational Group, experimented with buy the ailing Atlantic Club casino in Atlantic City, in order to secure the acquisition of a state gaming license, and from there, it hoped, a license to work online poker after regulation. However, the deal fell through, and months that are several the Atlantic Club was forced to file for bankruptcy and lay off its 1,600 staff. It was sold in for $23.4 million, to be stripped for parts december.
Federal Indictments
The main reason provided for the deal’s collapse was the concerns over outstanding federal indictments on the organization’s father-son founders, Isai and Mark Scheinberg. The indictments related to PokerStars’ failure to cease providing gambling to American citizens following the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) of 2006 had made it illegal to do so. After Black Friday, PokerStars paid a $547 million fine to the Department of Justice, which it hoped would absolve the Scheinbergs, nevertheless the issue flared up once more when PokerStars attempted to utilize for a license within the run up to legalization.
On December 11, 2013, New Jersey’s Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) announced it would suspend its report on ‘Stars online gaming license for just two years. In a declaration that may have inspired the acquisition strategy, the DGE said:
‘The Division (within the period that is two-year may look at a request for relief to reactivate the application if significantly changed circumstances are demonstrated…the Division’s investigation of PokerStars and its affiliated entities and associated individuals is resumed to evaluate suitability.’
Resorts Deal
Having removed themselves through the equation by selling to Amaya, the Scheinbergs may at last witness the company they built return to the US.
However, at least into the situation of the latest Jersey, it are going to be as a software provider, not an operator, much in the way that 888 Holdings provides software to Caesars and the WSOP.com brand. PokerStars has a deal in position with Resorts World, which owns the Resorts Casino resort in Atlantic City. That relationship will remain intact, inspite of the acquisition, and Resorts has said it intends to utilize both the PokerStars and brand that is fullTilt should the outfit be provided with the chance to accomplish so.
‘We welcomed the present announcement by Amaya Gaming Group, Inc of its plans to acquire Rational which we expect will move the regulatory approval procedure ahead,’ said Resorts Casino Hotel owner Morris Bailey. ‘PokerStars is the leading world-wide brand in online gaming and we are searching forward to our future using them in New Jersey.’
