Your Daily Asia Gaming eBrief: Motivations behind call for federal probe into U.S. operators questioned

Good Morning. Last week, the U.S. based trade union, known as the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 501 announced it has sent letters to five U.S. departments demanding a probe into the business relationships that U.S. casino operators have held with former junket operator SunCity and its boss Alvin Chau. We reached out to David Green, Martin Purbrick, and Andrew Klebanow to get an understanding of the likely motivations behind the union and their call for investigation.

What you need to know

• Singapore will criminalize proxy betting for the first time under sweeping changes to its regulatory regime, which will also bring in a new supervisory body by mid-2022.
• Macau’s GGR in the week after Chinese New Year hit its highest daily rate since the Golden Week holiday in May last year, according to channel checks from Bernstein. 
• The committee charged with reviewing amendments to Macau’s gaming law met for the first time on Monday, with concerns raised over local ownership and satellite casinos.
• Universal Entertainment Corp recorded a $164.9 million loss for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021, though its integrated resorts business in the Philippines performed strongly, particularly towards the end of the year.
• Crown Resorts on Monday recommended its shareholders to vote in favor of an A$8.9 billion all-cash offer from Blackstone to acquire the casino company.

On the radar

• Karnataka High Court strikes down government skill-based gambling ban.
• Guangzhou R&F seeks further Incheon deadline extension,.
• MGM Resorts buys back stock worth $202.5m from Corvex Management.
• Vietnam lifts restrictions on international passenger flights.

What the papers say

• Thai police crackdown on gangs organizing labor for illegal gambling in Cambodia.

AGB Intelligence

DEEP DIVE

Politics behind call for federal probe into U.S. operators in Macau

Industry Updates

• Suncity Group Holdings to present results in HKD, switching from RMB.

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