Australian news media is currently saturated with a bush tucker bag of casino, gambling and political fun and games news. Here's the latest news from the land down under. Media Man and Gambling911 from the front line of the action...
Anglican Church And Crown Casino Rocky Relationship; Hellfire And Brimstone...
Australia enjoys a $19 billion gambling industry and lots of folks are looking at snatching some more of the action. The industry continues to thrive, being the #1 gambling nation that we apparently are (if you believe the reports). The money that Crown snatches in its gambling operation, mixed in with some aggravating media reports has got the marriage between the Melbourne Casino and the Anglican Church on the rocks. In the latest Crown ungodly mess the casino has responded tartly to Anglican Archbishop Philip Freier's criticism of a responsible gambling forum at the casino. The casino's chaplain Father James Grant, an Anglican, last week defended Crown's record with problem gamblers at the event. "We are people who believe that it is possible to get something for nothing, that our lives are in the grip of fate rather than our own responsibility. None of this is Crown's doing," Father Grant said. "Rather I would argue that Crown is actually moving into a framework that is going in exactly the opposite direction." The comments raised eyebrows in Anglican circles, and Dr Freier said: "The choice of a gambling venue for a high-profile event in Responsible Gambling Awareness Week can easily send a confusing signal. "From the State Government to community organisations that operate gaming machines to a large venue like Crown casino, it is hard to see how those who profit from gambling have any interest in persuading people away from a reliance on gambling." Crown responded by accusing the Archbishop of "predictable cynicism". "If the Archbishop had any real interest in assisting people who have problems with gambling he should realise that it takes more effort than simply standing on the sidelines and slinging mud at something he knows nothing about," said Crown spokesman Gary O'Neil. "Rather than to parrot the predictable cynicism trotted out regularly by the Rev Tim Costello ... I am not aware the Archbishop has stirred himself even slightly to try to find out the good and effective work that is being done.". A Media Man staffer said "In the name of God, with someone please try to mend the relationship between Crown Casino and the
Anglican Church. Both entities do some fine work, and might do well to learn a bit more about the good deeds of each other. Crown Limited has made great progress in the past few years in leading the world in responsible gambling initiatives and they deserve credit, not criticism".
Tabcorp Split: James Packer To Snatch Opportunity?...
Tabcorp chair John Story thinks the gambling major will be a more attractive takeover prospect after shareholders Wednesday voted overwhelmingly in favour of a demerger of the company's casino division. At a shareholder meeting in Melbourne to vote on the proposal, one investor asked whether the demerger would make Tabcorp "more vulnerable if Mr Packer decided to buy us out", a reference to casino - gambling operator Crown Limited, chaired by James Packer. Story noted that in its independent expert assessment of the deal, corporate advisory firm Grant Samuel said the split would improve the prospects of a takeover offer being made for either Tabcorp, which is retaining the wagering, gaming and keno business, or for the casino spin-off vehicle Echo Entertainment. "There is no doubt that each company has a focused business and a clear sense of direction with respect to that marketplace . . . one of the outcomes is that it would, I guess, facilitate corporate activity or consolidation," Story told the meeting. Under Victorian gaming laws, a single operator cannot own more than one gaming or wagering licence, and is prohibited from holding a casino licence and either a gaming or wagering licence. What this means that while neither Tatts Group nor Crown could buy Tabcorp in its current incarnation, both could pursue deals with the post-demerger Tabcorp and Echo respectively, if you follow. "If there are people within the broader markets who believe that they can extract greater value from either of these entities than the existing management can, and they are prepared to pay an appropriate premium, then it is in the best interest of shareholders that there should be a takeover," Story said. "That is the inevitable characteristic of an active, vibrant stockmarket, and that often is where wealth is generated for shareholders, but we haven't planned it with that outcome in mind." The resolution to execute the demerger, which required the support of a minimum of 50% of shareholders with 75% of the stock, was approved by a landslide of 92.4% of shareholders with 99.6% of the stock. A further resolution to effect a capital reduction necessary for the demerger restructuring to proceed was also approved by shareholders with 99.6% of the stock. On Wednesday Shares in Tabcorp closed 3c higher at $7.84, putting them 10.4% ahead of the $7.10 at which they were trading before the announcement of the demerger in October. Over the same period, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index has risen just 0.4%. Story said the performance of the share price since the announcement of the demerger demonstrated the value that investors believed would be unlocked by the move. Speaking after the meeting, outgoing chief executive Elmer Funke-Kupper said the demerger was the right move as the gaming and casinos businesses were becoming increasingly divergent in terms of both performance and expansion plans. He stated the future of Tabcorp, which he plans to join as a director after 6 months of post-demerger "gardening leave", was not dependent on whether the Victorian government extended its monopoly wagering licence, which rival Tatts has applied to take over from next year. "The licence itself isn't relevant to the demerger . . . but the business is strong with or without the licence," he said. Insiders expect some sort of response from James Packer of a Crown Limited spokesperson in the coming weeks, as media speculation continues to skyrocket.
Match Fixers May Get Up To 10 Years Jail For Crimes...
The Australian government is pushing for nationwide 10-year jail terms for anybody involved in match fixing as part of a swag of new tactics designed to curb corruption in professional sport. The federal Sports Minister, Mark Arbib, has backed the penalty - which was recommended by the NSW Law Reform Commission - saying match fixing posed the biggest threat to sport since doping. Next Friday, Senator Arbib and his state counterparts will meet to discuss the measures. They are expected to agree to uniform criminal laws for match fixing but it will then be up to the state and federal attorneys-general to agree on the penalties. Senator Arbib said he would push for maximum sentences of 10 years. "My personal view is that 10-year sentences send the right message to people who try to corrupt sport and fix matches,'' he told the press. "Getting action on match fixing, when there are different laws in each state and territory and different views, will not be easy. And it won't come quickly. But we are very encouraged by the spirit of co-operation and genuine desire from the states and territories to take action." Also a talking point at the meeting of sports ministers will be laws to ban spot or exotic betting and laws against the sporting equivalent of insider trading. This would make it an offence for somebody to leak information, such as a team selection, to somebody else in the knowledge they were going to make money from the information. The spot betting ban would apply to all major codes but the codes would be empowered to eliminate the types of bets they felt threatened the integrity of their game. Yesterday, the NRL jumped ahead of the process to ban spot bets by saying it would withdraw betting on the first and last scoring plays of the second half and whether there would be a field goal in a game.
The NRL will also remove the live updates of betting odds during games. The changes come into effect from round 14. The former Bulldogs forward Ryan Tandy is facing charges over his alleged role following a big betting plunge last year on a penalty goal being the first scoring play in a Bulldogs-North Queensland match. The AFL is in talks with betting agencies about which spot bets it wants banned. Senator Arbib will also push for a system of better information sharing between betting agencies and sporting organisations. This is designed to prevent a repeat, for example, of a tidal wave of bets that were made before the agencies became aware last year that the Melbourne Storm had been stripped of its points and past premierships. In the future, the betting agencies would be officially informed of such pending decisions. Last week, the federal government and the states announced they would phase out the publication and broadcast of live odds during professional sporting fixtures. If the respective codes did not self-regulate within 12 months, there would be legislation.
The ministers are also likely to support a national code of conduct for sporting organisations and the establishment of a national sport integrity unit. "Most sports fans I talk to are worried gambling could influence young people and make them think that sport is just about gambling," Senator Arbib said. Many Australian media commentators have gone on record with statements like "Aussies love to have a punt on sports", but at the same time, spot surveys by Media Man on the mean streets of Sydney show that 7 in 10 people think that sport should not be about gambling, but its fine to bet on sport, as long as that is not the focus of the sport.
Australian Tax Payers Bail Out ACT Pokie Clubs...
The ACT Government is preparing to use millions of dollars of taxpayers' money to save Labor-party owned gambling venues in the wake of Commonwealth pokies reform.
The party's four pokies clubs around the capital are to share in any compensation package worth up to $30 million for the local industry before the introduction of mandatory ''pre-commitment'' technology for gaming machines. The Canberra Labor Club group, which operates nearly 10 per cent of the city's poker machines, could stand to benefit by up to $3million in cash or tax breaks as the ACT Government looks for Commonwealth backing to provide local clubs with a $30million soft landing. Canberra's pokies industry says that the Government ministers are in an untenable position, acting as regulators for the pokies trade while their party benefits from the proceeds of gambling. Gaming Minister Andrew Barr has said that it would cost $25 million to retrofit or replace Canberra's gambling machines with the new technology and up to $6 million to install a central monitoring capability and that the capital's clubs could not afford to shoulder the expense without government help. But the minister says the ACT Government will expect Commonwealth support for the cost of compensating the territory's clubs for the massive expenditure. The Federal Government said last week that it was prepared to force the pre-commitment technology, championed by Tasmanian independent MP Andrew Wilkie, on the territory. The Canberra Labor Club Group operates 488 machines in its four clubs at Charnwood, Belconnen, Weston and Civic and reaped net gambling revenue of $14 million in 2009-10 and donated $662,000 to ACT Labor. Barr said this week that the territory could not afford to bail out its clubs without Commonwealth help. "We have a great deal of concern about the ability of this jurisdiction to implement this scheme within a reasonable time frame and within a reasonable cost,'' he said. ''We don't have a central monitoring facility for all machines within the ACT so we're in a situation not dissimilar to Tasmania for example in relation to not having that technology."
Yankee Man Pleads Not Guilty To Aussie Murder; Mega Millions Gambling Connection...
The millionaire US lottery winner accused of shooting dead Australian property developer Greg McNicol in Detroit last month has entered a not guilty plea to the murder charge. Freddie Young, 62, was ordered to stand trial for McNicol's murder after entering his plea in a Detroit court on Thursday. The trial was set for January 9 and if convicted Young faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. US authorities allege Young fired a fatal shot at McNicol on May 7 after a heated argument outside a block of apartments the Australian bought in Detroit in February. During a preliminary hearing last week, witnesses testified a heated exchange erupted between Mr McNicol and Young's daughter, 20-year-old Ayana, who was behind on her rent and facing eviction. Young arrived in a vehicle, warned McNicol to "watch your mouth" and moments later shot him in the groin, a tenant, Leola Brown, told the court. Young, who Detroit police say snatched a $US1.8 million share when a lottery syndicate he was in won $US46.5 million in a Mega Millions jackpot in February, has been in custody since his arrest almost a week after McNicol's death. A bail hearing will be held on June 16. Mr McNicol's body was flown back to his former home on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula where a funeral was held on May 20.
Online Lottery Company Has Jumbo Plans For Future...
Online lottery company, Jumbo Interactive has moved to reassure investors the company is prepared for the prospect of competition in the NSW market. In a statement, CEO Mike Veverka said competition in the state could ramp up in the next financial year with the prospect of the Tatts Group launching a site catering to the market. But Veverka said the company's ozlotteries.com site and Tatts have been competing in Victoria for over five years. "We have experience in a competitive market ... so we will be prepared should another online lotteries site be introduced in NSW," he said.
Jumbo Interactive also announced the immediate resignation of non-executive director Bonita Boezman. The company is forecasting net profit after tax of between $4 million and $4.4 million in FY11, from revenue in the range of $75 million to $80 million. Jumbo swung to a loss of $7.3 million in FY10, on write-downs and costs from winding up loss-making software business Manaccom, which had been one of Australia's oldest software distributors. On Wednesday JIN shares fell 3.8 per cent trading to $0.380.
Mr Xenophon Attacks Former ALP Staffer Turned Crown Casino PR...
Senator Nick 'Mr X' (satire) Xenophon has stepped up his attack on a former ALP secretary now working for Crown Casino. The Independent SA Senator said former Labor Party secretary Karl Bitar's is being paid to destroy gambling reforms. The Independent Senator has gone on the attack after Mr Bitar told the Herald Sun he was brought in to Crown to push tourism and promote casinos, rather than campaign against pokies reforms. Mr Xenophon told the ABC's Insiders program that claim was "laughable". "Karl Bitar is going to use his knowledge - his inside knowledge - of the Labor Party to try and nobble these reforms," he said. "In the US, there are strict rules between those who work with the executive arm of government ... and working for companies against the very interest for which the Government they worked with were advocating. "But he can get away with it here."
James Packer Public Generosity With Wife...
The Packer's were spotted in Perth, Western Australia, last weekend to attend the WA Citizen of the Year Awards at his Burswood Casino, billionaire James Packer was spotted being very generous with Erica. Soon after arriving on his private jet with wife Erica and the couple's two kids, the billionaire was spotted on the tarmac peeling off a number of $100 bills which, we hear, were then given to the wife. Packer joined friend mate Kerry Stokes, chairman of Seven West Media, at the Citizen of the Year dinner. Stokes attended this year's awards as a recipient and was presented with an award for his business achievements, passion for art and preservation of military heritage. God, high profile statue can generate all sorts of interesting news can't it!
Many Australian media and commentators continue to call Australia's the biggest gamblers in the world. Hope the Aussies are taking the title as a compliment.
Friends, good punting, know your limits and bet with your head, not over it.
Punters, er readers, stay glued to Media Man and Gambling911 reports for more "can't miss" information on Australian pokies, gaming and casino wars.
*Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. They cover a dozen industry sectors including gaming. Media Man also publishes Media Man News
Website Network
Media Man International
Media Man News
Media Man
Media Man Australia
Media Man Canada
Media Man Games
Media Man Brand
Media Man Network
Casino News Media
Poker News Media
Global Gaming Directory
