Inside Asian Gaming

outlying areas such as the Gold Coast that are popular with tourists. “These parties will now need to clearly demonstrate they have experience in design, development and operation of large scale integrated resort and entertainment projects, or will be part of a bona fide bidding team,” said Mr Walker, who added that it was too early to say whether the parties would formally submit bids. Echo and Crown are expected to be out front in the running, and reports are that New Zealand-based rival SkyCity Entertainment Group will be among larger developers from outside the country joining the fray and whose ranks include Hong Kong financier Tony Fung, who has proposed the biggest bet yet in the form of a $4 billion luxury resort and residential complex outside Cairns in the north of the state that will look to leverage the appeal of the Great Barrier Reef. IGT Grows Q1 Profits Amid Tough Trading International Game Technology reported a 21% increase in corporate profits in the first quarter despite what CEO Patti Hart described as “market challenges” that continue to impact revenues. Net income for the Reno, Nev.-based slot giant was US$79.2 million for the initial 12 weeks of fiscal 2014, good for 31 cents in earnings per share. But overall revenues were up only 2% to $541.2 million, the smallest increase in the past four quarters. Revenue from machine sales grew 4% year on year to $243.6 million, of which sales to casinos in the US and Canada increased 7% to $170 million. International sales dipped 3% to $73.6 million. Revenue from operations fell 8% to $223 million. In a statement, IGT warned investors the company could see reduced profits over the next few quarters if declining gaming revenue trends continue. “All in, it was a weak quarter and the outlook for the remainder of 2014 appears challenging,” said Las Vegas-based investment analysts Union Gaming Research. In a note to investors, the firm said it expects continued softness in domestic US demand, combined with few new openings and new markets, to spell fewer new sales opportunities. It also will act to depress yields in the gaming operations segment. “There is a hyper-competitive environment for casino floor space,” the firm said. Growth in IGT’s interactive segment was the highlight of the quarter, with revenues up 41% to $74.6 million, while social gaming, which includes the company’s popular DoubleDown Casino, increased 57% to $64.8 million. IGT reported more than 1.7 million average daily users for the quarter at DoubleDown, 17% more than in Q1 2013. INTERNATIONAL BRIEFS “Mobile: the Future of Interactive Gambling,” as the report is titled, values gross win from mobile at just under €4.5 billion for 2012 ($6.1 billion) as smart phone and tablet penetration levels continue to push the evolution of new channels. Interactive accounts for about 8% of all gambling gross win. The report predicts that by 2018, mobile alone will approach that. December 2013 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 45 Echo Sells Townsville Casino Echo Entertainment has sold its Jupiters Townsville Hotel & Casino in Queensland for A$70 million to an Australian hotelier called Colonial Leisure Group. The sale price was close to what Sydney-based Echo was seeking for the property on the country’s northern Pacific coast. The casino contains 320 machine games and 20 live tables. The hotel has 190 rooms and suites. Echo said it would record an $8 million pre-tax profit on the sale, representing a multiple of 10 times fiscal 2013 earnings. The property, which has struggled amid limited growth opportunities, had been for sale for months. Echo wants to focus capital resources on expanding on the Gold Coast farther south and in Brisbane, where the company’s historic position as sole operator is under assault from rival Crown Resorts and others seeking three new licenses the state is putting up for bid. Echo is after the state’s permission to replace its small, aging Treasury Casino & Hotel in the capital city with a lavish new resort as part of a larger redevelopment planned for the downtown government district. Colonial Leisure, whose businesses include 15 hotels in Victoria andWestern Australia, a brewery in the west, a resort island near the Great Barrier Reef and an aviation service in northern Queensland, said it will make of Jupiters a “leading regional resort, improving the operational and financial performance of the property”. Queensland has thus far received expressions of interest from eight development groups for the three new casino licenses it has put up for grabs. Acting State Development Minister Ian Walker said the groups have been issued the required documents as part of the first stage of a vetting process slated to conclude on 31st March. The licenses authorize an integrated resort with gaming at the Queen’s Wharf redevelopment area in central Brisbane and two in Jupiters Townsville Hotel & Casino Patti Hart