Inside Asian Gaming

INTERNATIONAL BRIEFS Steve Jacobs Loses Bid for Sands Files The Nevada Supreme Court has ruled that Las Vegas Sands does not have to give confidential company information to Steven Jacobs, the fired ex-president of the company’s Macau subsidiary who is suing LVS for wrongful termination. In a 5-0 decision, the justices granted Sands’petition to overturn a lower court order that it produce documents on Mr Jacobs’ 2010 dismissal, saying the matter had been decided in the lower court. “Jacobs’ request for production of the documents was not timely because the District Court had already issued its ruling on the underlying sanctions’ issues,”wrote Chief Justice Mark Gibbons. Then-Clark County District Court Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez in 2012 found that LVS and its Hong Kong-listed affiliate, Sands China, had shown an “intention to deceive the court”. She fined the companies $25,000 and ordered Sands to cover the legal bills of Mr Jacobs for nine hearings that involved Macau’s Personal Data Protection Act. Mr Jacobs is suing the company for wrongful termination and had asked Sands to turn over about 100,000 e-mails and other documents to help him make his case. But for more than a year, the company argued in court that Macau law forbids this even though copies were in Las Vegas and beyond the reach of Macau authorities. Ms Gonzalez suggested to Mr Jacobs that he file a motion for those documents. She said she would conduct a hearing and rule on his arguments for that information at a later date, according to the court decision. But two days later, without having that hearing, she filed her order sanctioning Sands. “I consider this a landmark intersection in the road of gaming history,”Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval said. “We know that more games and more states means more revenue,” said Delaware Gov. Jack Markell. Months in themaking, it is the first suchpartnershipbetween states since the US Department of Justice opened up the possibility in 2011. Before that theUnlawful InternetGamblingEnforcement Act enacted in 2006 successfully prohibited US banks fromprocessing any online bets originating in the country. In the springof 2011, the JusticeDepartment effectively killed the sector with indictments that shut down the US- facing operations of the three largest offshore poker operators. But the department’s re-reading later that year of a 50-year-old law banning gambling over interstate phone lines determined that only sports bettingwas illegal and that Internet transactions between states where gaming is legal should be viewed as legal. Under the agreement between Nevada and Delaware, players are allowed to compete against one another, subject to the gambling regulations of each state. Each state currently has three licensees through which players can access online poker, and each state would get a share of the money wagered. The agreement includes a set of minimum regulatory standards that states would have to meet in order to participate. The agreement will be overseen by an association formed as a Delaware company, with a governing board of one representative from each state. As initial members, Nevada and Delaware both would have to consent to any amendments to the agreement or allowing a third state to join. Thereafter, such changes would require a two-thirds vote of member states. New Jersey, the third state to legalize online gambling, and the most populous, with about 9 million residents, is not included, but a bill in the state’s legislature that is expected to pass will permit the Web operations of Atlantic City’s casinos to participate in cross-state and international player pools. Officials gave no estimate for how much additional revenue the two-state agreement might generate or a date for when a platform allowing Delaware and Nevada players to play against one another will be in place. What is known is that in contrast with the high hopes initially attached to legalization, revenues in all three states have been underwhelming. According to the Delaware Lottery, the state brought in $145,200 in revenues from online gaming in January, $140,000 in December and $111,000 in November. Nevada has not broken out online revenues in the state’s monthly figures but analysts believe it’s ranging from $200,000 to $750,000. In New Jersey, which launched in late November, projections have run from a low of $250 million a year to Gov. Chris Christie’s initial high of $1 billion, a number now acknowledged as wildly optimistic. Through January, the 14 sites affiliated with seven casinos have generated $17.9 million. SkyCity Sets Sights on Brisbane New Zealand’s SkyCity Entertainment may throw its hat in the ring for a new resort casino in downtown Brisbane. Chief Executive Nigel Morrison said the Auckland-based operator notified the Queensland government prior to the 28th February deadline. INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | December 2013 44 Nevada, Delaware Agree To Pool Online Players The governors of the US states of Nevada and Delaware have signed the country’s first agreement for sharing online gamblers across state lines. The revenue potential from the two sparsely populated markets, with less than 3 million residents between them, isn’t huge (and play is restricted to poker, the only online game legal in Nevada), but the compact is significant as a template for interstate cooperation in a sector whose ultimate player pool—“liquidity,” as it’s known in the online poker world, the most important factor in the business— could be worth billions as more states go legal.