Inside Asian Gaming

November 2015 inside asian gaming 43 and operational and technical staff to oversee electronic gaming operations on a revenue share model throughout Macau. CYM currently manages electronic gaming machines in the slot venues of Landmark, Casa Real and Grandview. Following the success of Duo Fu Duo Cai, “Super 88 Fortunes” is a transformation by Bally Technologies of the popular 88 Fortunes from a Duo Fu Duo Cai link to a standalone game, which has joined the Super Series as the first standalone title. The new 5x4 array offers 1024 ways to win and Super Stack winning combinations to bring new levels of excitement to the game. “We are confident that Super 88 Fortunes can bring a very good experience for our regular players who are looking for exciting games around Macau,” said Jimmy Poh, Director of Slot Operations – CY Management. release and escorted him to safety. After viewing surveillance footage of the incident Justice Choo found that casino staff had exercised poor judgment and that casino officers and Sats Secuity staff should have known they did not have the right to detain Goel. He awarded Mr Goel SG$45,915 in damages including false imprisonment, pain and suffering and medical expenses. Penghu may return to the polls to vote on allowing casino gaming In January 2009, the government of Taiwan lifted a ban on gambling on Taiwan’s outlying islands of Kinmen, Matsu and Penghu – but insisted local residents should give their approval before a casino could open on any of the islands. Ever since there has been much talk of opening casino gaming on the islands, but very little action. In September 2009 residents of Penghu, a group of Taiwanese islands about 50 kilometers west of the Taiwanese mainland, voted on the issue, with the result being 56.4% against allowing casino gaming. But Penghu residents may now be getting another chance to vote on the issue. Late last month the Penghu local government’s Referendum Screening Committee approved a proposal for a new casino referendum early in 2016. Groups advocating the legalization of gambling in Penghu will need the approval of 5% of Penghu’s over 80,000 eligible voters before a referendum can be called. Last year Taiwan’s parliament discussed a bill to regulate casino gambling on the country’s outlying islands. The bill included 30- year licenses and a maximum tax rate of 16% of GGR, but has not progressed. It has been argued Taiwan has the potential to be a second Macau, sourcing a majority of its players from Fujian Province in much the same way Macau sources a majority of its players from Guangdong Province. However mainland officials have repeatedly quashed this idea. In May this year Fan Liqing, spokesperson for the State Council’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said agreements between China and Taiwan prohibit mainlanders from gambling in Taiwan. Zhang Zhijun, Director of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said if Taiwan’s outlying islands were to approve casinos, the mainland would revoke direct transit, shipping and trade links between Fujian and Taiwan’s outlying islands. REGIONAL BRIEFS Genting Sentosa liable for false imprisonment and assault and battery of patron Resorts World Sentosa, Genting Group’s Singapore casino operation, has been found liable for false imprisonment and assault and battery of one its patrons, Mr Adesh Goel (pictured). Justice Choo Han Teck of the Singapore High Court stated in his judgment that “the acts of holding [Goel] back, grabbing his arms and the scuffles that resulted in him being hit against the wall are not conduct that are ordinarily acceptable in daily life.” Justice Choo noted that the casino may detain a person suspected of committing a crime until police arrive, but stated that this was not the situation in Mr Goel’s case. Justice Choo went on to say that Goel had committed no offence, he was not informed why RWS had detained him and that RWS had not immediately contacted the police after detaining Goel. The case arose after a 2012 incident in which Goel and another patron were arguing after the other patron mistakenly took a gaming chip belonging to Goel. Goel was led off to a room to “cool down” but when he tried to leave he was repeatedly blocked or restrained by auxiliary police officers employed by Sats Security Services under contract to RWS. Both RWS and SATS conceded, as was confirmed by their own medical experts, that Mr Goel’s shoulder was broken during the incident. Mr Goel claims he was denied medical attention until he called the Singapore Police Force who eventually secured his