A rendering of just one portion of the proposed Resorts World Miami Genting casino resort project; the $3 billion project nevertheless has not received a high sign from Florida lawmakers.
They say cash speaks, but in Genting Resorts World’s case, it’s perhaps not been speaking as loudly as the company might like.
Antagonists Await
Two-Hour Tours
Maine Casinos Oppose Expanded Gambling in State
People consider Maine like this, but a small casino contingent is attempting to hold their own there since well. (Image: Katarina Neef/atpm.com)
We may not agree with them, but we know there are plenty of reasons that individuals may oppose more gambling in their state, from moral objections to worries about problem gambling. But in Maine, gambling is finding an unusual opponent: the gambling enterprises on their own.
Read Our Lips: No New Casinos
Officials from the two Maine casinos presently in operation spoke to lawmakers this and said that they shouldn’t approve any expansion of the casino industry in the state week. In this case, it would appear that the casinos think that industry in the state is totally saturated already while others believe they’re simply afraid of a small competition.
The two properties under consideration the Hollywood and Oxford Casinos faced off at the Joint Standing Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs against members of two native tribes that are american the state, as well as the owner of the Scarborough Downs race track, over a number of bills that would serve to grow Maine’s gambling options.
The most controversial of these is called LD 1111. It would allow Scarborough Downs to become a ‚racino,‘ operating slot machines with their horse that is current racing. That issue has already been brought to referendum in 2011, whenever it received only 45 per cent of the vote statewide.
Factional Battles
According to track owner Sharon Terry, Scarborough Downs is struggling as a result of competition it faces from the casinos into the state particularly Oxford Casino, which is just 45 minutes away and opened in 2012 june. And while Hollywood Casino may be further away, it features a friend racino, and can offer everything Scarborough Downs can and more.
Terry says that revenues fell 21.8 percent at her track since slots were allowed during the Bangor battle track, and that the problem is getting a whole lot worse since the opening of the Oxford Casino. Since Scarborough Downs is responsible for 101 days of racing each year, the cut in revenue not only threatens the track, but additionally Maine’s whole horse racing industry.
‚The Downs cannot survive under the current laws,‘ Terry said.
Nevertheless, the general managers of both gambling enterprises also several business owners in the Oxford area disagreed, opposing allowing slots at the Scarborough Downs facility. In basic, the gambling enterprises feel that any new gambling in their state threatens to ‚cannibalize the industry,‘ as Maine is a relatively small state without enough gamblers to support more venues.
That helps explain why they also opposed three other bills being considered by hawaii. Those incorporate a bill that would allow charities to operate up to five slots at their headquarters in order to raise funds, as well as two bills that would allow Indian tribes to expand their gambling operations: one which would let the Houlton Band of Maliseets to operate slots and table games, and another that would let the Passamaquoddy Tribe apply to run table games and slots at a current bingo facility.
‚Should further facilities available or expand, we would see erosion that is further of client base,‘ said John Osborne, general manager of the Hollywood Casino.
Big Banks Refuse to Process Legal Online Gambling Transactions
Major charge card issuers like Chase, Wells Fargo and United states Express will not process online that is even legal gambling, they state. (Image: Jason Hindley/money.cnn.com)
Everything seemed therefore hunky dory: Nevada, Delaware and brand New Jersey all got legal online gambling or at poker that is least, in Nevada’s instance up and running in 2013, and aside from a few dilemmas with geo-location snafus, overall, the sites in all three states have actually been operating pretty smoothly. Except for starters fairly major bug that has nothing at all to do with the sites by themselves: major monetary institutions like United states Express, Wells Fargo and J.P. Morgan Chase are refusing to process any money interactions on these web sites, legal or not.
Your Transaction Is Denied
Whether credit or debit, several card that is heavy-hitter say they are not gambling when it comes to honoring their cards on Web gaming web sites. And demonstrably, that’s not sitting well with many players whom say, what gives? But the banks included say they’re not going to budge, not for online casinos, poker or sports that are even legal in Nevada.
‚We do not let credit card transactions for this task,‘ stated Steve O’Halloran, director of public relations and public affairs for Chase Card and Merchant Services. And American Express spokeswoman Sanette Chao concurs, saying her company simply ‚prohibits the use of the card for gambling services.‘
While some may conclude that this is certainly some kind of moral imperative, it turns out that it’s more of a easy bottom-line business decision than anything else.
‚Gambling services, historically, account for a number that is high of member credit losses and customer service disputes,‘ noted Chao.
UIGEA Still Directs Banks‘ Positions
And some banking institutions do still hold onto the old UIGEA model (Unlawful Web Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006), because, after all, from a federal standpoint, it’s still murky exactly how it is become interpreted after having a 2012 reinterpretation of the first 1961 Wire Act was handed down from the Supreme Court that opened the door to at state-by-state that is least lawful online gambling.
Wells Fargo spokeswoman Natalie Brown states this is certainly the thinking behind her company’s decision to decline gambling deposits.
‚In compliance with regulation GG (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006), we prohibit the use of consumer credit cards for Web gambling,‘ said Brown, whom is vice president of consumer financing communications with Wells Fargo. ‚The companies (Visa, MasterCard and Express that is american the merchant category codes and block charges that do not adhere to federal laws.‘
While this may make some sense from their views, it could prove a discouraging truth for online players in legal gambling states.
‚What the industry has done is take a conservative approach or reaction to the legalization of online gambling,‘ said Tobin Prior, CEO of Ultimate Gaming, which is really a subsidiary of Station Casinos, a land-gaming proprietor in Nevada and the first to ever go online with legal poker in the Silver State. ‚That can be frustrating, but we work with clients discover options.‘
Certainly one of some great benefits of this brick-and-mortar/Internet symbiosis is that clients can both fund and cash down at any of their land video gaming properties, in either Southern Nevada or at Station’s land gaming partner the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City. Players can also use e-checks or cable transfers to prior make deposits noted.
While legal websites on the internet might wish that banks had been more within their court right now, Caesars WSOP site’s spokesperson Seth Palansky says it’s what it is.