Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Gaming Industry Trends | Online Legal Gambling Market | CIT

Gaming Industry Trends | Online Legal Gambling Market | CIT



Betting on the 
Commercial Gaming Sector

More states betting on legalized gambling to create revenue; regional gaming facing compression

An increasing number of states want to provide gaming options to their residents rather than see them head to adjacent states to gamble, leading to the recent expansion of the gaming industry. Steve Epperly, Senior Director, CIT Corporate Finance, Gaming, offers his outlook on gaming industry trends and opportunities.

Q: How significant of a role does gaming play in state budgets?

A: It varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Obviously, it’s the main driver of the economy in Nevada, which has the lowest tax rate of any jurisdiction in the country. The expansion of gaming over the years, when states have seen revenue leave their borders for neighboring states where gaming is allowed, has increased the propensity for these states to legalize it themselves to keep the revenue at home. To put this in perspective, there were a couple of months in 2013 where the 12 Pennsylvania casinos collected more monthly gaming tax than the 300 casinos in Nevada did, in the same time period.
As a result, Pennsylvania has put pressure on Atlantic City, as well as the Connecticut casinos, which provide roughly 25% of the state’s budget revenues. States are interested in keeping this revenue within their own borders, and this is what has led to the expansion of gaming as states look to grow their revenue bases.

Q: How has the gaming sector evolved over the past five years?

A: There’s been a number of new jurisdictions that have come online in Ohio and Maryland for example, and Massachusetts and New York are in the process. There are a number of other markets where they’ve increased the number of casinos, or changed some of the regulations to allow for more or different types of games. The casino and gaming sector is looking for ways to grow itself and reinvent itself, but we’re also starting to see some cannibalization in what used to be pretty exclusive markets.
The legalization of gaming and the opening of casinos in Ohio are starting to put revenue compression on Illinois and Michigan.

Q: How is the online gambling market impacting traditional casinos?

A:  Legalized online gaming is in its infancy and is currently restricted to intrastate gaming, which means the licensee can only conduct online operations within the border of the state in which its license was issued. This severely limits the pool of players. Sometime in the future, as online gambling begins to become more prevalent, we would expect it to become interstate and regulated at the Federal level, which will increase the liquidity of the games, the number of players and the pools. Generally speaking though, it’s been very underwhelming considering the limited rollout to date.

Q: Are there benefits to Federal legislation regulating online gaming?

A: Online gaming will roll out slowly, on a state-by-state basis, likely under the regulatory framework already established in these states for traditional land-based gaming. 
Growth in online gaming will reach a tipping point when a critical mass of states approve the activity and then enter into interstate compacts that pool gamers in these states together, similar to those agreements that govern multistate lotteries such as Powerball.

Q: Where do you see demand for financing in your sector?

A:  There are a lot of maturities and obligations coming due over the next few years. There are roughly 33 commercial operators with obligations coming due within the next two and a half years. Nearly half of those dollars are going to either mature or have to be refinanced before the end of 2018. That’s a significant amount. When this debt starts coming due, dependent upon the shape of some of these markets, it could potentially be at a higher cost to the operator, creating a leverage increasing event.

Q: What is the casino and gaming sector using financing for today?

A:  The sector is using financing for expansion, greenfield project finance and acquisitions. We’re seeing some of the larger operators shed some of their non-core properties which is creating opportunities for smaller, less diversified companies to pick up new businesses and diversify themselves. We’re also seeing needed financing for new projects that are coming online in newly created jurisdictions like Massachusetts, Ohio, and Maryland.

Q: In which markets do you see the most growth?

A:  I see continuous growth in Ohio, where there are still a few casinos to build, and Maryland (although the market is ramping up slower than expected). Massachusetts is a completely new market that’s densely populated where most of its gamers are currently going to Connecticut, Rhode Island or New York. So towns like Boston need to find a way to keep revenue within their borders. Pennsylvania, on the other hand, has been a huge market since it opened up and is now starting to level off.

Q: What’s your outlook for the sector?

A:  We’re going to continue to see the rebound take hold in Nevada, particularly Las Vegas, which is growing and seeing new investment in the market with new openings of properties and expansions. We’re going to continue to see softness in the regional markets, like the Midwest and upper Midwest. I think a lot of uncertainty still exists about the economy. The lower end gambler -- which is the staple for a lot of these markets -- is just not doing it as much and as frequent. They’ve been hurt by the lifting of the payroll tax holiday rolling off, and the uncertainty around healthcare reform. I think all those things are creating a drag in a lot of the regional markets.

Q: Where are there opportunities in the market today?

A: Those companies that were able to diversify and build a presence in Asia are doing quite well. 

Macau by itself does almost $40 billion a year in revenue, as compared to Las Vegas, which does closer to $8 billion. In Singapore you have two casinos that may likely generate more revenue than all of the Las Vegas strip casinos combined. 

The Asian population has a very, very high propensity to game, and within Macau there’s close to 2.5 billion people within a 90 minute flight of the casinos. 

Japan could potentially be the next big market as the legislature works to pass legislation to have casinos built by the time the Olympics arrive in 2020.
The biggest opportunity for CIT in both the commercial and Native American sectors will be related to refinancing activity, particularly bank loan-for-bond take-outs. We also expect to see continued loan demand in the Native American gaming sector from expansions on better performing Native American casinos.
On the commercial side, loan demand will also be driven by M&A activity and refinancing.
    

Monday, June 16, 2014

Casino visitors don't follow stereotypes, survey shows | TribLIVE

Casino visitors don't follow stereotypes, survey shows | TribLIVE



Casino visitors don't follow stereotypes, survey shows

About Mark Gruetze
Mark Gruetze 412-320-7838
Administrative Editor
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
 
Mark Gruetze has been a recreational gambler for more than 30 years, focusing on blackjack, video poker and poker. He is administrative editor of the Tribune-Review. 
Details
Money trail
Statewide slot players' loss for week ended June 8: $44.11 million, down from $46.52 million in comparable week last year.
Statewide slot payout rate since July 1: 89.90 percent; for every $100 bet, machines return an average of $89.90
High and low payout rates: 90.75 percent at Lady Luck Nemacolin, Fayette County; 89.21 percent at Penn National near Harrisburg
Rivers: 89.69 percent payout; weekly slot revenue $5.2 million, down from $5.29 million last year
Meadows: 89.92 percent; weekly revenue $4.33 million, down from $4.45 million
Presque Isle: 89.45 percent; weekly revenue $2.5 million, down from $2.83 million
Lady Luck Nemacolin: 90.75 percent payout; weekly revenue $535,663; not open last year
Source: Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board
WESTERN PA. PLAYERS CASH AT WSOP
Four Western Pennsylvania players finished in the money last week at World Series of Poker events in Las Vegas.
Poker pro Josh Brikis of Murrysville cashed twice. He got $8,746 for finishing 58th among 541 players in a 6-handed No Limit Hold 'Em tournament with a $5,000 buy-in, and he won $7,805 for finishing 20th among 389 players in a $3,000 Hold 'Em shootout. In shootouts, only one player from each table advances to the next round. Nicholas Immekus of Jefferson Hills just missed the money in the $5,000 6-Handed Hold 'Em event. He went out in 63rd place, and the top 60 got paid.
Manh Nguyen of Homestead won $4,110 for finishing 82nd of 1,594 players in a $1,500 Hold 'Em event. Fred Rossi of Clairton won $2,059 for finishing 149th of 2,043 players in a $1,000 Hold 'Em tournament. Gregory Worner of Erie won $1,749 for finishing 149th of 1,473 players in a Turbo Hold 'Em tournament. A turbo tournament has faster-than-usual increases in blinds and antes.
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By Mark Gruetze 

Published: Sunday, June 15, 2014, 9:00 p.m.Updated 11 hours ago

People who enjoy casinos are a lot like everyone else, according to a new study.
“Casino visitors are a portrait of the American electorate,” Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of the American Gaming Association, says during a conference call. “They're well-educated, middle-class voters and homeowners who regularly attend religious services, and most are ages 21 to 59, the target audience local businesses are trying to reach.”
The association, which represents commercial casinos, conducts an annual survey about gambling attitudes and habits. The 2014 results were released last week as the first major initiative in the association's “Get to Know Gaming” campaign, which aims to build a case for reducing taxes on casinos and streamlining government regulations involving gambling. Pennsylvania's 55 percent tax rate on slot revenue is part of what Freeman calls government's “tax and torture” approach to the casino industry.
Democratic pollster Mark Mellman, CEO of the Mellman Group, and Republican pollster Glen Bolger, founder and partner of Public Opinion Strategies, conducted the survey in May. It has a margin of error of 3.1 percent.
Many findings bolster the association's push to ease the burden on casinos. The survey finds that 87 percent of the public say gambling is an acceptable activity; That is two points higher than last year and the highest such rating on record.
It shows that 48 percent of the public have a favorable view of the casino industry, while 24 percent see it as unfavorable and 27 percent have no opinion. Casinos get high marks as a business: 59 percent say they help the local economy and 74 percent say they create jobs; 26 percent say casino have a negative impact on the area vs. 46 percent who see a positive impact and 14 percent who see no impact.
Beyond the political fodder, the survey provides insights about the people who rub elbows at the slot machines and blackjack tables.
Bolger says the findings shoot down stereotypes such as grandma spending her last pennies of the month at the slot machine.
“Casino visitors really are a pretty good reflection of America, overall,” he says, ticking off these statistics:
• Nearly two of three casino visitors own a home
• Most are 21 to 59 years old
• A plurality make $60,000 to $99,000 a year, and 70 percent consider themselves middle class
• A majority went to college, and 46 percent have a degree, which is 16 points above the general public
• They are religious. Two-thirds attend church, and one of every four consider themselves evangelical or born-again Christian
By far, slots remain the most popular game, with 48 percent saying machines are their favorite form of casino gambling;. Blackjack is second at 14 percent. Poker, roulette, video poker and craps follow, all with 4 to 6 percent of gamblers ranking them as their favorite.
However, slots aren't the most common form of gambling. That distinction belongs to state lotteries, which have far worse odds of winning than slots or any casino table game.
Mellman says the popularity of gambling seems to be growing among young adults.
About 37 percent of casino visitors are 21 to 39 years old, he says, while that age group accounts for about 26 percent of those who don't go to casinos.
“That younger demographic is more likely to go to casinos,” he says.
Freeman says young adults help fuel the increasing acceptance of gambling.
The percentage of people with unfavorable views of gambling and casinos drops significantly among Americans younger than 49.
“The acceptance, and really the embracing, of gaming is greater than ever,” he says.
Mark Gruetze is administrative editor for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-320-7838 orplayers@tribweb.com.

 



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