Oceania

The continued restructure of Crown Resorts and its business assets has earned Australian casino and leisure magnate James Packer approximately AUS $600 million (£375 million) in cash last week. Packer’s personal wealth vehicle Consolidated Press Holdings (CPH) informed the Australian ASX that it had sold AUS $101 million of ‘debt securities’ in Packer’s Crown Resorts enterprise. Further to the debt securities payment, …

The Australian Federal Court has today approved ASX-listed Tabcorp Holding’s AUS $45 million (£27 million) settlement with financial watchdog AUSTRAC relating to severe breaches of its money-laundering code and corporate compliance failures. Tabcorp governance has agreed to pay the record fine, on the condition that AUSTRAC withdraws any further allegations of non-compliance against the company. As reported in February, Tabcorp …

In a surprise move, the governance of Australia ASX-listed gambling operator Tabcorp Holdings has announced that it has switched regulatory body supervising its AUS $11 billion merger with competitor Tatts Group. Updating investors this morning, Tabcorp confirmed that it had filed a direct merger application with the Australian Competition Tribunal (ACT), replacing the Australia Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) as …

Australian gambling market concerns published by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) regarding the planned AUS $11 billion merger of gambling giants Tabcorp Holdings and Tatts Group has led to a restructure of assets in order for stakeholders to gain ‘final merger approval’. Issuing a 38-page report, the ACCC has detailed that the combining of Tabcorp and Tatts assets …

Betfair Australia will optimise its football related content utilising Football Form Labs (operated by Bettorlogic) software, entering a partnership to engage its sports betting traffic with related football markets. Confirming the partnership, the Football Form Labs (footballformlabs.com) team will provide   editorial previews for every Premier League fixture which wiil be hosted on Betfair Australia’s ‘The Hub’ forum. Football Form Labs content …

Today marks the first day of Trevor Croker’s reign as Chief Executive of Australia ASX-listed Aristocrat Gaming, taking over from long-term incumbent Jamie Odell (2008-2016), who announced his departure as the firm’s leader last November. Being officially appointed CEO at Aristocrats Annual General Meeting, Croker stated to investors that he would priorities ‘shareholder growth and product renewal’ as new leader …

The Australian Transaction Reports & Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) has issued Tabcorp Holdings its biggest ever fine of AUS $45 million (£27 million) for ‘extensive breaches’ of national anti-money laundering rules and compliance standards. The fine has been forwarded to the Australian Federal Court for final approval, against Tabcorp NSW and Victoria enterprises which failed in to register AUSTRAC of multiple …

The Australian betting market has entered a ‘turf war’ following a ‘digital wagering services’ agreement between James Packer’s Crownbet and Clubs NSW. Following an industry tender, Crownbet won the contract to provide interactive wagering services for circa 1,200 syndicated Clubs NSW venues, in a deal that Australian business commentators have valued at AUS $300 million. Clubs NSW governance claims that …

FTSE-listed Playtech Plc continues its industry M&A strategy confirming the acquisition of specialist ‘soft games’ developer Eyecon for a maximum consideration of £50 million. Playtech will pay an upfront cash fee of £25 million for its acquisition of Brisbane-based Eyecon assets. The technology firm has added a further £25 million in performance-based targets once the initial acquisition is complete. Detailing …

A successful Spring Racing Carnival has seen Australia ASX-listed betting and fantasy sports operator TopBetta Holdings (TopBetta) report corporate wagering of AUS $14.5 million (£8.5 million) up 21% quarter on quarter.  Issuing a corporate update, TopBetta revealed that the company had seen an all-time 61% high in active player numbers during Q4 2016 (period ending 31 December). TopBetta governance pointed …