This week’s casino news starts off with a focus on gambling responsibility as a Finnish company is looking to blaze a new trail. Although it’s a subject that’s not often discussed, Paf is looking to bring it to the limelight and put the onus on casinos to stop players from losing their shirts.
Finland Casino Introduces Gambling Loss Limit
A new online casino in Finland is looking to make waves. Paf, a new online gaming company, is planning to implement a new law that will stop gamblers from blowing too much of their wealth. They plan to do that by introducing certain stop limits within the year when a customer gets out of hand. As of now, the projected cap limit will be set to $35,000 in American currency and will be in effect on September 1. They are looking to champion a cause that many other online sportsbooks and gaming companies don’t shed much light on: gambling responsibility.
Paf estimates that within five years they will see 5% loss in annual profits. Of course, any business that has their goal set on profit alone would see this as a bad decision. However, in the long run, Paf is hoping they can set a precedent for other gambling companies – especially in North America – to enforce this rule. There are gaming programs in Massachusetts such as The GameSense Program to help remind players to set a money and time limit for gambling. A majority of casinos recommend these programs but they are never mandatory and they are rarely highlighted in any way.
Paf is hoping that by putting the responsibility on their shoulders they can monitor players and keep them out of trouble when they themselves lose control.
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Announces Partnership with Bet365
Just days after the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City’s grand opening in New Jersey, they have announced that they will be partnering with Bet365. The United Kingdom’s gambling giant will oversee operations at their Atlantic City casino. This agreement was settled back in June by the Division of Gaming. It had been reported that Bet365 had applied for a casino license and would be seeing an acquisition very soon, but no one was exactly sure what their move in Atlantic City was going to be.
Hard Rock has had a successful launch of their new brand as well as their online gambling website in New Jersey. This partnership marks another European company breaking into the American sports industry. We’ve have recently seen a revival in Atlantic City – especially in large part to online gaming – and Bet365 is looking to get a piece of that.
Maryland Casino Revenue Jumps 14% In June
Maryland casinos continue to see successful results month over month as there appears to be an insatiable hunger for gaming in the neighborhood. The six Maryland casinos reeled in $148.9 million in game revenue in the month of June alone. The biggest source of revenue continues to be the MGM National Harbor, which garnered a whopping 18% increase in June with $59.3 million. The second and third highest revenue stream were Live! Casino and Hotel and Baltimore Casino, which saw 15.1% and 3.3% increases, respectively.
The state’s share revenue in gambling funds local grants, education trust funds as well as the state’s horse racing industry.