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VIP casino financing changing, says panel

Changes to the way in which luxury casinos are financed are having an impact on gambling regulations and codes of practise, a panel of industry experts has said.

Speaking at the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) in Las Vegas, the panel, which included lawyers and regulators as well as trend analysts, said that the use of new funding methods such as private-equity had now become commonplace.

With Harrah's having announced last month that it was the subject of a $15 billion buyout bid from two private equity firms, the issue is taking on increased significance within the industry.

Many rules and regulations only legislate for public companies or loans provided from banks, the panel suggested. But the rise of elaborate casino-resorts has meant that billion dollar construction budgets are no longer the exception but, increasingly, the norm.

The key challenge for the industry is to reconcile private financing initiatives with the conception of gaming as a reliable system based on principles of integrity, said Lynne Levin-Kaufman, a Cooper Levenson attorney specialising in gambling-based issues.


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