Casino City’s Friday Five: Lottery, fines and new bills edition
Ireland took a major step forward with the enactment of a new gambling regulation bill, promising to reshape the industry within the country. Across the Atlantic, a Las Vegas casino saw a streak of luck with consecutive jackpots, while three states in the U.S. embraced the digital age with the introduction of online scratch tickets.
Meanwhile, in North Carolina, Harrah's is putting the finishing touches on a new hotel tower at one of its properties, signaling continued growth in the hospitality sector. However, not all news was positive, as an Australian casino faced a substantial fine for regulatory breaches.
Let’s begin with a few jackpot wins:
5. Caesars Palace jackpots hit on back-to-back days
On 12 October, a guest was playing High Card Flush Poker when he struck gold, winning a $600,022 jackpot. A man from Sheridan, Montana, was in town for a football game when he decided to play poker at Caesars Palace. Eric had been playing for less than an hour when he hit the jackpot. When asked what his first thought was, Eric stated he was happy and that he plans on remaining retired with his winnings.
Congrats to @CaesarsRewards guest Eric H. from Montana who hit a Jackpot totaling $600,022!
— Caesars Palace (@CaesarsPalace) October 14, 2024
21+. Gambling problem? Call 800-522-4700. pic.twitter.com/vM4fKWm5y6
Then, in the early morning of the next day, another guest scored big when she hit a $216,682 jackpot playing Crazy 4 Poker. A woman from Knoxville, Tennessee, was on vacation when the exciting win occurred. She expressed that she would like to use her winnings to buy a home and travel with her children.
4. Harrah’s Cherokee Valley Rivers new hotel tower nears completion
Earlier this week, Harrah's Cherokee Valley River Casino & Hotel in North Carolina shared updates on the development of the new Valley Tower, the latest milestone in Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River’s $275 million expansion project, following the opening of a 25,000 square-foot expanded casino floor in May.
Construction on the Valley Tower has progressed substantially, with exterior wall panel installation complete and framing fully finished up to level 11. Key systems such as mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire sprinklers are now in place across all floors, while drywall and insulation have been installed from levels one through nine.
In addition to nearly doubling the amount of hotel rooms currently offered, Valley Tower will also host a lineup of amenities including the 12,000 square-foot rooftop restaurant providing mountain views, the 9,600 square-foot salon and spa, and year-round indoor pool. The development of these additions is on-schedule for an early 2025 opening.
3. Jackpot.com launches digital scratch tickets
Jackpot.com announced yesterday the launch of its digital scratch ticket offering in Massachusetts, Ohio, and Texas. This new offering enables customers to play official state scratch tickets on all their devices.
Players in Massachusetts will have access to eight scratchers upon the launch, including Lifetime Millions and the nation’s first JAWS instant ticket. Debuted earlier this year in honor of next summer’s 50th anniversary of the JAWS theatrical release, the instant ticket gives players the opportunity to win instant grand prizes of $1 million, as well as Second Chance Drawings in which 30 winners will be awarded a JAWS-inspired trip for two to Martha’s Vineyard in the summer of 2025.
In Ohio, Jackpot.com launches with eight Scratchers, including three of the state’s most popular scratch-off games – Billion ($50), Lady Luck ($20) and Golden Casino ($10).
Jackpot.com will launch with seven scratchers in Texas, including the popular 500x and Jackpot Millions.
2. Crown Melbourne fined $2 million for self-exclusion breaches
On Monday, the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission fined Crown Melbourne $2 million for allowing 242 people who had self-excluded from gambling to place bets at the Australian casino over an eight-month period between October 2023 and May 2024.
The self-exclusion breaches were detected through VGCCC’s ongoing monitoring of the casino’s operations. The Commission determined the breaches were due to system and control failures rather than deliberate or egregious disregard by Crown of its regulatory obligations.
The Commission acknowledges Crown has taken some steps to strengthen its controls for policing exclusion orders, and introduced measures to improve its monitoring activities, physical security, use of technology and training of staff.
We have fined Crown Melbourne $2 million for allowing people who have self-excluded to gamble.
— Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (@VicGCCC) October 14, 2024
It is an offence to allow anyone who has signed up to Crown’s program to enter or gamble in the casino.
Full story: https://t.co/mrboGVyS7I#VGCCC #GamblingRegulation pic.twitter.com/osAPkf37Xf
1. Ireland’s new gambling regulation bill becomes law
Minister of State at the Department of Justice with responsibility for Law Reform, James Browne TD, welcomed the passage of the Gambling Regulation Bill 2022 through both Houses of the Oireachtas.
The landmark bill establishes stricter controls on advertising, creates a self-exclusion register, and forms independent regulatory authority.
With regard to black market operators, the bill contains a suite of measures to address illegal or criminal gambling activity and includes explicit prohibitions on illegal activity or practices, some of which could result in significant custodial sentences.
It also provides for the creation of a Social Impact Fund to support awareness–raising and educational measures and to support problem gambling treatment activities.