The information was disclosed by S&P Global Ratings in a ratings action published on Wednesday. The institution reaffirmed its ‘BB+’ notes rating for Genting New York LLC, one notch below investment grade. The latter firm is also a subsidiary of Genting Malaysia.

The Genting Americas’ bank facility “comprises a mix of delayed-draw term loans to repay the existing US$775 million term loan and a US$150 million revolving credit facility for Genting New York, as well as the US$300-million note for Empire Resorts Inc,” S&P said.

It added: “Genting New York will utilise the remaining proceeds to fund the second phase of construction of the New York casino that is targeted to start in 2027.”

The New York State Gaming Commission voted in December last year to award three full casino licences for downstate New York, including one to Genting New York.

Genting New York’s proposal entailed a US$5.5-billion expansion of the existing venue through to 2030.

“We view Genting Americas’ new bank facility to be largely neutral to our rating on Genting New York,” S&P said. “Our base case factors in incremental debt from the group to fund the construction of its New York commercial casino.”

It added: “The rating on Genting New York is driven by the group’s highly strategic relationship with Genting Bhd.”

The latter is the ultimate parent of the Genting group of companies.

Last week, Genting Malaysia announced it had shelved plans to recapitalise its U.S.-based subsidiary Empire Resorts after the latter repaid its US$300-million 7.75-percent senior secured notes due on November 1, 2026, which had formed the basis of the proposed restructuring.

Mr DiPietro, a 27-year veteran of the FBI, will work with Spectrum Gaming Group’s investigative teams worldwide on “financial crime risk, regulatory compliance, investigations, integrity issues, and emerging threats affecting the gaming industry,” according to the announcement.

Fredric Gushin, president and chief executive of Spectrum Gaming Group, was cited as saying: “Regulators, operators, and policymakers are confronting increasingly sophisticated risks, and Dean’s background will further strengthen Spectrum’s ability to deliver practical, independent guidance to clients around the world.”

The statement noted Mr DiPietro’s appointment came at a time of particular industry challenges relating to “financial crime, illicit finance, cyber-enabled fraud, and regulatory oversight”.

As well as his law-enforcement experience, Mr DiPietro has a master of business administration and a bachelor of science in business administration from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the U.S.

Mr Miller noted that the “American blueprint for gaming” is “increasingly… something that countries look to and say ‘We’d like to do that’.”

His remarks were made during an oral history interview published by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Gaming Law Journal.

In terms of the “American blueprint,” Mr Miller suggested “Macau is a great example”.

The AGA head said that meant resorts that were not exclusively about gambling, but part of the “fun economy, part of the sports gaming, entertainment economy”. Though in Macau’s case, sports betting is not permitted in casinos and is a monopoly concession under Macau Slot Co Ltd.

Under the integrated resort model, customers “don’t have to be gamblers,” Mr Miller stated.

He added: “ They just want to have a good meal, or they want to go to a nice club or shopping venues.”

Three of Macau’s six casino concessionaires have U.S.-based parent companies. All six concessionaires now offer non-gaming attractions including concerts and shows, shopping, fine dining, and other leisure activities. Nonetheless, half the Macau operators have specifically Las Vegas roots.

They are: Las Vegas Sands Corp, controller of Sands China Ltd; MGM Resorts International, majority owner of MGM China Holdings Ltd; and Wynn Resorts Ltd for Wynn Macau Ltd.

A fourth Macau operator, Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd, is listed on Nasdaq in the U.S., and also has U.S.-based minority partners in the Studio City casino resort in Macau’s Cotai district.

The AGA chief also mentioned Singapore’s casino duopoly – consisting of Las Vegas Sands’ Marina Bay Sands and Genting Singapore Ltd’s Resorts World Sentosa – as another example of the “American blueprint”.

UAE, Japan, prediction markets

Mr Miller additionally referred to the US$5.1-billion Wynn Al Marjan Island project in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), in which Wynn Resorts has a 40 percent equity stake. The property is due to launch in 2027.

The AGA head said: “What’s happening in the UAE with Wynn, and what they’re doing in Ras Al Khaimah, it’s going to be the first major casino in the Middle East.”

“This is incredible movement and acceptance by huge and sometimes new countries and elements because we’ve proved” the value of the Las Vegas-style resort model, he asserted.

The AGA CEO also mentioned the JPY1.51-trillion (US$9.33-billion currently) MGM Osaka casino resort, involving MGM Resorts and set to open in 2030.

Mr Miller said MGM Osaka will be “the first major commercial casino that’s happened in Japan”.

“So, I think that we [the American blueprint] are absolutely part of the fun economy, part of the sports gaming, entertainment economy,” he added.

The AGA trade body is a co-organiser of the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia casino-sector trade show and conference held annually in Macau, as well as representing the interests of the licensed gaming sector in the United States.

The AGA boss had mentioned the upside of new resort projects across Asia, in a speech during this year’s G2E Asia in May.

Mr Miller nonetheless drew attention in his comments to the UNLV Gaming Law Journal, to the issue of prediction markets, which have grown rapidly, particularly in the United States, and offer prediction products in a wide variety of categories, including sporting outcomes. Prediction-markets brands are currently classed and regulated as financial products by the country’s Commodity Futures Trading Commission, rather than as gaming products.

Mr Miller said: “We shouldn’t have the federal government being in the sports betting business.” Licensed online sports betting is regulated by individual states in the U.S.

Asked about the “most pressing legal issue” facing the AGA, he stated: “Clearly the prediction markets. This is something that takes probably 70 percent of my day.”

“Our job is to understand, defend, protect and advance the interests” of the licensed gaming industry, he added.

Mr Miller added: “The common thematic is that people that don’t want to be licensed, people that don’t want to pay taxes, the people that don’t want to abide by the consumer protections and money laundering protocols that our legal, regulated industry do – that’s pretty much job one.

“There’s a never-ending stream of people that want to be in the gaming industry, but don’t want to abide by the rules or quite frankly, they couldn’t pass muster in background investigations.”

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia on Friday, Genting Malaysia said Empire Resorts had redeemed the full principal amount of its US$300-million 7.75-percent senior secured notes due on November 1, 2026. The redemption was completed on July 2.

Empire Resorts owns three businesses in the U.S. state of New York: the upstate casino complex Resorts World Catskills (pictured in a file photo); Resorts World Hudson, a casino offering video lottery terminals; and the mobile sports betting operation Resorts World Bet.

The repayment of the notes removed the debt underpinning the capital-enhancement proposal first announced by Genting Malaysia in August last year.

The plan included the proposed US$525.0-million disposal of Empire Resorts’ non-gaming assets at Resorts World Catskills to Sullivan County Resort Facilities Local Development Corp.

The sale proceeds were intended to fund the redemption of Empire Resorts’ US$300-million senior secured notes, among other purposes.

“With the redemption of the Empire notes, parties to the proposal have agreed that the proposal will not proceed,” the parent company said in its Friday filing.

In June 2025, Genting Malaysia said it had completed the acquisition of the stake in Empire Resorts that it did not already control.

In December last year, Genting New York LLC, another unit of Genting Malaysia, was awarded a full casino licence for downstate New York. The group has pledged a US$5.5-billion investment through to 2030 to secure the licence.

Genting Malaysia reported a loss of MYR25.2-million (US$6.2-million) for the first three months of 2026, compared with a MYR51.9-million profit a year earlier. The quarterly loss was despite a 10.5-percent year-on-year increase in group-wide revenue during the period, to nearly MYR2.87 billion.

A Friday filing to the Australian Securities Exchange stated: “As a result of this… the company now expects to report for first-half calendar-year 2026, total revenue of approximately AUD116 million [US$80.4 million].”

Ainsworth Game added that the return of funds arose from a February 20 decision of the U.S. Supreme Court saying IEEPA “does not authorise” the U.S. administration of President Donald Trump to impose tariffs.

“As a result, the IEEPA tariffs were declared unlawful and the company applied for refunds of previously paid IEEPA tariffs,” stated the gaming technology firm.

Ainsworth Game noted funds had been reimbursed on Tuesday (June 30) to its U.S. subsidiary, Ainsworth Game Technology Inc.

The amount represented “substantially all of the tariffs previously paid under IEEPA,” it indicated, without mentioning the value of the balance.

The slot maker stated: “This refund was not included in the trading update released on May 22, 2026 due to the uncertainty regarding both the timing of recovery and the quantum of amounts ultimately recoverable under the IEEPA tariff refund process.”

Post the refund, the technology supplier now expects first-half calendar-year 2026 underlying profit before tax to be circa AUD5 million, and earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to stand at AUD17 million. Both estimates exclude currency impacts and one-off items.

Ainsworth Game also now anticipates positive cash flows from operations for the relevant period to be circa AUD8 million, resulting in net debt decreasing to approximately AUD8 million compared to AUD11.8 million as of December 31, 2025.

“The reduction in net debt was attributable to the IEEPA tariff refunds as outlined… and stronger cash collection than anticipated.”

Its actual results are still subject to review, it mentioned, adding its first-half calendar-year 2026 numbers would be released “on or around” August 25.

In May, Ryan Comstock, recently confirmed as Ainsworth’s permanent chief executive, said “organisational changes” implemented in the latter part of 2025 were likely to have had an impact on results for the six months to June 30 this year.

The terms of the latest deal were not disclosed by the suitor, a private investment firm.

eCOGRA was founded in 2003 and is based in London, in the United Kingdom. The disposing company is Hanover Investors Management LLP. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and clearances.

Per the announcement, eCOGRA serves gaming software suppliers, platform operators, and online gaming regulators in more than 50 jurisdictions worldwide.

United States-based Visualize Group said the investment would “strengthen eCOGRA’s ability to deliver global coverage for gaming testing and certification”.

eCOGRA will continue to operate under its existing management, under Will Shuckburgh, its chief executive.

The suitor described the market for regulated-gaming testing, inspection, certification, and compliance services as “large and growing”.

Visualize Group added: “BMM and eCOGRA bring complementary strengths to this market: BMM’s expertise spans the full testing and certification spectrum, while eCOGRA’s is focused on the digital gaming segment.”

The suitor further noted: “Visualize Group intends to expand capacity, offer customers a broader licensing umbrella, accelerate turnaround times, and widen the range of high-quality options available to all stakeholders. Each company continues to operate as an independently accredited business, maintaining its own standards, methodologies and decision-making.”

C. C. Melvin Ike, founder and managing partner of Visualize Group, was cited as saying: “Our intention is straightforward: to build eCOGRA into a generational business that can deliver faster, more responsive, and more innovative service to a fast-growing market that needs more high-quality service.”

eCOGRA’s CEO Mr Shuckburgh, was cited stating: “Partnering with Visualize Group gives us the resources to serve our customers better – to invest in our people, our technology, and our capacity – while continuing to operate with the independence and integrity that our accreditation partners and customers expect.”

That is according to a Monday statement from Wynn Resorts Ltd. It featured Felix Barrett (pictured left), artistic director and founder of Punchdrunk, and Craig Billings (pictured right), chief executive of the property’s promoter Wynn Resorts Ltd.

The US$5.1-billion Wynn Al Marjan Island project is currently under development in Ras Al Khaimah, part of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The planned stage production is said to be inspired by a “traditional Las Vegas revue-style show”, combining song and dance. It will be offered to resort guests in two formats: either a “traditional seated” performance; or in a “roaming” format presented “downstairs and backstage”, according to the Monday announcement.  

It also mentioned that the complex’s theatre due to house the new show, will draw on Art Deco design elements (pictured above in an artist’s rendering).

Mr Barrett was cited as saying: “We hope the production will deliver a spectacular theatrical experience, both for audiences seeking world-class entertainment and for those in search of something truly unexpected.”

Punchdrunk specialises in immersive settings for its work. Its production ‘Sleep No More’, ran for 14 years in New York with more than 5,000 performances, per the update.

That show is still running in Seoul, South Korea, and is due to conclude in August a local-record decade-long run in Shanghai on the Chinese mainland. Next year, Sleep No More will launch a production in Shenzhen, in Guangdong province, next door to Hong Kong.

Mr Billings was quoted as observing: “Among the dozens of unique and transportive guest experiences we offer in our resorts, entertainment has always been an essential element. With Punchdrunk, we are creating something entirely original for Wynn Al Marjan Island.”

The UAE project – in which Wynn Resorts has a 40-pecent equity stake – has “continued to progress” despite the regional conflict in the Middle East, Mr Billings mentioned in his company’s first-quarter earnings call in May.

The casino operator’s CEO also noted on the same call that his company expected a “modest delay” in the Wynn Al Marjan project’s timetable for opening, and would quantify that later.

United States-based Wynn Resorts is parent to Macau casino operator Wynn Macau Ltd.

In Las Vegas, Nevada, Wynn Resorts has previously collaborated with Cirque du Soleil. Additionally, the company’s ‘Le Rêve’ aquatic show at Wynn Las Vegas was created and directed by former Cirque du Soleil executive Franco Dragone – the person behind Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd’s long-running Macau show ‘House of Dancing Water’.

Le Rêve ran at Wynn Las Vegas from 2005 to 2020.

In a Tuesday filing, it said reasons for the decline included an “employee benefits increase of HK$13.5 million to attract talent which enhanced our competitiveness in the employment market”.

That included staff for its Palasino Mikulov property (pictured), near the border with Austria, which launched toward the end of the reporting period.

The firm added that “despite reduction in online gaming expenses by HKD7.8 million, our investment in promoting our brand awareness in our target markets continued to attract travellers’ visitation to our casinos”.

The group says it has an integrated resort in the Czech Republic comprising a hotel and casino, alongside three “full-service land-based casinos” in that nation. It also has hotels in Germany and Austria.

Palasino stated that “in conjunction with the marketing effort for the Palasino Mikulov launch,” marketing costs increased by HKD6.3 million during financial-year 2026. It added it allocated HKD33.6 million in capital expenditure in the reporting period on the launch of the new property.

The company announced in a separate Tuesday filing a final dividend on its ordinary shares amounting to HKD0.029 per share, payable on September 18. The main results filing said the dividend amounted to HKD23.4 million.

The financial-year 2026 result was on revenue of HKD611.1 million, up 7.6 percent year-on-year.

The firm said the gain “was mainly attributable to increases in table gaming revenue of 20.2 percent with higher hold rate and revenue from the slot machines operation of 6.9 percent.”

Palasino also stated that gaming revenue net of gaming tax for the latest reporting period was 9.9 percent higher than in financial-year 2025, which it said “demonstrated momentum continued to be strong on gaming”.

Full-year adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were HKD60.7 million, a gain of 15.6 percent year-on-year.

The company had said in a late December 2025 announcement that Palasino Mikulov, the company’s fourth gaming property, had opened, with a “soft launch” on December 18.

In its results filing, Palasino said “the grand opening of Palasino Mikulov was successfully held on March 21, 2026, symbolically marking the official conclusion of the soft-opening period commencing on December 18, 2025”.

The launch of Palasino Mikulov “represented a significant milestone in the group’s long-term development and further strengthens its presence and competitive positioning in the Czech Republic’s land-based casino market.”

The firm said that group-wide gaming revenue for financial-year 2026 accounted for approximately 73.3 percent of total revenue, slightly up from financial-year 2025’s 72.0 percent.

Financial-year 2026 non-gaming revenue – including hotel, food and drink, conference business, and “ancillary services” – represented approximately 26.7 percent of total revenue, versus 28.0 percent in financial-year 2025.

Palasino stated: “The expansion of the group’s gaming portfolio underscored the group’s strategic focus on allocating business resources toward gaming as its primary revenue driver.”

The group said it had cash and liquid investments of approximately HKD271.6 million as of March 31, down 8.8 percent year-on-year, mainly due to total capital expenditure of HKD44.8 million during the latest reporting period.

The company was listed in Hong Kong in first-half of calendar-year 2024 as a spin-off from Hong Kong-listed property developer Far East Consortium International Ltd. The latter is also an investor in a Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, real estate development that houses The Star Brisbane casino resort.

The court on Wednesday imposed a fine of AUD700,000 (US$491,685) on Star Entertainment’s former chief executive and managing director Matthias Bekier, and AUD400,000 on former chief legal and risk officer Paula Martin. Mr Bekier was disqualified from managing corporations for six years, while Ms Martin received a seven-year ban.

The penalties follow a March ruling that found both executives had breached their duties under Australia’s Corporations Act by failing adequately to address anti-money laundering (AML) and criminal activity risks associated with Suncity, once identified as the casino group’s largest junket partner.

The country’s corporate watchdog, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), brought the case against the executives in 2022. At the time, it involved 11 past and present directors and executives of Star Entertainment.

Court documents cited by ABC News showed Star Entertainment’s turnover from Suncity was approximately AUD2.1 billion, AUD4 billion and AUD5.9 billion for the 2017, 2018 and 2019 financial years, respectively.

ASIC alleged that Mr Bekier and Ms Martin failed to respond appropriately to warning signs regarding money laundering risks and reports of criminal links involving Suncity and its funding arrangements.

The regulator also alleged Ms Martin permitted misleading information to be provided to National Australia Bank regarding the use of China UnionPay cards at ATMs located within Star Entertainment’s properties. 

The statements were said to have concealed the fact that the cards were being used for gambling-related transactions, which was said to be contrary to UnionPay rules.

In his judgment, Justice Michael Lee said the sanctions were intended to protect the public interest and deter similar conduct by senior executives at listed companies.

“There is no tariff for governance failures within large publicly listed corporations, still less for failures occurring within enterprises carrying the unusual privileges and risks associated with casino operations,” he stated, as quoted by ABC News.

Justice Lee also said neither executive had demonstrated sufficient insight into the seriousness of their misconduct.

Management breaches

The court had previously found that Mr Bekier failed to address adequately findings in a report by financial consultancy KPMG that identified deficiencies in the casino firm’s AML controls and criminal-risk management processes. He was also found not to have managed appropriately the risks arising from Star Entertainment’s relationship with Suncity.

Ms Martin’s breaches included failing to advise the company’s board adequately about risks associated with the junket operator.

Suncity’s founder and former chief executive, Alvin Chau Cheok Wa, was arrested in Macau in late 2021 as part of a crackdown on cross-border gambling and money laundering activities linked to Macau’s junket sector. In 2023, he was sentenced to 18 years in prison.

Mr Bekier resigned from Star Entertainment in 2022 amid investigations into possible breaches of AML and counter-terrorism financing laws at the company’s casinos. Ms Martin also left the group that year.

Star Entertainment’s operations in the Australian states of New South Wales and Queensland were placed under state-government supervision in 2022, following reviews that found the company unsuitable to hold casino licences in those states.

Shareholders of Star Entertainment approved in June last year a AUD300.0-million rescue package, led by United States-based gaming operator Bally’s Corp, which is now the Australian firm’s largest shareholder.

In April this year, Star Entertainment said it had completed the disposal of its 50 percent equity interest in the Destination Brisbane Consortium, the owner of the site in Brisbane, Australia, where The Star Brisbane casino is located.

The media outlet cited remarks from Genting Bhd’s CEO, addressing shareholder queries during the group’s Thursday annual general meeting (AGM).

Mr Tan was cited saying it was “fortunate” that Genting Bhd had already increased its stake in Genting Malaysia. The parent’s holding nonetheless remains below a 75 percent threshold that would be required to take the unit private. Both companies are listed on Bursa Malaysia.

To delist or privatise Genting Malaysia had been mentioned as options for the parent in the context of its circa US$1.59-billion conditional voluntary takeover offer in October 2025.

In his Thursday comments, Genting Bhd’s Mr Tan said its takeover bid for Genting Malaysia had not been aimed at privatising the unit but on ensuring it had more than a 50-percent holding, and therefore control of it.

Prior to the takeover offer, Genting Bhd held a 49.36-percent stake in Genting Malaysia, according to a November 3 filing by Genting Malaysia about the takeover bid.

The same filing said the exercise was “intended to allow the offeror to obtain statutory control in the offeree”.

Genting Malaysia is a global casino business, encompassing Malaysia’s casino monopoly Resorts World Genting, as well as properties in the United States, the Bahamas, the United Kingdom, and Egypt.

The November 3 filing also mentioned that in pursuit of the takeover exercise, Genting Bhd “does not intend to maintain the listing status of Genting Malaysia on the main market of Bursa Securities”.

The document also said: “Should the offeror receive sufficient valid acceptances to delist or privatise the offeree,” the parent “intends to leverage on the opportunity to list its gaming, leisure and hospitality business in the USA. held under Resorts World Las Vegas LLC, in combination with the offeree group’s gaming, leisure and hospitality business in the USA, to add scale for a listing in the USA.”

U.S. investments

In his Thursday remarks, Mr Tan mentioned the progress of the “New York project” – understood to be a reference to the downstate Resorts World New York City casino property. He said it would “soon surpass” the performance of Resorts World Genting in Malaysia, though the story didn’t mention by what measure.

What had been an electronic-gaming facility relaunched on April 28 as downstate New York’s first full-service licensed casino, including live-dealer table play. Further expansion is planned under the terms of its new licence.

Maybank Investment Bank Bhd had said in a May note, that Resorts World New York City could ‘eclipse’ the business performance of the Genting Highlands complex in the long term.

Sinchew Daily cited Mr Tan mentioning Genting Bhd currently integrates the financial performance of Genting Malaysia into the parent’s balance sheet through a management services agreement, but doesn’t have such an agreement regarding Resorts World New York City.

The news outlet also quoted Mr Tan as having stated at the AGM : “Since we do not have a management agreement for the New York project, once its performance surpasses that of Genting Highlands, Genting [Bhd] will no longer be able to integrate Genting Malaysia’s financial statements… leading to very drastic changes in the entire balance sheet. Therefore, management must take action.”

Mr Tan also addressed questions raised in the meeting about why Genting Bhd is not repurchasing shares.

He said the firm had to be “cautious” in allocating its limited cash resources, also mentioning its shareholders were “inclined” to seek cash dividends.

Genting Bhd and Genting Malaysia both ceased to be part of the MSCI Malaysia index in 2025. That issue was raised during the Thursday AGM.

In response, the Genting Bhd chief executive acknowledged the group’s stock price and trading volume fell short, and it had seen reduced demand from Malaysia’s domestic investment institutions. Some key funds, such as the country’s Employees Provident Fund, were not allowed to invest in gaming companies, Mr Tan also mentioned, as cited by Sinchew Daily.

 The Genting group needs to “restructure” its business into a market that appreciates gaming sector investment. That is why the group invests in the U.S., a gaming jurisdiction where regulations on the sector are “rigorous”, Mr Tan said.

He also said that while Malaysian equity investors are bearish on Genting group, international banking institutions – including some from New York – were supportive of the syndicated credit facilities for its variety of businesses, including in the energy segment. The group’s U.S.-dollar dominated bond issuance also saw “good feedback”.