SPOILER ALERT!
Crown Melbourne Casino Main Gaming Floor Would Have To Close
One of the few surviving the coronavirus /Covid-19/ spread-halting measures casino in the world, Crown Resorts' casino in Melbourne, has been forced to shut down its main gaming floor by authorities in Victoria, to firm up their efforts to contain the virus.
Casino Gaming Was As Much EssentialAs Supply StoresInitially, the government in Victoria allowed the flagship casino to continue its operations by granting it a special exemption from the social distancing rules, but health experts, political and public pressure forced them to reconsider the decision.
Before the exemption waswithdrawn, Crown Resorts' Melbournecasino was allowed to continue as long as it implemented certain measures to limit indoor gatherings to 100 people.In response, the casino management deactivatedevery second slot machine and placed a limitto the number of attendants for its restaurants, bars and other venues.
High Lo However, that decision by the Victoria government spurred a lot of controversy, with some health experts arguing that rules implemented everywhere should apply for Crown Resorts, too.
Some of them went further asking on what grounds casino gaming was considered an essential service to be granted with an exemption of the rule. Besides, slot machine venues are famous for attracting people from the age bracket that has most terminal cases from the virus disease and some of them are unable to exercise rational decision-making due to their gambling addictions, further objections clarified.
World Example And Public PressureGave ResultsPressure on the state government began mounting after casinos across the world started closing down and, even in Nevada, the state that is considered to be the world capital of the industry, casinos were not spared from the mass social distancing effort and were forced to close doors. Casino giants such as Caesars Entertainment and Wynn Resorts even voluntarily decided to shut operations temporary, to help prevent the further spread of the virus.
On Saturday, Victoria Premier Daniel Andrewsinformed the public that the special exemption that was granted to the Crown casino in Melbourne had beenrevoked by the chief health officer and the casino should close down its maingaming floor only, as the smaller gambling rooms such as the Mahogany Room, would remain unaffectedand continue operations.
“We're not confident the measures that were in place and were appropriate are appropriate now."
Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews Despite the announcement, critics for the state government would not die easily as their latest actionswere considered delayed, and somehealth officials still arguing that public health “trumps” gambling profits.
Closure Affects State BudgetFrom an economic impact point of view, the initialdecision to grant the hotel and casino complex Crown Melbourne an exemptionmakes sense, as it is the largest private sector employer in the state, givingoccupation to more than 12,500 employeesand its closure would have a devastating effect on Victoria's economy. Crown is also a huge contributor to thestate budget, with more than A$238million in taxes paid for 2019financial year.
Casino Gaming Was As Much EssentialAs Supply StoresInitially, the government in Victoria allowed the flagship casino to continue its operations by granting it a special exemption from the social distancing rules, but health experts, political and public pressure forced them to reconsider the decision.
Before the exemption waswithdrawn, Crown Resorts' Melbournecasino was allowed to continue as long as it implemented certain measures to limit indoor gatherings to 100 people.In response, the casino management deactivatedevery second slot machine and placed a limitto the number of attendants for its restaurants, bars and other venues.
High Lo However, that decision by the Victoria government spurred a lot of controversy, with some health experts arguing that rules implemented everywhere should apply for Crown Resorts, too.
Some of them went further asking on what grounds casino gaming was considered an essential service to be granted with an exemption of the rule. Besides, slot machine venues are famous for attracting people from the age bracket that has most terminal cases from the virus disease and some of them are unable to exercise rational decision-making due to their gambling addictions, further objections clarified.
World Example And Public PressureGave ResultsPressure on the state government began mounting after casinos across the world started closing down and, even in Nevada, the state that is considered to be the world capital of the industry, casinos were not spared from the mass social distancing effort and were forced to close doors. Casino giants such as Caesars Entertainment and Wynn Resorts even voluntarily decided to shut operations temporary, to help prevent the further spread of the virus.
On Saturday, Victoria Premier Daniel Andrewsinformed the public that the special exemption that was granted to the Crown casino in Melbourne had beenrevoked by the chief health officer and the casino should close down its maingaming floor only, as the smaller gambling rooms such as the Mahogany Room, would remain unaffectedand continue operations.
“We're not confident the measures that were in place and were appropriate are appropriate now."
Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews Despite the announcement, critics for the state government would not die easily as their latest actionswere considered delayed, and somehealth officials still arguing that public health “trumps” gambling profits.
Closure Affects State BudgetFrom an economic impact point of view, the initialdecision to grant the hotel and casino complex Crown Melbourne an exemptionmakes sense, as it is the largest private sector employer in the state, givingoccupation to more than 12,500 employeesand its closure would have a devastating effect on Victoria's economy. Crown is also a huge contributor to thestate budget, with more than A$238million in taxes paid for 2019financial year.
Better Collective Acquires HLTV.org ApS for $37.9M
Sportsbetting investment company and media firm Better Collective has securedthe acquisition of flagship esports portal HLTV.org ApS, the companythat controls the namesake Counter-Strike: Global Offensive community portal.
Better Collective agreed to pay a massive $37.9 million for the acquisition in light of the recent financial performance by HLTV.org ApS which posted 27 million monthly visits and a massive $4.8 million revenue generated during the FY 2018/2019.
Commentingon these developments, Better Collective CEO Jesper Søgaard, said: “Wehave carefully analyzed and monitored esport for a long time. It is a rapidlygrowing industry and we consider esports an ideal extension to oursports-focused business. The nature of esports betting differs significantlyfrom traditional sports betting and, therefore, it was essential to find theright partner, adding deep know-how and industry knowledge to BetterCollective.”
Mr. Søgaardcontinued by expressing his belief that the acquisition was the right strategicmove. He further noted of the well-established footprint of HLTV.org and hintedat the “strong synergies” the companies could expect as a result.
All in all,he continued, bringing HLTV.org ApS to the fold would bring a prosperous futurefor both parties.
HLTV.org Draws Close to 27 Million Organic Visitors a Month HLTV.orgApS also controls Dust2.dk, a Danish Counter-Strike community projectposting news updates, interviews with popular players, and other relevantinformation, including tournament coverage. HLTV.org, on the other hand, is aproject that focuses on the Counter-Strike community worldwide.
The websitefirst launched in 2002 and has amassed a solid social media following which hasled to the outstanding monthly numbers. In fact, the official press releasestates that HLTV.org fetches 27 million organic visits per month.
As to Dust2.dk,the Danish-facing website adds another 250,000 unique visitors per month,making the HLTV.org ApS controlled assets two of the most popular esportswebsites online. So far, HLTV.org has relied on promoting and advertisingesports betting companies, but the company is looking beyond this, establishingnew baseline of operation.
HLTV.orgCEO Martin Rosenbæk similarly expressed his confidence about the latestbusiness deal: “Joining the Better Collective group will support ourambition to remain the preferred CS:GO brand for esports enthusiasts across theworld.”
In hisofficial statement, Mr. Rosenbæk argued that the deal of BetterCollective allows HLTV.org to team up with “the optimal partner” and better theprospects of the project.
AG gaming A Community Leader for 15 YearsFor 15 years now, HLTV.org has been essential to the development of the Counter-Strike community, an asset Mr. Rosenbæk now wants to combine with Better Collective's deep understanding of user-enhancing technology.
Ultimately,HLTV.org is strongly positioned to achieve further growth that will benefitCS:GO fandom and business operations worldwide.
BetterCollective will commit $26.1 million in a cash and another $3 million will comein the form of Better Collective A/S. The final $8.9 million will be paid overthe course of the next three years as part of three separate payments.
However, these payments will be negotiated based on the platform's progress and achieving specific pre-determined milestones. Information about these has not been disclosed. The news was also reported by Reuters, catching the eye of the large media outlet.
Better Collective agreed to pay a massive $37.9 million for the acquisition in light of the recent financial performance by HLTV.org ApS which posted 27 million monthly visits and a massive $4.8 million revenue generated during the FY 2018/2019.
Commentingon these developments, Better Collective CEO Jesper Søgaard, said: “Wehave carefully analyzed and monitored esport for a long time. It is a rapidlygrowing industry and we consider esports an ideal extension to oursports-focused business. The nature of esports betting differs significantlyfrom traditional sports betting and, therefore, it was essential to find theright partner, adding deep know-how and industry knowledge to BetterCollective.”
Mr. Søgaardcontinued by expressing his belief that the acquisition was the right strategicmove. He further noted of the well-established footprint of HLTV.org and hintedat the “strong synergies” the companies could expect as a result.
All in all,he continued, bringing HLTV.org ApS to the fold would bring a prosperous futurefor both parties.
HLTV.org Draws Close to 27 Million Organic Visitors a Month HLTV.orgApS also controls Dust2.dk, a Danish Counter-Strike community projectposting news updates, interviews with popular players, and other relevantinformation, including tournament coverage. HLTV.org, on the other hand, is aproject that focuses on the Counter-Strike community worldwide.
The websitefirst launched in 2002 and has amassed a solid social media following which hasled to the outstanding monthly numbers. In fact, the official press releasestates that HLTV.org fetches 27 million organic visits per month.
As to Dust2.dk,the Danish-facing website adds another 250,000 unique visitors per month,making the HLTV.org ApS controlled assets two of the most popular esportswebsites online. So far, HLTV.org has relied on promoting and advertisingesports betting companies, but the company is looking beyond this, establishingnew baseline of operation.
HLTV.orgCEO Martin Rosenbæk similarly expressed his confidence about the latestbusiness deal: “Joining the Better Collective group will support ourambition to remain the preferred CS:GO brand for esports enthusiasts across theworld.”
In hisofficial statement, Mr. Rosenbæk argued that the deal of BetterCollective allows HLTV.org to team up with “the optimal partner” and better theprospects of the project.
AG gaming A Community Leader for 15 YearsFor 15 years now, HLTV.org has been essential to the development of the Counter-Strike community, an asset Mr. Rosenbæk now wants to combine with Better Collective's deep understanding of user-enhancing technology.
Ultimately,HLTV.org is strongly positioned to achieve further growth that will benefitCS:GO fandom and business operations worldwide.
BetterCollective will commit $26.1 million in a cash and another $3 million will comein the form of Better Collective A/S. The final $8.9 million will be paid overthe course of the next three years as part of three separate payments.
However, these payments will be negotiated based on the platform's progress and achieving specific pre-determined milestones. Information about these has not been disclosed. The news was also reported by Reuters, catching the eye of the large media outlet.
