Investment & Holding

Iris Cairns Property's AU$3.87-per-unit takeover offer for Reef Casino Trust is now unconditional, with the bidder holding 80.97% and the offer closing on 14 August. The trust has warned remaining unitholders of potential compulsory acquisition or delisting risks.

Wynn Resorts beat Q2 2026 estimates on the back of Macau's mass market growth, but revealed a six-month delay and $600 million budget increase for its UAE resort. Shares rose 3% after the release, with analysts flagging durable Las Vegas and Macau earnings and a bullish case for the Al Marjan Island launch.

Wynn Resorts confirmed September 2027 as the opening date for Wynn Al Marjan Island in Ras Al Khaimah, with the project budget rising about $600 million to roughly $5.7-5.8 billion, around half of the overrun tied to the US-Iran conflict. The resort will be the UAE's first licensed casino and remains the only land-based gaming license issued in the market.

Vici Properties' John Payne confirmed the company is working with Caesars on a potential NBA arena on 50 acres behind Paris, Horseshoe and Planet Hollywood, as the site competes with other Las Vegas bids for an expansion franchise.

ProphetX has raised $35 million to expand its B2B operations and boost liquidity, targeting a threefold increase in trading volume in 2026. The federally regulated prediction market has seen early momentum after its transition from a sweepstakes model.

Rwanda's regulator has suspended Baron Sports Gaming Ltd (Forzza) for repeatedly offering casino-style games beyond its sports-betting licence. The action cuts the country's licensed operator count to 14 as new entrants such as Betway and ForteBet join the market.

Gaming and Leisure Properties achieved a record quarterly net revenue of $430.5m in Q2 2026, a 9% increase, while first-half net income jumped 45.4% to $460.2m, driven by lower operating expenses and strong rental income.

Vici Properties posted a 5.7% increase in Q2 net revenue to $1.1bn and a 5.7% rise in adjusted EBITDA to $869.5m, though net income fell sharply due to higher operating expenses. For the first half of 2026, revenue grew 4.6% to $2.1bn and adjusted EBITDA surpassed $1.7bn, alongside significant property acquisitions.

Cheonjae Textbook has partnered with Dongdaemun Police to embed gambling and drug prevention ads in its study guides and website, joining wider South Korean efforts that also include a police relay campaign involving iM Securities CEO Park Tae-dong.

Turkish prosecutors have indicted 57 suspects in a record illegal gambling case, seeking prison sentences of up to 39 years for offences involving a cross-border network that processed €4.5bn in betting transactions via crypto payments. The investigation targets Malta-based Paymix, led by Burak Başel, and coincides with a broader government crackdown on illicit gambling and payment infrastructure.

Kenneth Dart's holding in Evolution has risen to 30.02%, triggering a mandatory takeover bid under Swedish law; the move follows Evolution's £4.75m settlement with the UK Gambling Commission over anti-money laundering breaches.

iM Securities CEO Park Tae-dong has joined a Seoul police relay campaign against youth illegal gambling, nominating LS Securities CEO Hong Won-sik as his successor, while esports star Faker is promoting a related voluntary reporting program for teens.