Sands Corp. Vegas Exit = Crown Resorts Acquisition?

Sands Corp. has already finalized a deal for the sale of its iconic casino properties in Las Vegas, Nevada. The casino operator has announced a $6.25 billion sale that is expected to be officially completed before the end of 2021 based on regulatory approval.

Sands Corp. said the sale was a strategic decision as the company was deriving more than 80% of its combined revenues from its business interests in Macau and Singapore and just over 10 percent from its U.S based operations.

Sands Corp. will now focus mainly on its Asian market and could also venture into the online gambling and mobile sports betting market place now that its founder and chairman Sheldon Adelson is no more. Adelson was the biggest financial backer of the ‘Coalition To Stop Internet Gambling’ and was dead set against online gambling.

Is A Crown Resorts Sale On The Cards?

Crown Resorts is the biggest casino operator in Australia but may not be for much longer. This is because the casino operator has been exposed publically for multiple gaming violations which are very serious in nature. Some of these violations include money laundering, failure to protect vulnerable players, deliberately breaching gaming laws and having ties with the Asian crime syndicate.

The NSW gaming regulator has prevented Crown Resorts from opening the gaming floor of its new A$2.2 billion Barangaroo Casino resort in Sydney, Australia. The NSW gaming regulator launched an investigation into Crown Resorts and the findings from the report showed that Crown Resorts was not suitable to hold a gaming license in NSW.

The Victoria gaming regulator launched its own investigation and so did the gaming regulator in West Australia. If the findings from the Victorian investigation into Crown Resorts suggests that Crown is not suitable to run its flagship casino in Crown Melbourne, it could be the final straw that sinks Crown Resorts.

Sands Corp. Acquisition Bodes Well For Crown Resorts

Australian gaming regulators have been told that Crown Resorts needs to make massive changes to their operations and policies in order to continue to operate in the country. A number of market analysts have suggested that the best way forward for Crown Resorts is for a reputed casino operator to take over Crown Resorts.

Sands Corp. will be welcomed in Australia because the casino operator has a good market reputation for compliance in tightly regulated markets such as Singapore, Nevada and Macau. It will be interesting to see if Sands Corp. will pursue this acquisition in Asia-Pacific or if it will prefer to wait and go after a casino license in Japan.