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Investing in casino companies is one way to play any recovery in the world economy, as people begin to feel confident enough to go out and gamble again. In fact, each of the three companies highlighted today have a presence in one of the hottest gaming locations — Macau. Gaming revenue in July surged 70% year over year, hinting that the long drought for casinos might actually have an end in sight.

Over at CAPS, our system for finding the best stocks through the collective opinions of more than 165,000 members, casino stocks have been especially popular. Here are three for you to consider, along with some relevant thoughts from the people investing in them:

Source: Motley Fool CAPS and Bloomberg.

Las Vegas Sands ended the last quarter with more than $10 billion in debt and a bit more than $3.6 billion in cash. However, it has been working to remedy that situation by deleveraging. Last month, it announced that it would pay down $1 billion of that debt, and it extended the terms of a significant portion of the rest.

Several CAPS members like Las Vegas Sands’ position in Asia. Member B1ll1am, for instance, writes: “This stock has most of it’s assets outside of the USA in Asia. The Asian economys are going to recover faster than the USA and I think this stock will do very well.”

Melco Crown is a favorite at our Global Gains newsletter. With early numbers out for August gambling results in Macau, Melco seems to have gained a bit more market share; it now reportedly stands between 16% and 18%.

CAPS member SlyMiah has laid out the investing thesis in this company pretty well:

Now that a majority of the infrastructure is in place, this stock will see increased revenue in the coming year. As this is realized, more people will flock to this stock. The low P/B and high revenue growth make it very attractive. The refinancing of debt, criticized as expensive, likely will be overcome by revenue growth. Finally, although there is always a risk of restrictive regulations from China, I see that country managing itself well through this economic slump, I see more and more consumers in the coming months coming from the mainland & Hong Kong.

Most of the CAPS commentary regarding MGM focuses on its Las Vegas properties and the trouble it’s experiencing there. Until the U.S. recovery strengthens, expect more of the same there. But if you’re looking for a possible value play, you might follow ValueDragonStyle and invest in MGM. It’s sitting well off its 52-week high, but it’s still a lot higher than it was during the depths of the bear market in early 2009.

You’ll find more commentary on these and other casino companies over on CAPS. Come and join your fellow investors for some stock talk today.

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The casino project considered to be the primary competition to the Gettysburg-area Mason Dixon Resort & Casino — the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in western Pennsylvania — went before the state’s Gaming Control Board for public testimony Wednesday.

Mason Dixon investors David LeVan and Joseph Lashinger, who have proposed converting a Cumberland Township hotel into a resort casino, were among the audience members at the Wharton Township Municipal Building in Farmington, Pa.

They did not testify, and attended “simply to observe,” according to Mason Dixon spokesman David La Torre.

The hearing was highlighted by testimony from the developer of the Meadows Racetrack and Casino in western Pennsylvania, who argued that approving a Category Three facility at the nearby Nemacolin Resort would result in job losses at two existing Pittsburgh-area casinos: the Meadows, in Washington County, and the Rivers Casino in Allegheny County.

Both casinos, as well as two gaming sites in West Virginia, are located within driving distance of Nemacolin, in Fayette County.

“Southwestern Pennsylvania is now well-served by its existing casinos,” Meadows Principal Bill Paulos told state gambling regulators.

“An additional casino will only be minimally-accretive to the state tax totals, and most definitely dilutive to the Commonwealth’s existing (gaming) partners,” said Paulos, adding that there are “higher revenue opportunities” on the other side of the state, such as the “eastern border” of Pennsylvania.

The Nemacolin Resort, operated by 84 Lumber President Maggie Hardy Magerko, and Mason Dixon are two of four applicants vying for the state’s lone remaining Category Three slots resort license. A decision is expected later this year by the state’s Gaming Control Board, following final suitability hearings before the board, sometime in November.

The existing Nemacolin Resort in Wharton Township is located about 40 miles south of downtown Pittsburgh, and features 335 guest rooms, suites, and luxury homes, atop 2,000-acres of land with two golf courses, ski facilities, an air strip and a shooting range.

The site of the proposed Mason Dixon Resort, the Eisenhower Inn along Business 15 south of Gettysburg, features 300 rooms, an All-Star Sports Complex, and residential development.

“The southwestern Pennsylvania marketplace simply cannot hold an additional casino, without cannibalizing the casinos that are already there,” said La Torre.

Nemacolin spokesman Tom Hickey disagreed that a third casino in the Pittsburgh-area would “cannibalize” the gaming marketplace, arguing that the state’s western market is “underserved,” based on ”studies of other similar markets across the United States.” Hickey noted that Category Three licenses, in the state gaming law, were created for a “well-established resort, to add to an existing array of amenities, like we have at Nemacolin.”

“We don’t think there’s another proposal that meets the goal of the gaming act,” said Hickey, noting licensure of the $50 million Nemacolin Casino would create up to 600 new jobs at the casino and hotel, and produce $40 million annually in state or local taxes. “We already have a strong base in the Baltimore and Washington area, and 60 percent of our guests are from outside of Pennsylvania,” said Hickey.

Citing the testimony of Paulos, La Torre countered that the Nemacolin project would “saturate the gaming market” in Pittsburgh. “There are two casinos already in western Pennsylvania, and there’s also two nearby casinos in West Virginia,” said La Torre, naming the Wheeling Island and Mountaineer facilities as examples. “A region can only take so much.”

Proponents of the Mason Dixon project, such as Pro Casino Adams County spokesman Jeff Klein, have touted 400 new jobs during tough economic times, and what they believe is “overwhelming support” in Adams County for a casino. But opponents, like No Casino Gettysburg spokeswoman Susan Star Paddock, argue that “Gettysburg has 10 times the opposition of any other site.”

Wednesday’s hearing on the Nemacolin Resort marked the final of four scheduled public meetings on Category Three casino proposals, held over the past two weeks by the state’s Gaming Control Board. Officials reported that 100 people attended the Nemacolin hearing, with presentations by two Fayette County lawmakers, five government agencies (Fayette County), six community groups, and 13 citizens, including Paulos. Hickey said that most speakers supported the project, with opposition from community groups in Washington County, where The Meadows Casino is located.

The Mason Dixon public input hearing, held last week at the Comfort Suites hotel, featured 400 registered speakers and nearly 30 community groups, and was stretched into two days. It was the largest public hearing on a casino project since the state legislature authorized gaming in 2004.

 The Nemacolin Resort was one of the original Category Three applicants back in 2005-06, when the state first accepted applications, but the group later withdrew its application. The project resurfaced this year, when state lawmakers reopened the application window, and Nemacolin partnered with Isle of Capris Gaming. Mason Dixon is partnering with Penn National Gaming, which operates three casinos in the south-central Pennsylvania region.

More about Casino

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German gambling restrictions breach European Union law, the EU’s highest court has ruled.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) said German laws that protect state monopolies for gambling were “unjustifiable”.

The ruling could open the way for foreign betting companies to establish a presence in Germany.

A lobby group representing gambling firms, including PartyGaming and Bwin, called the judgement a “landmark”.

German authorities have justified betting monopolies by saying that they help protect consumers from the negative affects of gambling.

But the ECJ said this was inconsistent with Germany’s promotion and “intensive advertising” of its gambling operations.

The court said: “The German rules on sporting bets constitute a restriction on the freedom to provide services and the freedom of establishment.

“The public monopoly of the organisation of sporting bets and lotteries in Germany does not pursue the objective of combating the dangers of gambling in a consistent and systematic manner.”

Several foreign betting companies, including Britain’s Happy Bet and Gibraltar’s Digibet, brought a case against German regional authorities in Hesse and northern Schleswig-Holstein.

The European Gaming and Betting Association welcomed the ruling.

“This is a landmark ruling which will have a decisive impact on the much needed reform in Germany,” it said in a statement.

“Other member states have opened or are opening their markets… They show that consumers can be better protected in a market that is both regulated and open to competition,” it said.

However, European Lotteries, a lobby group for national lotteries in 40 countries, disputed whether the ruling would open up the German market.

“On the contrary,” the group said in a statement, “the court reminded Germany that it has to control more strictly the offer of dangerous forms of gambling such as casino games and gaming machines.

“The court pointed again to the higher risks associated with internet gambling.”

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European Court of Justice rules that laws are inconsistent, and there is no justification for a monopoly
 
There was good news from the European Court of Justice this week; the highest EU court has ruled that Germany’s monopolistic online gambling laws breach EU law, are inconsistent and do not justify the use of state monopolistic practices.
 
Ruling on three cases referred to it by German courts, the ECJ found that while state monopolies can under some circumstances be justified, Germany’s actions in promoting gambling are inconsistent with its claimed goal of protecting its nationals from the dangers of the pastime.
 
“The German rules on sporting bets constitute a restriction on the freedom to provide services and the freedom of establishment,” the Court found, adding: “The public monopoly of the organisation of sporting bets and lotteries in Germany does not pursue the objective of combating the dangers of gambling in a consistent and systematic manner.”
 
The court pointed to the intensive advertising and promotional campaigns initiated by the German state monopolies in a bid to grow profit, saying that these were inconsistent with claimed goals that German policies were designed to protect the public interest.
 
Reacting to the ruling, the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA), a trade association that includes most of Europe’s biggest online gambling groups among its members, said: “This is a landmark ruling which will have a decisive impact on the much needed reform in Germany.”
 
Sigrid Ligne, the organisation’s secretary general said in a statement: “Other member states have opened or are opening their markets … They show that consumers can be better protected in a market that is both regulated and open to competition.”
 
European Lotteries, an umbrella group for licensed national lotteries in 40 countries, said the ruling did not, however, pave the way for liberalising the multi-billion-euro industry.
 
“Contrary to how proponents of a liberalisation would like to interpret these rulings, the Court today did by no means advocated a liberalisation of gambling,” spokesman Friedrich Stickler told the Reuters news agency.
 
“On the contrary, the Court reminded Germany that it has to control more strictly the offer of dangerous forms of gambling such as casino games and gaming machines.”
 
In earlier verdicts, the ECJ has said governments may be justified in restricting internet gambling even though such bans violate EU laws on the free movement of services and the freedom of establishment, as long as the curbs are designed to protect consumers or prevent fraud.
 
The ECJ will rule on a similar case challenging Austrian gambling restrictions on Thursday.
 
The German Interstate Treaty on Gambling came into force in 2008 and is scheduled to expire at the end of 2011. It currently bans online gaming and betting activities in the country.
 
In a recent study the independent Gold Media concluded that the ban had no effect on the annual 30 percent growth in consumer demand for online gaming and betting in Germany, but rather had pushed the consumer to sites hosted outside the country.
 
“More and more stakeholders are raising concerns with regard to the efficiency of a ban on online gaming and are calling on the government to overturn the Interstate Treaty”, said Ligné, opining that the ECJ ruling could influence changes.
 
“There is a need for a political solution that does justice to the demand of consumers to play online and that at the same time ensures a high level of consumer protection. Other [EU] Member States have opened or are opening their markets and moving away from a monopoly regime to a multi-operator licensing system,” she added.
 
“They show that consumers can be better protected in a market that is both regulated and open to competition.”

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The European Court of Justice is a judicial body that takes care of disputes that arise within the European Union. It has been occupied of late with issues regarding electronic commerce free trade within the Union.
Recent rulings that have had a great deal impact on the online gambling industry in Europe have done little to clarify the rules the European Union has within it’s mandate.
According to the Bloomberg News Agency a ruling on the German gambling sector, which was deemed “protectionist” is considered “unjustifiable” and should be revamped.
The ECJ headquartered in Luxembourg stated, “The German rules do not limit games of chance in a consistent and systematic manner,” Continuing, the ruling stated,  “In such circumstances, the preventive objective of that monopoly can no longer be pursued, so that the monopoly ceases to be justifiable.”
The European Gaming and Betting Association’s, secretary general, Sigrid Ligné, was pleased with the ruling from the court, “This is a landmark ruling which will have a decisive impact on the much needed reform in Germany. Other Member States have opened or are opening their markets and moving away from a monopoly regime to a multi-operator licensing system.
Ligné, continued, “They show that consumers can be better protected in a market that is both regulated and open to competition. German politicians should face up to these market realities and take their responsibility towards German consumers. It signals the end of the German online gaming ban and will bring legal security to EU online gaming operators and German consumers alike.”
Monopolies in Europe continue to make work for the courts and those who want to see a level playing field for operators and consumers with the European Union.
Confusion is still prevalent regarding the laws concerning online gambling and advertising of online gambling products in certain E.U. countries.

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CalvinAyre.com is a not-for-profit website, that aims to be completely carbon neutral and  encourages operators in the online gaming industry to emulate the idea.
In order to be neutral and leave no or a small carbon footprint CalvinAyre.com, has taken it’s working day to day operations to Iceland and utilises THORDC.
THORDC is an ecologically sound data center the most advanced in the world according to Calvin Ayre.com and the huge company Google who also uses the Icelandic data center.
The Thor Data Center is definitely green boasting new data storage technology. Thor DC collaborated with a Spanish technology firm to develop smaller units which offers added flexibility in scaling such ventures.
The naturally cold environment and the eco friendly design of THORDC makes economical sense for companies looking to make responsibly green move.
Calvin Ayre the Canadian entrepreneur who made his fortune founding the Bodog Brand online gambling company commented on the initiative, “Since I have taken a back seat from directly running companies I have been busy setting up a charitable foundation,the Calvin Ayre Foundation, which has an ecological arm, and this led me to scour the world for natural solutions to man-made problems.
This is something I am deeply committed to and in the first instance I will be moving all non-gaming sites I have a connection with to Iceland, including my personal foundation site.”
Ayre added, “Nature has a mind-blowing amount of powerful resources that we constantly ignore despite being on our doorstep. I mean paying fortunes and using man-made, emission-rich cooling systems is not just total insanity, it’s also commercially naive.
There is a myth that ecological solutions are expensive and I hope CalvinAyre.com’s move to Iceland will be the first of many moves to ensure that e gaming can show its pioneering side in a new area.”
Any profit from the eco site is directed to support initiatives of the Calvin Ayre Foundation.

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