Former Crown Resorts chief James Packer alleged that Australian state regulators subjected Crown to tougher scrutiny than Star Entertainment. He also criticised changes to casino rules and taxes, while acknowledging that Crown had made errors; the claims were made in an interview.
The allegations may prompt scrutiny of whether regulators treated Crown more harshly than Star Entertainment.
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Lottomatica Group and CIRSA Enterprises have approved a plan for Lottomatica to absorb CIRSA, the companies announced. CIRSA shareholders would receive 0.668 Lottomatica shares for each share exchanged and an extraordinary dividend of €1.56 per share, totalling about €262 million; after completion, Lottomatica intends to propose a further €744 million capital return. The merger remains subject to regulatory approvals and shareholder votes expected by the end of November 2026.
Lottomatica Group and CIRSA Enterprises agreed a plan for CIRSA to merge into Lottomatica, with completion expected in the second quarter of 2027 if shareholder, regulatory and other conditions are met. CIRSA shareholders would receive 0.668 newly issued Lottomatica shares per share, and CIRSA plans to pay an extraordinary dividend of €1.56 per share before completion.
Informa agreed with Blackstone to acquire Clarion Events at an enterprise value of £2.24 billion ($3 billion), the companies announced on 6 October. Completion is expected towards the end of Q4 2026, subject to regulatory approvals. Clarion owns the iGB brands and organises ICE Barcelona.
Reportedly, Informa will acquire Clarion from Blackstone for US$2.97bn. Clarion organises the gaming industry exhibition ICE Barcelona.
Cirsa ended its liquidity contract with Alantra on 21 September and transferred the remaining 52,466 shares into its treasury, according to the report. The arrangement had operated for ten months and ended with EUR1.53m in its cash account; the move follows the announced merger agreement with Lottomatica.