Venetian applies for online gaming license

Monday, Aug. 26, 2002 | 10:58 a.m.

A company affiliated with Las Vegas' Venetian hotel-casino has invested in an Internet gaming operation and is exploring opportunities in Indian gambling.

Venetian Casino Resort Athens LLC has applied for an Internet gambling license in Alderney in the British Channel Islands. Alderney, an island 8 miles off the coast of France, already is home to three licensed Internet gaming firms.

The information was disclosed by the company in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing last week. A company spokeswoman said there would be no further elaboration beyond the SEC filing.

According to the filing, Venetian entered a joint-venture agreement in January "to assess the feasibility of and develop an Internet gaming site." The filing did not identify any partners.

"We have applied for an Internet gaming license in Alderney, but have not yet established any operations," the filing says. "We estimate that we are committed to contribute approximately $1 million, approximately one-third of the required capital, to the joint venture during the next year. After recovery of each partner's initial capital contribution, we will receive 50 percent to 80 percent of the net profit of the joint venture, based upon an increasing scale of net profit (if any)."

The filing said the deal would be terminated if Venetian is unable to obtain any of the required regulatory approvals in Alderney, Nevada or any other jurisdiction.

The company provided no other information on the Indian gaming possibilities in the filing.

The Venetian, controlled by businessman Sheldon Adelson, joins MGM MIRAGE and Station Casinos, both of Las Vegas, in exploring overseas Internet gambling opportunities.