Investments made by Crown in the US have been criticised by Citi’s gambling industry analyst. The purchase of a 2.5% stake in Harrah’s Entertainment and a 4.9% stake in Station Casinos were made earlier this year, before casinos were hit by the economic crisis, and the $414 million investment can now be written off as worthless, according to the analyst. Crown’s purchase of three Cannery Casinos in Las Vegas and a racino in Pennsylvania are also looking less profitable now and shares in the company have fallen 51%.

Another industry analyst says that casino and lottery customers in Australia will cut back over the next two years. However, revenue from horse and sports betting is expected to grow by around 11.9% this financial year, as betting recovers from last year’s equine influenza that halted racing in some states. Next year growth is predicted to grow by only 2.5% and this from the new interactive digital pay-TV betting sites.

The casino sector in Australia is likely to see revenue falls of around 1.8% this year and a further 2.3% drop by mid-2010. Lottery revenues are expected to be down 1.2% with a further fall of 1.5% in 2009/2010. There will be increased competition, with casinos, clubs, pubs and new Internet operators all chasing gambling dollars in a difficult economic climate. (E-12.17.08)

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