Casino News Roundup: Las Vegas Lands PWHL Team & World Cup Hotels Fall Short Of Forecasts
Welcome to the Casino Daily News Roundup - your briefing on the latest news from the global casino industry. We bring you the biggest stories from across the sector, covering everything from major business deals and revenue figures to new openings and regulatory developments.
Las Vegas Lands Women's Hockey Team As PWHL Las Vegas Begins Building Its Roster
Las Vegas's sports roster is growing again.
PWHL Las Vegas - one of four new expansion teams joining the Professional Women's Hockey League for the 2026-27 season - was officially announced on May 13 and has been building its roster this week, signing seven players including US Olympic gold medallist and women's hockey icon Hilary Knight.
The team will play at T-Mobile Arena - also home to the Vegas Golden Knights - in green and gold colours, with the franchise owned by the Mark Walter Group and led by general manager Dominique DiDia.
The addition gives Las Vegas its fifth major professional sports franchise alongside the Golden Knights, Raiders, Aces and the incoming Athletics - cementing the city's remarkable transformation into one of America's premier sports markets in under a decade.
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World Cup Hotel Bookings In US Host Cities Running Well Below Projections
A new report has found that hotel bookings in FIFA World Cup 2026 host cities across the United States are running significantly below projections, with 80% of hotels in host cities reporting occupancy well beneath forecasts.
Industry sources blame FIFA's overestimation of demand, elevated room rates set in anticipation of tournament traffic, and a broader shift in international sentiment toward the US following recent geopolitical tensions.
The shortfall is a concern for the broader US hotel and casino industry, which had anticipated significant tournament-adjacent tourism throughout June and July.
For Las Vegas - which is not a World Cup host city but had hoped to benefit from tournament visitors - the underperformance adds to the challenge of rebuilding international visitor numbers after a difficult 2025 in which visitation fell 7.5% to around 38.5 million.
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UK's New DCMS Gambling Minister Commits To "Getting The Balance Right"
The UK's newly appointed DCMS gambling minister has pledged to "get the balance right" in the government's approach to gambling regulation - signalling a potentially more measured tone than some of the more aggressive reform proposals that have circulated in recent years.
The comments come as the UK Gambling Commission prepares its final decision on financial risk assessments, as the BGC pushes for tougher action against the illegal gambling market, and as operators continue to absorb the impact of the doubled Remote Gaming Duty.
The minister's framing broadly aligns with the argument licensed operators have been making since the tax increase was announced - that overly restrictive regulation risks driving consumers toward unregulated offshore platforms rather than protecting them.
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