Casino News Roundup: MGM & Caesars In All-Inclusive Battle On Las Vegas Strip

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.

MGM Vs Caesars: The Strip's All-Inclusive Arms Race

Something significant is shifting on the Las Vegas Strip. After years of racing toward luxury pricing and sky-high resort fees, two of its biggest operators are now competing fiercely on value - and the catalyst is a softening tourism market that neither company can afford to ignore.

MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment have both rolled out all-inclusive packages, taking a cue from the cruise industry to generate interest in their lowest-tier properties during the historically softer summer season. 

Both operators are responding to the same pressures: the softening of tourism in 2025 and a push to restore the perception of value.

MGM's offering is limited to Luxor and Excalibur, their most budget-friendly Strip hotels, starting at $330 total for two nights for two guests and covering dates from April 6 to September 8, 2026. That price includes three meals a day, show tickets, parking and roller coaster rides - a genuinely comprehensive bundle.

Caesars' version, available at Harrah's Las Vegas, The LINQ Hotel and Flamingo Las Vegas, starts at $200 per night for one guest including resort fees and taxes, with each additional guest costing an extra $100 per night. Two meals a day are included, along with bottomless well drinks, house wine and beer at select bars.

Casino executives said last year they lost control of the narrative, and that Las Vegas never lost its value. But comments on social media revealed a segment of visitors - especially those looking for bargains - weren't satisfied. 

These packages are a direct response to that discontent, and a strong signal that the Strip's biggest names are no longer willing to simply wait for the tourists to come back on their own terms.

UK Remote Gaming Duty Doubles - And The Industry Is Reeling

The most consequential shift in British gambling taxation in a generation came into effect on April 1, 2026, and the industry is still absorbing the impact. 

The UK's Remote Gaming Duty rose from 21% to 40% of gross gaming yield - the steepest single-step increase in British gambling tax history - applying to all online casinos licensed to serve British players, covering slots, table games, live dealer products and virtual sports.

The changes were announced in the 2025 Autumn Budget and represent the most substantial overhaul of gambling taxation in recent years. The government has explicitly targeted online casino-style gaming with a higher tax burden, citing its lower operating costs and greater potential for harm compared with other forms of gambling.

The government stated it expected operators to pass on up to 90% of the duty increases to consumers through reduced payouts and less favourable terms, which it acknowledged would lead to a reduction in consumer demand - reducing the yield from the measure by £500million by 2029/30. 

In plain terms: bonuses will shrink, RTP rates will fall and promotions will become harder to find.

Trade bodies including the Remote Gambling Association submitted responses to HMRC seeking a review of the implementation timeline, arguing the pace risks undermining the competitiveness of Britain's regulated market. 

The fear in some quarters is that tighter margins will push players toward unlicensed offshore operators - the very outcome the regulator is supposed to prevent.

Further change is on the way. A new rate of general betting duty of 25% for remote betting will be introduced from April 2027, applying to all online sports betting apart from UK horse racing, which will remain at 15%.

UK Gambling Commission Loses Chief As Industry Enters New Era

The tax upheaval arrives at a particularly delicate moment for UK gambling regulation, with the sector facing a leadership vacuum at the very top of its watchdog. 

Andrew Rhodes has decided to leave the Gambling Commission on April 30, 2026, to take up a new role, which will be announced in due course. Rhodes provided outstanding leadership of the Commission for almost five years and oversaw a transformation of how it regulates the gambling industry.

Rhodes' departure comes 30 days after the Treasury's new tax regime on gambling came into effect, with his resignation landing in the middle of the British betting sector's biggest readjustment in decades. The timing has unsettled parts of the industry that had developed a working relationship with his leadership style.

His departure comes as the Commission continues implementing the Gambling Act review white paper, including financial risk checks and affordability measures, raising questions across the industry about regulatory continuity at a critical moment.

His legacy is not without controversy. During his tenure, Rhodes played a crucial role in advancing the UK's gambling regulatory framework, including affordability assessments, more stringent rules on harmful gambling products, and measures to limit the intensity of online gambling offerings. 

The industry's reaction was mixed: some credited him with strengthening enforcement standards, while others pushed back hard on the pace and scope of reform.

Grainne Hurst, CEO of the Betting and Gaming Council, said: "His hands-on approach and willingness to engage directly with the industry helped foster a more informed and productive working relationship, even where views did not always align." 

With a new CEO yet to be announced and a tidal wave of regulatory and fiscal change still rolling in, the Commission faces a challenging few months ahead.

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Hard Rock's Guitar Tower Reshaping Las Vegas Skyline

The most dramatic construction project on the Las Vegas Strip right now has nothing to do with a new opening - it's the systematic dismantling and reinvention of one of the city's most beloved landmarks.

With 36 of its planned 42 stories now poured, the Guitar Hotel Las Vegas is steadily nearing structural completion and making progress toward its scheduled late-2027 opening. 

The project represents Hard Rock International's full transformation of the former Mirage site, which closed its doors in July 2024 after more than three decades as one of the Strip's defining resorts.

The redevelopment includes a complete scrape of the existing tri-tower hotel and the construction of the massive guitar-shaped tower now rising above the Strip. 

The building that once operated as The Mirage will also receive a new exterior, with workers installing a single shade of blue glass designed to match the guitar tower, creating a uniform aesthetic across the reimagined resort.

The full redevelopment, estimated in the billions, includes an expanded casino floor, new restaurants, entertainment venues, and the integration of Hard Rock's signature music memorabilia throughout the property. 

The guitar tower itself is expected to stand around 660 feet tall and house approximately 600 new rooms and suites, bringing the total room count well above 3,600.

Hard Rock has emphasized that the work is both on time and on budget so far, with the structural phase well underway. 

Where the Mirage's iconic artificial volcano once drew tourists to the Strip for nightly eruptions, a 42-storey guitar is now taking shape. Love it or loathe it, it is Las Vegas doing what it has always done - tearing down the past to build something bigger.