Cantor Fitzgerald Seeks Gambling License in Macau

Cantor Fitzgerald LP, which runs sports gambling in seven Las Vegas casinos, is seeking a gaming license in Macau, China, as it looks to expand in sports betting beyond Nevada, Chief Executive Officer Howard Lutnick said.

“We’re in the process of getting licensed in Macau,” Lutnick said today on Bloomberg Television. “When you have these big casinos as your partners, it makes it much more easy.”

The New York-based company’s sports-gambling technology enables players to bet while games are in progress, even on individual plays, Lutnick said. Sports betting in Las Vegas has increased 13 percent this year “because we gave people something new and better,” he said.

In Macau, the only place in China where wagering is legal, gambling revenue rose 7.3 percent in May to 26.1 billion patacas ($3.3 billion), compared with a year earlier, according to the city’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau. Cantor would run sports betting operations in Macau casinos if it got a license there, Lutnick said.

The broker has invested $150 million in retooling sports books in Las Vegas casinos. Its investments there include casinos owned by Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS), which also operates in Macau.

To contact the reporters on this story: Rob Golum in Los Angeles at rgolum@bloomberg.net; Christopher Palmeri in Los Angeles at cpalmeri1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Anthony Palazzo at apalazzo@bloomberg.net

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June 21 (Bloomberg) -- Howard Lutnick, chairman and chief executive officer of Cantor Fitzgerald LP, talks about expansion plans for the company's sports gambling business and investment strategy. Lutnick, speaking with Erik Schatzker and Stephanie Ruhle on Bloomberg Television's "Market Makers," also talks about financial regulation. (Source: Bloomberg)