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EUROPE CENTRAL, EAST & CIS
Erfurt visitor numbers down Erfurt casino has reported a fall of eight per cent in visitor numbers in 2010, down to around 20,000. Gross gaming revenues at the Westspiel operated venue fell below E2m, more than a third less than generated three years ago. The finance ministry has agreed to change the law to reduce the duty rate from 60 per cent to 25 per cent, and allow the casino to deduct VAT beforehand. Other taxes will not be payable unless the casino makes a profit - it never has, according to the ministry.
Escor has given up its interest in Grand Casino
operators square up for two new Swiss casinos
As the Swiss Federal Council begins the decision-making process for two new casinos, the bid applicants are positioning themselves carefully, including Escor Casinos, which is throwing itself completely into winning the much-desired A-licence for Zürich.
inplace SWITZERLAND
The deadline for applica- tions for two new casinos in Switzerland, one A-licence in the city of Zürich and one B-licence in the Neuchâtel canton, fell on December 31 with the Swiss Federal Casino Commission, which is managing licensing process, in receipt of nine applications. The tender process was
launched in March last year and the Federal Council is expected to announce its decision probably this summer.
The Casino Commission
has received five applica- tions for the Zürich casino
and four for Neuchâtel. It will publish the main ele- ments of those bids in the Federal Gazette at the end of January as well as in the official journals of both cantons.
The operators that have made the bids are now posi- tioning themselves to take advantage of potentially lucrative opportunities. Escor Casinos & Enter- tainment, for example, has agreed to sell its 36.5 per cent stake in Grand Casino Locarno in Ticino canton to its commercial partner ACE Casino Holding, a subsidiary of Novomatic, which also operates one of Switzer- land’s best earning casinos Admiral Casino Mendrisio
and Casino Bad Ragaz, both B-licences. The price has not been disclosed and the deal is subject to agreement of the Commission. In a statement, Escor said: “In the longer term, the board of Escor sees moder- ate development in the Ticino market. In particular, this is due to the likely inten- sification of competition from new casino projects and the steady expansion of slot machines in northern Italy. The sale proceeds will be used for new projects with high growth potential. A special focus is on the applications for the new casino licences in the city of Zürich and Neuchâtel region.”
In fact, the company is
now throwing all its eggs into the Zürich basket. It holds a 36.5 per cent stake in the project at the Alten Börse (Old Stock Exchange) in the centre of Zürich, deemed one of the leading contenders. It wants to focus all its energies there, so it has also sold its interests in the Casino Les 3 Lacs bid for Neuchâtel to its project partner Sunset Casino AG. Escor said: “In the next
few months, Escor will con- centrate its activities exclu- sively on winning this fiercely fought-for A-licence. It has become clear in recent weeks that realising the casino project in Neuchâtel would tie up additional
New Year’s Eve trouble for Sopron licence
langsyne HUNGARY
Casino Sopron on the Hun- garian-Austrian border was forced to close its tables and cease operations at the stroke of midnight as the year turned when its licence expired and a new one failed to be issued.
A notice on the casino’s
website said: “The Hungar- ian finance ministry has not yet informed us of its deci- sion, therefore the casino remains temporarily closed.”
The ministry has been
overwhelmed by the assumption by Hungary of the EU presidency at the start of the year, meaning that other issues have been left unattended to, including the final stages needed for the
Casino Sopron is back in business after its new licence was delayed
renewal of Sopron’s licence. Casinos Austria, which owns 75 per cent of the casino, had applied in plenty of time for the new five-year exten-
12 February 2011 • europecentraleast&cisnews
sion, and it had already been signed off by two ministers: only economy minister Gyorgy Matolczy’s signature was missing.
The operator was hoping that the documents would arrive before the old licence expired by mail or even courier.
CAI spokesman Martin Himmelbauer said: “The only thing missing was this signa- ture, which were expecting at any moment. It was a mere formality.” However, the casino had
to wait full five days to be able to re-open, which it did on January 5. The lack of activity over an important period for the casino will hurt not only the operator but the gov- ernment, which will see lower tax receipts as a result - and lower profits: the remaining 25 per cent of the casino is held by Szerenjiatik, a state-owned gambling company.
investment and personnel resources: among other things new conditions from the landowners and the Environment Department have pushed the amount of investment up from the 19m francs (E15m) planned to around 27m francs (E22m).” Escor chairman Christian
Vollmer said: “Sunset Casino initiated the Casino Les 3 Lacs project and with Escor brought it to its present posi- tion. I am therefore con- vinced that [it] will lead this project, so important for the Neuchâtel region, to success. The significantly large support from the people and authorities of the municipal- ity of La Tène and Neuchâtel canton will also contribute
significantly.” One of the other con-
tenders for the B-licence is Kursaal Bern, which oper- ates the A-licence in the neighbouring canton capital. It has plans for a 20m-franc (E16m) invest- ment to redevelop the old Casino de la Rotonde in Neuchâtel city, which is cur- rently operating as a night- club.
The casino would include
six table games and 150 slot machines, a brasserie with 70 seats and a lounge bar. It project would create 88 full-time jobs. Kursaal Bern’s chairman Daniel Frei, said: “It’s an ideal loca- tion for sophisticated enter- tainment.”
Poor year for Bad Kissingen
healthwarning GERMANY
Casino Bad Kissingen in one of Bavaria’s premier spa towns saw its revenues decline in 2010, down 7.6 per cent to E5.2m. The greatest fall in revenues came from machines, which were down 9.25 per cent on 2009.
At the start of the year, entry controls to the slot floor were introduced, which the operator believes impacted both numbers and revenues. There was a reduction in guests at the slots of four per cent, down to 39,900. Machine rev- enues in 2009 had been ten
per cent ahead of 2008, so it was a significant reversal. At the tables, on the other hand, visitor numbers remained rela- tively stable at 41,750, however they spent less, bringing down GGR from traditional games by 3.6 per cent.
Bad Kissingen now ranks sixth of the nine state-owned casinos in Bavaria: all, according to State Lottery Administra- tion Head Erwin Horak, are suffering from increasing competition from commer- cial arcades as well as from the neighbouring countries, the Czech Republic, Switzerland and Austria.
Locarno and in it Neuchâtel project in order to concentrate on Zürich
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