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Italy’s largest casino has entered into a joint venture to operate a chain of VLT gaming halls throughout Italy with a partner that has the licences, the contacts and half the money. CEO Carlo Pagan believes it will help secure the core business.
CENTRAL EUROPE & CIS
Zürich casino clears final hurdle As required by the Gambling Act, the Zürich Governing Council and City Council both granted formal approval on August 24 for a new casino in the former Haus Ober department store, following the decision of the Federal Council to award the Type A concession to Swiss Casinos Zürich AG in June. The licence can now be officially granted and construction begin on the venue, which will house 380 slot machines and 26 tables.
Campione d’Italia will invest just under E15m in the new venture
Engelmann ‘acquitted’ of new infraction
tryagain AUSTRIA
Ernst Engelmann, a German national who was convicted in 2007 of operating an illegal gaming room in Linz in Austria but who managed to get the conviction overturned at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) last year, has been con- ditionally acquitted of another infraction his lawyer has said. The ECJ held that measures in the Austrian legislation were excessive to combat crime and were therefore a restric- tion on the freedom of estab- lishment.
Casinó di Campione moves into VLT operations
ventureadventure ITALY
Casinó di Campione has entered into a strategic alliance with Gamenet to open and manage VLT gaming halls via a joint venture.
In a statement, the com- panies said: “This is the first and only case in Italy of a partnership between a casino company and an Italian concessionaire: it will be an integrated partnership and not limited to a single type of game, demonstrat- ing the validity of the busi- ness model that has been developed, and intended to expand the boundaries the current market.” The new gaming halls will be a minimum of 600sq m in size. According to the com- panies: “They will be an
innovative example and ref- erence point both in the variety and completeness of the games and of the quality of the interior spaces, which will be built according to the highest standards of design and will combine gaming areas with areas for dining and entertainment.” The new gaming halls will be opened in high profile locations throughout the country, many of which have already been identified by Gamenet and ANIT, an asso- ciation of tourist destination towns that have an interest in and structures for a local gaming industry.
Gamenet will also bring to the initiative the licences and its expertise gained over the years in the management of public gaming networks and slot machines, including video lottery terminals. It
also has experience in sports betting and live poker. For its part, Casinó di Cam- pione will use its expertise and know-how gained since its opening in 1933 in gaming operations, design of the environment, man- agement of the restaurant business and wine bar and in the organisation of special events.
The joint venture will be 51 per cent owned by Gamenet and 49 per cent owned by Casinó di Campi- one. The planned invest- ment from now until 2013 is expected to be in the region of E30m and will be funded by both shareholders in pro- portion to their interests. The two companies have
pledged to look at further commercial initiatives in the areas of online gaming and betting.
Carlo Pagan, CEO of Casinó di Campione
Carlo Pagan, CEO of Casinó di Campione, said: “In our business plan this extension of our operations corresponds with a strategy that matches the times and
the changing conditions of the gaming market: out of the crisis in casinos will come a strengthening of the traditional core business, but we will also be diversi- fied in those segments that allow us to capitalise on the strengths of the company. The VLT, as an expression of offline gaming, is a clear example of that.” Marita Piccaluga, mayor of Campione d’Italia, which owns the casino, said: “The entry into this new busi- ness represents an oppor- tunity for the enclave and we intend to take advan- tage of it.” For his part, Ezio Filip- pone, CEO of Gamenet, said: “For Gamenet the partner- ship represents an invest- ment strategy consistent with our transformation into a real gaming company.”
Engelmann was arrested again in March this year after opening another gaming salon in Zell am See in Salzburg State. However, his lawyer Patrick Ruth argued that as the ECJ has determined that the Austrian legislation, which remains in force for the moment, is contrary to EU law, Engelmann cannot be accused of operating an illegal casino. The matter could now go
before the Regional Court in Linz for further discussion. Engelmann’s case was a major factor in the Austrian government’s decision to do away with the effective monopoly on casino opera- tions in the country, even before the final judgement was announced. The licence tender process for the first package of six ‘city’ casino licences has been launched, with another two packages of six and three each, plus one poker room licence, to go out to tender next year. Operators from across Europe can apply. Engelmann’s most recent acquittal, if it stands, is impor- tant to him: those who have been convicted of gambling infractions may not apply for any of the new licences.
Clarification for charitable donations from gambling
givingup CZECH REPUBLIC
The Czech parliament has approved an amendment to the Gambling Act that sets a single rate of 20 per cent of gross gaming revenues for donations to charities by gaming operators and requires the Lottery Over- sight Office to vet such charities. It also offers local authorities more controls over regulation. The legislation is expected to go
into effect in 2012. At present, instead of paying
corporation tax, gambling opera- tors are required to pay between six and 20 per cent of GGR to charity, however, there has been significant criticism of the opacity of the system in the press with an implicit accusation that gaming companies may be pulling back the money via a back-door route. Czech newspaper Hospo-
darske Noviny in September accused several operators of dis-
12 October 2011 • centraleurope&cisnews
tributing donations to charities whose activities and effective- ness are unclear to the extent even that their existence is in doubt. Several charities contacted by the newspaper were unable to describe their activities in full, and some were only very recently established. Hospodarske Noviny said that the law enables such charities to operate secretly: the state registry of civic association only provides addresses and the date of establishment.
Of the 125.6bn koruna (E5bn) spent on gambling in the Czech Republic in the last year, 3.53bn koruna (E142m) has been distrib- uted to charities, according to Karel Korynta, director of the Lottery Oversight Office. He has also said his staff of 12 people will have difficulty in accomplishing the new vetting role. “It will definitely be difficult and we will need to create an effective system of controls,” he told the press.
From next year, municipal
authorities will be able to regu- late VLTs, deciding where and how many to allow in their towns. Under the new amendment the licensing period for VLTs will also be reduced from ten years to three.
The amendment is likely to be
superseded next year anyway by new tax legislation being pre- pared by the ministry of finance that will impose a standard tax on gaming operators.
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