internationalcasinoreview News CENTRAL EUROPE & CIS
It was always on the cards: if the government of Liechtenstein chose to go with the Vaduzerhof proposal for Liechtenstein’s first casino, Novomatic and its partners would appeal the decision. It did and they have. The appeal will delay implementation still further.
waitinggame LIECHTENSTEIN
The government of the tiny principality of Liechtenstein, several months later than planned, announced on Feb- ruary 1 that the Casino Vaduzerhof project put forward by local business- man Wolfgang Egger with his partners Grand Casino Baden had won the conces- sion to create the country’s first land-based casino. Announcing the decision, Deputy Prime Minister Martin Meyer said: “The
Novomatic challenges Liechtenstein casino decision
The competing projects: left is Vaduzer Casino Admiral and right, Casino Vaduzerhof
licence applications were reviewed by the Office of Economic Affairs with the help of foreign and domestic experts. The assessment was made on the basis of compli- ance with the duty of care legislation, the prevention of money laundering, player protection, economic bene- fits and on the visual appeal of the venue.” The government expects
the project to bring in invest- ment of around 80m Swiss francs (E66.4m), create 100 new jobs and to bring in annual tax revenues in the
medium term of around 7m francs (E5.8m) - about two per cent of the national budget.
When the decision was made public, the govern- ment said that if no appeal against it were made, it would expect a rapid implementa- tion of the project. That rapid implementa- tion is not going to take place: on February 16 Novo- matic, which with Grand Casino Bad Ragaz is behind the rival Vaduzer Casino Admiral project, said that it was appealing the decision.
The grounds for the appeal have been apparent for some time: last July, Casinos Austria International said it was withdrawing from its involvement in the Vaduzerhof project - the company had been restruc- turing and re-assessing its priorities in the wake of a massive annual loss. Very swiftly, however, Egger managed to find a new partner in the Swiss opera- tor Grand Casino Baden. Novomatic’s challenge to the decision is based on Article 17 of the 2010
Low-stakes poker tournaments may get OK
badbeat SWITZERLAND
Small-stakes poker tournaments may in the future be allowed to take place outside casinos in Switzerland. The gov- ernment, the Federal Council, has said it is ready to look at the question but not before a constitutional amendment on gaming goes to a referendum in the country on March 11. Any commercial poker operated outside casinos has been deemed illegal since May 2010 when the Federal Court decided the game was more one of chance than of skill and determined it should be governed only by the Gam- bling Act. As lower stakes poker is highly uneconomic for casinos to run, it has meant that players are turning to foreign venues, the internet and underground clubs in Switzerland. Poker among family and friends remains legal - or at least non-actionable. Casinos were delighted at the 2010
ruling that reserved poker to them, however, they have been unable to make the game pay.
At the B-licensed casino
Schaffhausen, operated by Swiss Casinos, which also runs St Gallen, Pfäf- fikon, and in the future the new Zürich
Poker tournaments are not paying their way in Switzerland
city casino, the last regular 150-franc buy-in tournament took place in Febru- ary. Other operators have also cancelled similar tournaments.
Swiss Casinos’ Martin Vogel said:
“We expected a higher uptake. Our com- missions only just cover our costs.”
Gaming Ordinance that set out the terms of the licens- ing process. It allows bidders to make improvements and additions to their original proposals, however, it may be that the wholesale replacement of one bid partner for another consti- tutes neither an improve- ment nor an addition. The decision to award the licence to Vaduzerhof, which features a 115-room hotel, rather than the Vaduzer Casino Admiral, with its 14- room hotel, has also been the subject of criticism by
NEWSBRIEFS
Poland to extradite Ignatenko
The court of Nowy Sacz in Poland has decided that former Moscow deputy prosecutor Alexander Ignatenko should be returned to Russia to face charges of corruption. He is wanted by the FSB for his alleged involvement in an illegal gambling ring of 15 underground casinos across the Moscow region. Ignatenko was given seven days to file an appeal; if the decision is upheld, the final decision will be made by the justice minister.
Kyrgyz casino
workers protest Around 200 former casino workers in Kyrgyzstan have conducted a series of demonstrations outside government buildings in the capital Bishkek. The industry closed down
8 March 2012 • centraleurope&cisnews
other hoteliers in the state, where occupancy runs at a very low 30 per cent. They also noted that the low gaming tax of 12.5 per cent will also make cross-financ- ing of hotel rooms easier and increase competition still further.
StadtCasino Baden, which is set to operate the Casino Vaduzerhof,
expects to
welcome around 100,000 visitors per year and gener- ate annual gross gaming rev- enues of 20m francs (E16.6m) off 150 slot machines and seven
(legally) on January 1. According to the workers around 15,000 people have lost their jobs: according to the government it is around 3,500. The protestors are demanding compensation and new jobs. The protests have been occasionally marred by violence, with workers blaming heavy-handed government security officials.
Gambling addicts rights limited
The parliament of Ukraine, which banned gambling in July 2009 - not very suc- cessfully, has voted to limit the rights of gambling addicts, putting them on a level with alcoholics and drug addicts. Compulsive gamblers will be restricted in their rights to control their property and they will have to be monitored by ‘guardians’. Those who overcome their problems can have their rights restored by the courts.
Hohensyburg undergoes transformation WestSpiel’s Casino Hohensyburg near Dortmund is undergoing major refurbishment in the next six months which will see machines and tables all on the same gaming floor as well as a live events area. The casino wants to match the success of its sister and rival in nearby Duisburg, which celebrated its fifth birthday on February 23 - for most of its existence it has been the top-earning casino in Germany. Franz Hirthammer, director of Hohensyburg, said: “Within the next five years, we intend to be at eye-level with Duisburg.”
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