CR59-p12-Euro 7:SJC-Casino Review 19/8/07 10:18 Page 1
casinoreview
The 12 Austrian casinos have so In the first month, the Sit&Go Turkish newspaper Sabah has alleged that local
far seen their gross poker revenues Events attracted about 4,000 businessman Sudi Okzan, known as the casino king, owner
shoot up 370 per cent from last players. The Austrian casinos host Sudi Okzan of the largest casinos in Bulgaria, has laundered money
year’s figures, reaching about 2.6m some 500 tournaments per year,
accused by
through Turkish private bank Toprakbank. The paper alleged
euros at the start of August. The usually with a buy in of around 40
Turkish
that Okzan had secret accounts in the bank and transferred
operator launched its Sit&Go Poker euros, with the main event being profits from gambling to Swiss banks. In 1998, when the
Austrian casinos see
Events, which with a buy-in of only the Baden poker festival in October
paper
Turkish government banned gambling, Okzan left the country
370 per cent poker revs
25 euros are mainly targeted at where players battle for 3m euros and reportedly moved to the Caribbean. Okzan owned the
novice players, at the start of July. of prize money. largest casinos in Turkey until 1998.
Harrah’s and HIT have
publicity hurdles to jump
much about ownership but ballot on a mega gaming Harrah’s Entertainment.
moreover having a share in parlour, since this will not be Jansa is clearly in support of
the profit. Speaking at a recent a mega gaming parlour.” the project, saying it involved
press conference, the Sloven- Borut Pahor, the head of high-end services that could
ian Prime Minister believed the opposition Social Democ- not be compared to the low-
that most of the negativity sur- rats, added: “The investment end gaming activities that,
rounding the super-sized is of such magnitude that it ‘unfortunately, abound in Slove-
resort was due to poor levels can alter the identity of this nia.’ He said the resort would
of communication from the city in the next ten years. It provide a range of leisure activi-
local force behind the prop- will provide Nova Gorica with ties for cash rich tourists.
erty in western Slovenia. new jobs, more added value Remember that the government
“It is evident that this and a development drive that was so keen for the project to
project will not come to we all aspire for.” take place that it reshaped its
fruition without the support Nada Skuk, the vice presi- legislation to lower the gaming
of the local environment,” dent of the junior coalition tax and allow greater foreign
Jansa said, claiming that People’s Party (SLS), mean- stakes in casino projects.
failure to properly educate while, voiced her disapproval However, there were still
the public could snowball of “such expansion of gaming doubts in the local media and
the situation into a political in Slovenia” saying gaming was with the general public. A
hot potato. “A number of mis- an ethically contentious indus- recent poll of some 722
takes have been made in this try, which renders any financial people showed that 38 per
regard and I cannot under- gain as disputable. Senior vice cent of those questioned
sliceoftheaction stand that; especially given president of Harrah’s Entertain- believe such a resort would
The existing HIT site in Nova Gorcia
SLOVENIA that this is a project that ment Jan Jones met with repre- benefit Slovenia and its tourist
involves majority Slovenian sentatives from the political industry, while also bringing
The Slovenian government is ownership and where parties to ‘clear many issues’ more competition in the
considering taking a share in gaming will play a minor adding that the project pre- market, but 30 per cent think
the country’s first super 750m part,” he added, highlighting sented a “unique opportunity”. that the arrival of a foreign
euros casino, a joint venture that the split between gaming HIT defended itself saying multinational would cause
between local operator HIT and entertainment would be that it had informed the public problems for competing
and US resort specialist more weighted in the favour about the project as soon as Slovenian gaming companies.
Harrah’s, despite the fact that of the latter, much more so details of the letter of intent A further 25 per cent said
the two operators have been than in the existing casino in were agreed upon. The that the state should limit, rather
criticised for not supplying the Gorisko area, which did company stressed that the than promote gaming-related
the public with enough infor- not run into anywhere near project was also presented to tourism for ethical reasons.
mation to properly understand as much opposition. Again he local communities before it The Prime Minister fin-
The Slovenian Prime Minister has told the
the dynamics of their pro- advised the partners in the was presented to the broader ished with some words of
publicity teams behind the Harrah’s/HIT
posed project. project to be more commu- public and that the presenta- warning for those not wanting
proposal for Nova Gorica that they must be
The two are hoping to build nicative. “I would like those tion was agreed upon with the project to come to
the project in Nova Gorica, a small directly involved in this the Finance Ministry. fruition. “This is a project of
more vociferous when it comes to educating town lying in western Slovenia, project to be more proactive It added that it had kept high-end global tourism,
the masses about their proposal. Already
close to the Italian border. in explaining to the people the public informed as much which will be carried out
supporting the plans, the government also
Prime Minister Janez Jansa what this project is about and as it could but that it had to somewhere else if Slovenia
said that any move for a slice to ensure the debate be based respect the agreement on fails to grab it,” he said. The UK
now wants a share of the profits. of the action would not be so on reason rather than on a non-disclosure with can certainly vouch for that.
Casinos
Fischer & Partner, presents what the treatment.” For this reason, and serious economist would dare make
Austrian operator describes as ‘an from the perspective of health and a forecast of the ascertainable per-
Austria claims
oddly distorted image of the Aus- social policy, Casinos Austria argues formance of the GDP more than two
trian gaming market.’ that a ‘containment of slot machine years into the future; based on so
state would
“For Casinos Austria it contains gaming should be demanded, not many imponderable events, a deci-
largely implausible or false market further deregulation.’ sion such as predicting participation
lose 400m
data,” the operator stated. “The “From a fiscal perspective as in online gaming five years in
client who commissioned the study well, liberalisation in the area of advance is charlatanism.”
euros with
was tellingly not disclosed, yet with gaming is counterproductive,” the The professor is also harshly criti-
tendentious statements, the analy- spokesperson continued. “The cal of the government’s supposed
further slot
sis obviously intends to above all study’s claim that liberalisation will 170m euros increase in revenues per
provide evidence that Austria needs generate more tax revenues contra- year: “This statement is a complete
liberalisation
even more of the already con- dicts studies by the renowned Insti- fabrication. Nearly all factually-
tentious slot machine salons.” tute for Advance Studies (IHS) as based studies carried out by econo-
Particularly problematic in the well as a study which was carried mists show that privatisation in the
stateofplay operator’s eyes is the study’s out by University Proffessor Dr. gaming industry has economically
AUSTRIA demand for the nationwide deregu- Gerhard Hanappi of the Institue for disadvantageous consequences
lation of slot machine gaming as Mathematical Methods in Econom- including a decline in government
Casinos Austria has been highly crit- well as the national liberation of ics at the Technical University of revenues.”
ical of a study suggesting that the online gaming. From the perspective Vienna. According to these studies, He also states that the inability to
Austrian slot market be opened up of player protection, it believes both the state would lose 400m euros in supervise online gaming is a ‘blatant
further and has slammed its findings measures would be ‘highly irrespon- revenues as a result of the increased presumption’. This is where, accord-
as ‘distorted, ‘not plausible’ and sible.’ “Today in the provinces where competition in a liberalised gaming ing to Casinos Austria, legislative
‘contentious’. It has also pointed to slot machine gaming has been liber- market. officials should intervene de facto.
other studies that suggests that alised, cases of gaming addiction head of the Latour hospital in Hanappi said: “The statement “Furthermore, it is also not con-
further slot deregulation could actu- have already shown a substantial Carinthia, which specialises in such that in the next five years the enor- nected to an (alleged) reduction in
ally cost the state 400m euros. increase,” a spokesperson for cases. This study says there has mous sum of 6bn euros in bets the loss of revenues upon approval
The study, published at the start Casinos Austria stated, pointing to a been a “dramatic rise in the number would be lost is fully suspect and of several private operators,” the
of July by the agency Kreutzer, study by Proffessor Herwig Scholz, of players in need of counselling and lacks any economic foundation. No operator added.
12 September 2007 europeannews
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