DATELINE EUROPE february2011
GETTING OUT
H
Accor sells stake in Barriere for €268 million
otel operator Accor has signed an agreement with Fimalac and Group Lucien Barriere for
the sale of its 49 percent stake in the French casino resort operator. The price is set at €268 million, well below the
€343 million anticipated when talk of a possible sale first circulated in March 2010. However, the price is equal to that offered Accor shareholders in the pro- posed but canceled Barriere IPO last September. Accor will sell a 34 percent interest to Fimalac
for €186 million and a 15 percent interest to Barriere for €82 million. The shares sold back to Barriere will be canceled and capital reduced.
IRISH EYES Ireland publishes roadmap to
the future of gaming I
reland’s Department of Justice and Law Reform has published its comprehensive report titled
“Options for Regulating Gambling.” The study is the first serious effort by the government to update its basis for current gaming legislation: the Gaming and Lotteries Act of 1956 and the Betting Act of 1931.
Aiming to create a consensus for change, the
44-page report establishes three basic principles to guide potential legislation. These are that young people and the vulnerable are protected, that gam- bling be conducted fairly and openly, and that gam- bling is kept free of crime. The report acknowledges that the need for
change grew from the reality that casino gaming was already occurring in so-called private members clubs, and that online gaming was being offered by even traditional betting operators. For casinos, the report suggests limiting opera-
tions to 15 gaming tables and three gaming machines per table. Poker tables would be considered as sepa- rate from the 15-table limit. No casinos would be able to offer slots without having table games. Food and beverage service would be part of the
casino offering, but alcohol on the gaming floor would not be permitted. A special liquor license for casinos would need to be developed to allow 24- hour service. On the subject of large-scale resort casinos, the report suggests that Ireland is too small to support a
6 Lucien Barriere includes the Deauville Barriere casino. Accor held a 34 percent stake in Barriere when
it purchased another 15 percent for €271 million in 2009.
The Desseigne-Barriere family will own 60 per-
cent of the casino resort group when the deal is completed. Fimalac will own 40 percent. The sale is expected to finalize sometime during
the first quarter of 2011. Approval must still be obtained from the French competition authorities.
Las Vegas-style development with multiple resort casinos in a single locale. A resort casino would con- ceivably have 1,000 to 1,500 gaming machines plus gaming tables and non-gaming amenities. The selection of an operator and licensing
arrangements would be managed by an independent Casino Adjudication Panel within the Department of Justice and Law Reform. The operator would pay an annual licensing fee
based on the number of tables and machines. For illustration the report uses €500 per gaming machine and €1,000 per table. No specific recommendation is made on taxa-
tion, as that is up to the Department of Finance. However, the report posits a two-tier system, where- by the federal government would collect a tax based on gross gaming revenue and local authorities would receive tax based on the number of visitors (for example, €2 a head). A new categorization for gaming machines is
recommended, similar to that in use in the U.K. In the area of betting shops, fixed-odds betting
terminals should remain out, but betting on virtual sporting events should be allowed to continue. For remote gambling, which includes gaming
via internet, mobile phone, land-line phone, inter- active TV or any other format where the player and provider are not in each other’s physical presence, the report cites an earlier study titled “Regulating Gaming in Ireland.” That study described efforts to censor the inter-
net as “frequently self-defeating,” “unlikely to achieve the intended results,” and often leading to “unintended and undesirable consequences.”
Global Gaming Business • February 2011
THEWORLD Steve Wynn joins Monaco-Qatar JV, gets citizenship
MANOF S
teve Wynn has agreed to serve as an out- side director of the joint venture formed
by the governments of Monaco and Qatar last summer. In the process, Prince Albert II of Monaco has conferred Monegasque citi- zenship on Wynn. The joint ven-
ture is Monaco QD International Hotels and Resorts
Management. The company intends to acquire and manage hotels and resorts in Europe, the Middle East and North America. The Peninsula reports that the owners are
Qatari Diar and Monaco’s National Company for Finance. The company is headquartered in Monaco but Qatar holds the majority stake. Initial capital was €5 million. The involvement of the Monaco govern-
ment is not to be confused with the principali- ty’s longstanding casino resort operator, the publicly listed Monte-Carlo SBM. In November, it was announced by Abu Dhabi’s Tourism Development & Investment Company that Monte-Carlo SBM would be managing the “chic and stylish” Monte Carlo Beach Club on Saadiyat Island. However, the government of Monaco
could be taking a lead from the results of Monte-Carlo SBM in the recent past. The resort operator has seen sharp declines in rev- enue from gaming, while its hotels and other amenities have continued to produce a mod- icum of growth. The addition of Wynn as an outside director could come in handy should a project require a casino component. The granting of Monegasque citizenship
to Wynn has caused a lot of speculation as to the casino magnate’s plans. Aside from excep- tions of birth or marriage, neither the U.S. nor Monaco allows dual citizenship. Wynn Resorts spokeswoman Jennifer
Dunne said in a statement, “His Monegasque citizenship was pursued as a result of this appointment” to the board of the joint venture.
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