Casinos are generally open 24 hours a day with a minimum gambling age of 21. Some casinos in Sharm el Skeikh open for those over the age of 18 but have more limited opening times. To open a casino operators merely apply for a tax licence from the Ministry of Tourism.
Te general consensus is that so long as the tourists continue to travel to Egypt and stay in ‘casino hotels’ then the demand for a gaming industry in Egypt is expected to continue.
Te interest in poker has been growing steadily and poker tournaments are popular. Te first poker tournament took place in the Sinai Grand Casino in Sharm El Sheikh in 2008 with more than 50 poker players participating from around the world
Raymond Pittel General Manager of Nile City and Sonesta Casinos said: “Te casino market is based on European style of gaming and the main target markets are the Gulf state gamblers - Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait and Qatar for example.
East guests and with countries cancelling international flights there was little or no business. Some hotels were being used as quarantine hotels for repatriation flights. Semiramis Hotel was one of those so we were not allowed to operate our casino until July. By then some Middle East countries had resumed flights so Casino Semiramis re-opened on July 7.
“After re-opening business levels between July and September 2020 were down 85 per cent and October to December was down 60 per cent. Meanwhile, as international flights were still being cancelled and then resumed, which didn’t give travellers much confidence. Te start of 2021 was much the same as end of 2020, with a 60 per cent decrease in business. After Ramadan, in mid-May, we started to see an increase in guest numbers and June and July 2021 were the best months since re-opening, and you could say, back to pre-Covid times.
“Most Middle East countries are fully vaccinated and are permitted to travel. Egypt on the other hand has vaccinated only three per cent of the
“After re-opening business levels between July and September 2020
were down 85 per cent and October to December was down 60 per cent. Meanwhile as international flights were cancelled and then resumed,
which didn’t give travellers much confidence. Te start of 2021 was much the same as end of 2020 with a 60 per cent decrease in business. After Ramadan, in mid-May, we started to see an increase in guest numbers and June and July 2021 were the best months since re-opening.”
“Te casino market Year to Date is back to near pre-Covid levels minus 40 per cent and the predicted outlook for the next six months to December 2021 is estimated to be around minus 30 per cent compared to 2019.”
Te Ministry of Tourism requested all casinos close in Egypt on March 23 2020 due to the pandemic and they re-opened in June but with restrictions such as 50 per cent seating and health and safety measures.
Ian Cooper Managing Director of Casinos Austria Egypt said: “Cairo is reliant on Middle
population. So, we are still working with Covid measures such as 50 per cent seating and masks etc. We are currently working with the Ministry of Tourism to get the hotel and casino staff vaccinated.”
Te main casino operators include: l
CAI operates just one casino in Egypt - the Casino Semiramis in Cairo which is located in the luxurious five-star Semiramis InterContinental Hotel on the River Nile. Tis casino opened in 1990 and there are 13 tables, 32 slots and a 10-player station with two- wheel Automatic Roulette.
WIRE / PULSE / INSIGHT / REPORTS P61
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