Swiss Casinos lands new Licence
Te Federal Council has granted Swiss Casinos a new licence for Winterthur and renewed four others, but was unsuccessful for a concession in Oftringen.
Te planned casino in Lokstadt supports the city of Winterthur in preserving its traditional industrial history combined with modern entertainment.
SWITZERLAND OPERATOR NEWS
Te Federal Council has granted Swiss Casinos four casinos licences for the three existing locations in Zurich, St. Gallen, Pfäffikon (with online) as well as an entirely new licence for Winterthur. Te licences will run from 2025 to 2044.
Te Swiss operator was unable to convince the Federal Council with its application for a concession in Oftringen. Te company did not apply for a licence for Casino Schaffhausen, but the employees have received job offers from Swiss Casinos in Winterthur or within the Swiss Casinos Group. Casino Schaffhausen will close operations at the end of 2024.
Te company stated: “We were aware from the outset that the concession application in Oftringen was a particular challenge... Oftringen is located in the Basel area, where there is already a successful casino. We judged a casino in Oftringen to be a welcome addition to the nightlife offer for the growing Mittelland and the municipality of Oftringen. Te Federal Council did not change the specified zones and thus
rejected the licence application. We regret this, but we can well understand the Federal Council’s decision.”
Te planned casino in the listed hall in the Lokstadt supports the city of Winterthur in preserving its traditional industrial history. In the St. Gallen zone, the Federal Council had to decide between Swiss Casinos’ existing casino and a competition application from ACE Holding.
“We are relieved that the Federal Council has acknowledged our experience, our integration in the region and our careful management and has given preference to our application,” the company stated.
“In Pfäffikon SZ, we will open the casino at the new location and offer an attractive nightlife offer for the region. Casino Pfäffikon also includes the online casino which has established itself as a very successful online casino. And last but not least, we can further anchor our flagship, the Casino in Zurich.
South Africa Sun International to purchase Peermont Holdings
Sun International has announced plans to buy rival South African casino operator Peermont Holdings for R7.3bn (€363m) in a deal that will include 11 properties located across South Africa and Botswana, including Emperors Palace Hotel Casino Convention in Gauteng and the online sportsbook, PalaceBet.
Sun stated that the proposal offered a 'unique opportunity to acquire the world-class and highly cash generative Peermont business, allowing the combined group's equity value to significantly increase.' 62.5 per cent of Sun International shareholders have provided written indications of support for the proposed transaction.
Te operator stated: "Land- based casinos, underpinned by the flagship Emperors Palace Resort, will enhance the quality of earnings and cash flow generation of the group,
providing an increase in the contribution of land based and online gaming revenue to the combined group. Te combination of Sun International and Peermont provides a compelling equity story, through increased scale, a larger enterprise value and greater capital markets visibility."
Emperors Palace represents a significant proportion of the value of the Peermont Group and has achieved an average EBITDA margin (before accounting for management fee of circa 40 per cent in the past four years (excluding the 2020 financial year which was impact the global Covid-19 pandemic), similar to the historical performance of some of Sun International's largest casino operations.
Te Peermont Group's physical properties offer 3,349 slot machines, 152 gaming tables and 1,636 hotel rooms.
Italy
Play’n GO has signed a partnership with the Italian arm of William Hill, expanding the company’s presence in the region.
Earlier this year, the two announced an industry-first with the instalment of “Book of Dead” in William Hill FOBTs across the UK. William Hill players in Italy will gain access to Play’n GO’s entire catalogue of games, including classics such as Book of Dead, Rise of Olympus, and Tome of Madness.
Michele Stefanelli, Sales Leader, LATAM and Southern Europe, Play’n GO, said: “Te Italian market is very important to Play’n GO, and we’re pleased to continue our growth in the region with William Hill, who we’ve already had enormous success with around the world. We’re committed to providing Italian players with the best online casino experience possible, and this partnership with William Hill is another big step in that direction.”
The Netherlands - ECA announces venue The ECA European Dealer Championship 2024 will take place at Holland Casino Venlo, from June 3 to 6, 2024. After an eight-year break, the event is set to make a grand return to The Netherlands, bringing together the crème de la crème of European casino dealers.
The competition promises an exhilarating showcase of technical skill, game control, hospitality, and nerves of steel. Hosted at Holland Casino’s newest venue in Venlo, this edition of the European Dealer Championship holds special significance.
Sweden - Casino Cosmopol receives sanction In November 2021, the Swedish Gambling Authority initiated supervision of Casino Cosmopol AB’s work to prevent the company from being used for money laundering and terrorist financing.
The authority initiated the current supervision to review Casino Cosmopol’s work with customer due diligence and to follow up on previous deficiencies regarding certain requirements in the Anti-Money Laundering Act, reporting that itl has failed in its work with customer due diligence in several areas.
Italy - EGBA expresses concerns over decree The European Gaming and Betting Association is deeply concerned about the proposed new Italian decree on online gambling, which is currently under discussion in the Council of Ministers. The decree includes provisions that would introduce a significant reorganisation of the sector, particularly regarding the cost of license fees. The possible introduction of (quasi) prohibitive licensing regimes and fees also raises concerns on compliance with EU law, which will merit consideration.
Recent news reports suggest the decree will set an unprecedented €7m licence fee, far surpassing other EU Member States. EGBA believes that such a substantial increase in the license cost is unwarranted, particularly when compared to the country’s previous licensing tenders for online gambling operations. The proposed fee represents a 35-fold increase from the 2018 licence fee of €200,000 and triples the Italian authorities’ previous license fee proposal of €2.5m, which was never implemented.
The EGBA has stressed that this significant licence fee hike will have severe consequences. The high fee will deter new market entrants and likely force existing licensees, especially smaller operators, out of the market. This would, EGBA believes, lead to a drastic cut in the number of licensed operators from the current 91 licensees to 15-20, contributing a significant increase in size of the country’s gambling black market, posing inherit risks for players.
WIRE / PULSE / INSIGHT / REPORTS P15 EMEA
Wire
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