INSIGHT ITALY MARKET
Horse racing meets in Rome and Milan re- opened at the end of May behind closed doors initially.
Meanwhile the Palio of Siena, described as the toughest horse race in the world, has been cancelled this year for the first time since World War II. Te bareback race which dates back to the Renaissance era is usually held twice a year in July and August around Siena’s mediaeval square. According to officials with social distancing rules it would be impossible to stage.
CASINOS Under the governmental decree casinos were
due to re-open mid June. Protocols have been implemented to provide social distancing plus there are sanitation regulations, thermal imaging cameras, limited gaming stations, plexiglass dividers and distribution of masks and gloves. Te date has been set to coincide with gambling halls also re-opening.
Tere are only four landbased casinos (five locations) licensed in Italy which operate under an ad hoc regulatory regime dating back to the 1930s which gives them special status as licensed gambling houses.
Two years ago Casino di Campione went bankrupt and closed. Te casino, near Milian is the largest casino in Italy and was opened in 1917 as a cover for an espionage venue. It is located in the Italian enclave within the Swiss canton of Ticino. Te casino closed in 1919 and then reopened in 1933. Te building was replaced in 2007 by a huge 55,000sq.m nine floor property which cost around $160m and houses around 760 slots and 56 table games and can accommodate around 3,100 gamblers at a time.
Te timing was terrible. Te following year the global recession plunged Italy into financial problems whilst the strengthening of the Swiss franc against the Euro, plus the opening of three Swiss casinos nearby, all took their toll.
A new law permitting slots in bars and cafes plus the rise of online gambling has also had adverse affects on the casino market generally and it finally closed its doors in July 2018.
Te casino and the municipality have both suffered and raked up millions in debt. Te casino is 100 per cent owned by the municipality and provides employment for around 500 people who live in this tiny
1sq.km territory which is home to around 2,000 inhabitants in total.
In January 2020 the enclave was forced to re- join the Italian economy under an agreement set up four years ago and this has brought several changes with its EU status. With unemployment soaring and government services disrupted the enclave’s problems have only been exacerbated by the CV19 pandemic.
Meanwhile Casino Municipale di SanRemo opened in 1905. Tere are 480 slots and table games. Te casino saw around €44.4m in
P38 NEWSWIRE / INTERACTIVE / MARKET DATA
income last year and employs around 300 people.
Casino de la Valle in Saint Vincent resort has around 500 slots and 100 table games. It officially opened in 1947 and has 3,500sq.m of gaming over two floors.
Casino di Venezia has two locations – the Ca’Noghera and Ca’Vendramin Calergi. Te Venice Casino was founded back in 1638 and moved to its current location on the Grand Canal in the 1950s. Meanwhile the Ca’Noghera is Italy’s first American style casino and has 4,000 sq.m of gaming space and opened in 1999. Both casinos have 600 slots in each and 20 gaming tables.
It was predicted that if the Venice casino remained closed until the end of May losses would account for €27m.
SLOTS & VLTS Slots are permitted in bars, tobacco shops,
shopping malls and gaming parlours. Since 2004 all machines have been connected to a central control system in a bid to control the number of illegal machines in the market.
Tere are three types of gaming machines available:
Newslots (AWP) machines which offer cash prizes and can be installed in bars, restaurants, cafes, tobacco shops, private clubs and gaming arcades, betting shops or bingo halls. Tere are around 263,000 of these in operation. Price of play is €1 and they can payout up to €100 in winning.
Comma 7c are skill games (without payment) such as pinball, table football which offer prizes instead of cash.
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