Companies may try to bypass ban
The city council of Bratislava, Slovakia voted last month to ban casinos in the capital city on the Danube River.
But the gaming halls will not close up shop immediately or even in the near future. The ban does not take effect until May 1, and gaming halls will be phased out over several years until the last license expires. After 2021, casinos can no longer operate in hotels, shopping centers, community houses or other public places, according to the Slovak Spectator.
Meanwhile, the publication reported, gaming operators may “seek ways to bypass the ban and continue to do business.”
“It will not work in such a way that we will wake up tomorrow and all the gambling venues will be closed,” Bratislava Mayor Ivo Nesrovnal. “But we finally have an instrument to begin pushing them away.”
Currently some 300 gaming venues, large and small, are licensed to do business in the city. The Olympic Casino Slovakia and Lucky Seven hold licenses valid until 2018. Casino Banco in the Crowne Plaza Hotel can continue to operate until its license expires in 2021.
The ban will hit Bratislava’s budget, which has received some €3 million (US$3.2 million) each year from gaming. “We will replace the drop in revenues,” said Nesrovnal. “This was not a vote about money, but about values.”
