Bidders to be announced when regs are approved
Last week, the Cyprus House of Representatives voted on legislation that governs the first integrated casino resort in the Greek republic, which is part of the European Union. The final tally was 28-1 in favor of the bill with 16 abstentions, according to Union Gaming Group.
“This will be one of the most important infrastructure projects in Cyprus in coming years,” said government spokesperson Nicos Christodoulides.
Commerce Committee Chairman Zacharias Zachariou told the Cyprus Mail the regulations will be “sufficiently stringent” and “are on a par with those in force at European and international casinos across the planet.”
The approved regulations will go to the Cyprus Gaming and Casino Supervision Authority, which will evaluate the casino operator and investigate everyone employed by the resort.
According to the sources, once the regulations are final, if officials will announce the short list of bidders for the license. Politis News reports that the names to watch are U.S.-based Hard Rock International in partnership with Melco International Development Ltd.; Philippine casino operator Bloomberry Resorts; and Cambodia’s NagaCorp.
The Cyprus-Mail published the shortlisted operator’s preferred site for building their casino. The Hard Rock/Melco International Development team is reportedly targeting Limassol, while Bloomberry Resorts is looking at Paphos, and NagaCorp prefers a Lamarca site.
The winner will be granted a 30-year license with no competition for at least the first 15 years, and have about two years to develop the resort; in the interim, it also will have the option of building a temporary casino to generate revenue. The first integrated resort in the southern part of the Mediterranean island must offer 500 hotel rooms, a minimum of 100 gaming tables and 1,000 gaming machines. The chosen operator may also develop smaller satellite casinos and a freestanding outlet with just three machines. Junkets are permitted with no cap on commissions and locals are permitted to gamble.
There are currently no legal casinos in the southern part of the republic, which is affiliated with the Greek government; however, several casinos operate in the northern Turkish sector.
The project, approved by the government in August 2015, is expected to boost tourism and create some 25,000 new jobs. The Cyprus government will impose a 15 percent tax on gross gaming revenue at the resort.
However, even before an official announcement was made, one of the bidders that didn’t make the short list is complaining. A representative of a consortium called Goldenlady, which reportedly includes French operator Partouche, the Trump Organization and Navegante Gaming & Hospitality, sent a letter to Cyprus Auditor General Odysseas Michaelides, complaining that their US$1.3 billion was twice as much as the finalists plan to spend, and that they had proof they could come up with the money.
“The fact alone that the names of the preferred bidders have been leaked to the press before the recommendations of the evaluation committee are put to the cabinet for approval, casts a shadow on the credibility of the process,” said the consortium in the letter.
The letter hinted that Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades was siding with the Melco-Hard Rock group because it favored a casino in his hometown of Limassol.
