Venice’s Casinò Di Venezia, established in 1638 and believed to be the oldest gaming establishment in the world, is for sale and having trouble finding a buyer.
Venice’s municipal council wants to unload the storied gambling palace, which it has run since the end of the Second World War, but a recent public tender launched in hopes of generating offers attracted none, and that could be because the €500 million in investment required to seal the 30-year deal the city is seeking may be too steep.
“Before the tender started, some said that we were about to give the casino away for a too low price,” said Mayor Giorgio Orsoni. “Truth is, we all have to realize that we instead asked for a too high price.”
The tender required a down payment of around €140 million for control of the casino’s two locations—the historic Ca’ Vendramin Calergi near the center of the city on the Grand Canal and Ca’ Noghera near the Marco Polo Airport—and an additional investment of at least €308 million over the life of the contract.
There would also be an annual gambling tax of €16 million to pay, and starting in the seventh year an additional tax starting at 5 percent on gross gaming revenue over €140 million.
Orsoni, however, said he is confident the city will find a “solution,” and it’s reported that Slovenia’s HIT Group has expressed interest, though not at the tender price, which it described as “too high for the current dynamics of international gambling markets”.
“We are open to start a roundtable with Venice city council and the current management of the casino,” the operator said in a media statement.
