Groupe Partouche opens Benin casino

French land-based gaming operator Groupe Partouche has opened its first casino in the Republic of Benin.

Groupe Partouche opens Benin casino

The casino in Cotonou, Benin’s largest city with a population of just under 700,000, is the operator’s second such establishment in Africa after Djerba in Tunisia.

The group confirmed that the casino opened on Tuesday within the Sofitel Cotonou Marina Hotel five-star complex, which was inaugurated in December 2024 by the Accor hotel chain.

“The country has been developing a vast program for several years to boost its tourism sector, with numerous sites, events and infrastructures set up,” Groupe Partouche said in a statement. “The opening of this new casino will reinforce this policy.”

Iconic locations

The operator said added earlier this week that it was “pursuing an ambitious strategy of opening new iconic locations”.

Major developments in Cannes and Paris required “substantial and focused investments [that] temporarily impacted profitability,” the group said.

The company also acquired an 8,000-square metre, seven-storey building at Place de l’Etoile in Paris on January 15. The venue will be home to the Parisian Gaming Club and Groupe Partouche’s head office.

Renovations

The operator also provided an update on a number of its other casinos.

The main games room will be relocated at the Contrexéville casino in north-eastern France, with the project set to be completed by June this year. The Vichy casino is also undergoing a total renovation, with delivery scheduled for December 2025.

Other redevelopments that will start in the 2025 financial year include casinos in Cabourg, Calais, La Ciotat and Pornic, as well as the Parisian gaming club.

Financial impact

The partial closure of three land-based casinos in France due to renovation work led to a relatively flat 1.5% year-on-year increase in gross gaming revenue (GGR) for Groupe Partouche’s latest financial year through to October 2024. Venues in Annemasse, Divonne and La Tour-de-Salvagny were affected.

Outside France, the company posted annual GGR of €76.3m ($79.6m/£63.9m) – up 7.3% on the previous year.

**GGBNews.com is part of the Clarion Events Group of companies (Clarion). We take your privacy seriously. By registering for this newsletter we wish to use your information on the basis of our legitimate interests to keep in contact with you about other relevant events, products and services which may be of interest to you. We will only ever use the information we collect or receive about you in accordance with our Privacy Policy. You may manage your preferences or unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails.