The Portuguese Gaming Regulatory Authority, the Service of Regulation and Inspection (SRIJ), has declared that it will initiate a public bidding process to ascertain the exclusive casino operating rights for the two authorized land-based gaming zones of Estoril and Figueira da Foz.
The existing licenses are scheduled to expire on December 31st, 2022, having been previously extended due to the general downturn in the land-based gaming sector caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The public bidding process will span 30 days and will award the winning bidder the exclusive privilege to offer games of chance in the region. The procedure is open to domestic firms as well as international operators with branches in Portugal.
The qualification standards for the bidding process are that interested parties must be joint-stock companies and have offices in a member nation of the European Union or in a country of the European Economic Area, which are signatories to specific anti-money laundering, anti-fraud, and tax administrative cooperation accords.
The wood manufacturing firm Amorim operates the Figueira da Foz venue, the Figueira Casino, after previously acquiring the company that held the franchise, Sociedade Figueira Praia, SA.
The Estoril Gambling House is another franchise, managed by Macau Tourism and Entertainment Company (STDM), a firm owned by Stanley Ho. STDM ultimately possesses the Macau franchise company SJM.
The bidding process will take place during a decline in the Portuguese gaming sector. In the initial period, land-based gaming income decreased by 7.2% annually to €53.9 million. The subsequent period witnessed a substantial reduction in registered participants, further diminishing revenue.
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