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James Debono
Following last Wednesday’s revelation on sister newspaper The Malta Financial and Business Times that the Casinò di Venezia will be sold by the end of the year, the Lotteries and Gaming Authority has informed MaltaToday that this sale can only be effected if approved by the same authority.
Minister for Urban Development Jesmond Mugliett said the government is “currently taking stock of the situation.”
Reacting to the news, Malta Labour Party deputy leader Charles Mangion called on the government to reassess its policy on casinos, claiming that it was leading to an over-saturated market.
According to the Mayor of Venice Massimo Cacciari, the casinò was making losses of EUR 100,000 every month for the Venezia municipality, which owns the Casinò. The mayor added that he would prefer investing this money in a nursery for children.
Armando Favaretto, the director general of Casinò Municipale di Venezia S.p.a, the company operating the Casinò di Venezia in Vittoriosa, revealed the company’s intentions in Italian newspaper La Nouva Venezia.
Favaretto made no mention of the fact that according to Maltese law, no transfer of ownership whether in part or in whole, can be conducted unless the Lotteries and Gaming Authority is informed.
Gaming authority chairman Joseph Zammit Maempel told MaltaToday that the LGA is “monitoring the situation” but to date it has received no communication from the Italian owners of the casino.
“Casinò di Venezia is only bound to inform the authority if and when it finds a buyer,” Zammit Maempel said. “If and when such buyer is found, in order not to lose the concession granted by Government to the casino, it is assumed that it will be the shares of the company that will be effectively transferred.”
In fact the concession in question has been granted to Vittoriosa Gaming Ltd. The Casinò di Venezia has been open for the past four years and had been granted a concession for ten years. This means that Vittoriosa Gaming Ltd will still be able to enjoy the concession the shares of the Italian company are sold to another company.
Zammit Maempel said that it is only when a buyer is found that the licensee is bound to inform the authority and seek approval for such transfer of shares.
At this stage the authority will “carry out a due diligence on the prospective buyer and depending on the outcome of such due diligence will accede or refuse such a transfer of shares.”
Buyers for Venezia
In the interview published in Tuesday’s edition of La Nouva Venezia, Armando Favaretto revealed that negotiations have already started with prospective buyers of the casino.
Favaretto mentioned the Slovenian Hit Casinò as a major bidder for buying the casino, but he also mentioned a concern from London and a group composed of Maltese and Saudi businessmen who had also expressed interest in buying.
Another newspaper, the Corriere del Veneto, mentioned four societies interested in buying the casino. Apart from Hit Casinò, the Corriere mentioned a Saudi, an Israeli and a Maltese concern.
Speaking to The Malta Financial and Business Times on Tuesday a spokesperson for the Ministry for Urban Development confirmed that “rumours that the Comune of Venice was intent on selling the Maltese operation had been circulating for a while, however the reports in the Italian press last week confirmed the story.”
However the Ministry’s spokesman added that “selling the casino is not altogether straightforward since the prospective buyer has to be acceptable to the Lotteries and Gaming Authority.”
The government’s spokesperson admitted that the Maltese government was not informed on the sale of the casino.
“The Ministry for Urban Development and Roads has only been involved in discussions with the owners of the casino in order to find a way how the development of a hotel on the site next to the Casino can proceed. The Minister has met Armando Favaretto, the director general on various occasions in order to discuss this project.”
MLP deputy leader Charles Mangion expressed his concern that the current policy of liberalisation is leading to an over saturation of the market. Mangion called on the government to ensure that the new buyers will also honour the previous owners’ commitment to develop a hotel next to the casino.
MaltaToday also tried to contact director general Armando Favaretto but calls were not returned.
jdebono@newsworksltd.com
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