New casinos. Pizzigati (Venice casino): "Everyone wants them but 2008 closed in the red"

Published: 21 April, 2009

Everyone wants them, with tens of petitions and many bills in parliament, but there are no plans for new Italian casinos yet. After many years of indecisiveness with the four "fortunate" official Italian casinos (Campione, Saint Vincent, San Remo and Venice) that are regarded enviously, 2008 closed in the red. A world-wide trend, certainly, in a sector that is feeling the effects of the crisis which in the first two months of 2009 shows signs of continuing: a year which it is acknowledged is going to be difficult for casinos all around the world. But there is hope that 2010 will see a recovery, as indicated by the research carried out by Globalysis Ltd., an American consultancy firm based in Las Vegas, which has consulted with the governments of the main countries of the five continents about the future of gaming.

2008 IN THE RED: The four Italian casinos have recorded takings of 562 million euros, representing a decrease of 4%. There were 3.5 million visitors, an increase of 15%. The data from the European Casino Association places Italy in seventh place in the European market which altogether is worth 9.3 billion euros. A market dominated by France, with 2.5 billion in takings and 196 casinos across the country which, however, saw takings fall last year by 8%.

"The Italian casinos - comments Mauro Pizzigati, the president of Federgioco and of the Venice Casino - have held up well against the European contenders, but we have concerns about 2009 since we are expecting the crisis to affect our market too and there is no certainty that takings will improve".

BILLS IN PARLIAMENT: For many years bills have been introduced in Parliament with the aim of opening new casinos. A ruling received from the government on 25th August 2008, stipulates that in Italy at most ten casinos can be opened in the four geographic areas into which Italy is subdivided: Piemonte, Valle d'Aosta, Lombardy, Trentino Alto Adige, Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Liguria (area 1); Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, Lazio, Umbria and Marché (2); Abruzzo, Molise, Campania, Puglia, Basilicata, Calabria (3); Sardinia and Sicily (4).

In particular, the members of the lower house who belong to the Movimento per l'autonomia (Movement for Autonomy) have introduced a six-point bill for the reopening of the casino at Taormina; this closed in 1964 after being open for only a short while.

At the end of 2008, the senator from Valle d'Aosta, Antonio Fosson, introduced a draft bill for the opening of new casinos in Italy "as a function of catchment area". At the same time a professional register of managers of casinos will be set up and as well as a professional register of croupiers; moreover, for the first time, the law will introduce the "requirement for a national contract for employees within the sector".

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