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The start of 2022 has not gone as hoped for two of Italy's four casinos. The Casinò di Sanremo is complaining about a significant drop in revenue and visitor numbers since the beginning of the year, the newspaper Sanremo News reported yesterday. The Casinò di Campione, on the other hand, had to postpone its reopening, on the one hand. On the other hand, according to information from the newspaper Il Giorno, the casino is unable to find tenants for its many stores that are still empty.
Just like in most other countries, the Corona crisis has taken a toll on Italy's land-based gaming sector. In 2021, the Casinò di Sanremo in the northern Italian coastal town of the same name still managed to host guests for seven months.
Italy is home to both the oldest casino in the world and the largest casino in Europe. The world's oldest casino is the Casinò di Venezia (Venice), which opened back in 1638. Today, the casino halls extend over three floors and offer numerous tables for roulette, blackjack, punto banco and poker, as well as more than 600 slot machines.
The Casinò di Campione in the Italian exclave of the same name in Switzerland, on the other hand, was opened during the First World War. At the time, the casino was intended to allow spies to work undercover. In 2018, however, the casino filed for bankruptcy. After a long struggle, it was finally to reopen on January 1, 2021. This was postponed to January 21 due to Corona.
At the beginning of the year, the operators reported having booked revenues totaling 22 million euros last year. An important goal had thus been achieved, and part of the losses caused by the months-long closure had been recouped.
But already the confidence seems to be fading again. Yesterday, the union responsible for the casino, Fisascat Cisl, and the management met on the occasion of closer planning for the future. The union was "in great concern" on the occasion of the latest business figures.
In the first ten days of this year, the traditional casino game had brought in only 57,918 euros in revenue. In the comparable period in 2020, it had been 251,077 euros. On the other hand, a form of French roulette that is "experimental" for the casino, entitled "Fair Roulette", had caused the casino a loss of 16,365 euros.
If this trend continues, the casino could get into serious trouble, warn the trade unionists. This would then also have a negative impact on the town of Sanremo. At the same time in India, the situation is different, and online Indian casino reviews are becoming more and more popular.
The municipality will have to lower its expectations this year, and the Casinò di Sanremo runs the risk of falling into a massive financial imbalance. The casino has no medium-term strategic plan to preserve jobs.
He said the union is trying to find a solution and hopes to have a crisis meeting with the mayor and Sanremo city council in the near future.
The Casinò di Campione, on the other hand, is about to reopen its doors to visitors for the first time in four years. However, the further corona-related postponement of the reopening does not seem to be the casino's only concern at the moment.
As the newspaper Il Giorno reported on Wednesday, the casino does not find tenants for its many stores. Sellers of jewelry, brand-name clothing, high-quality cosmetics and perfumes, art, wine, and luxury items, in particular, are being sought. Not wanted, however, are telephone stores, cheap goods sellers, betting stores, sex stores, and massage establishments, the casino stresses.
A total of 3,000 square meters of business space is now available. There had been some expressions of interest, but no concrete offers. The potential tenants would have to pay a fee of 600,000 euros in addition to the lease and would receive a concession for twelve years in return. The casino operators are puzzled as to why no one is showing serious interest under these conditions.