Development of the Gambling Industry in Greece: Commencement of the Construction of the Hellinikon Casino Resort

In September, the Greek Gaming Commission (HGC) launched a new tender for the construction of an integrated complex. So far, the Hellinikon casino resort promises to be the largest investment project in the history of the country.

A Little Bit of History

The Ellinikon airport was considered to be the largest air set of the country for more than six decades. It was closed in 2001 because it was to become a huge package resort. Reconstruction plans had to be postponed due to the global crisis that began in 2008. These were hard times for the country.

The government has decided to revisit the topic only in 2010 after the signing of the agreement on the global privatisation between Greece and the International Monetary Fund.

Over time, they decided to expand the territory of the future development by adding to it several districts of Athens and surrounding areas. As a result, a large gambling project should appear in Greece, as well as a large business centre, the working title of which has remained unchanged — Hellinikon.

A Casino Resort in Numbers

The construction of the complex is handled by the HGC in cooperation with the government and local municipalities. The approach to the project implementation has changed several times because of a number of economic and political factors. Today, the gambling project looks something like this:

Economic indicators of Hellinikon
Parameter	Basic evaluation
Volume of investments, in billion euros	8,3
Investments in the gambling sector, in billion euros	1,3
Total area, in thousands of square metres	600,0
Area of gambling establishments, in thousands of square metres	45,0
The number of open vacancies, in thousands	85,0
The number of open vacancies during the construction, in thousands	10,0
The number of open vacancies after setting into operation, in thousands	75,0
Profit in the first year of operation, in billion euros	4,0
Revenues from the casino, in billion euros	0,7

Thus, local authorities are planning to implement a large-scale project with a total investment volume of more than 8.3 billion dollars:

• On the territory of 600 thousand square metres, there will be hotels, halls for exhibitions and conferences, and several business centres.
• The entertainment sector, in addition to casinos, will include restaurants, bars, recreation areas, spa zones, themed amusement rides, and museums.
• Modern improvement of the coastline and a huge park with exotic plants will also be created.

After setting the resort into operation, 85 thousand different workplaces will appear. Analysts believe that, in the first year of operation, the project will generate a profit of 4 billion euros.

What Will the Gambling Industry Get?

The key element of the project is the construction of a casino. The gambling industry will receive 1.3 billion euros, and the amount of profit will reach 0.7 billion euros per year.

Several gambling establishments will be built, with 500 slot machines and about 200 gaming tables.

Advantages of the Casino Resort

The unimpaired operation of the resort is beneficial not only to potential investors but also to the Greek authorities.

With its help, the government hopes to solve several important problems:

1. Growth of the tourist traffic. Legislators hope that in 5 years, Hellinikon will become one of the leading gambling centres in Europe. Such expectations are legitimate, taking into account the fact that the country is very attractive for tourists. Those operators who open their own business within the territory of Hellinikon will receive a clear geographical advantage. The fact is that now, the closest casino to Athens is located in the city of Arhan (40 kilometres from the capital). Here, however, gambling establishments will function in the very heart of the country, attracting millions of tourists and local residents annually.
2. Development of the infrastructure. The activity of the casino resort is not limited to the airport area alone. Not far from the centre, new roads and local railway and modern residential areas with all necessary social infrastructure will be built. All of this will create thousands of workplaces and generate additional profit.
3. Increase in treasury revenues. First of all, this is the income from the casino. The cost of the license is 40 million euros, and it is the same for land-based casinos and online locations. Each prize of players is subject to the tax of 10%. The authorities also rely on large revenues from the related sectors. These are income taxes for hotels, restaurants, conference rooms, the added-value tax, tourist taxes, etc.

Who Are the Investors?

Currently, the HGC is actively seeking investors with the help of tenders and agreements. The license will be issued for 30 years. A licensee must have an initial capital of 200 million euros and the annual turnover of at least 400 million euros.

Applicants should also have vast work experience. It includes the experience in managing a five-star hotel, a casino with more than 50 gaming tables and a public platform of ​​at least 2000 places.

Several giants of the gambling world are already interested in the project. For example, such American concerns as Hard Rock International and MGE, as well as the Malaysian conglomerate Genting Malaysia. Representatives of Caesars from Las Vegas are also preparing the application.

The related infrastructure will be developed by the Chinese companies Fosun Group, Eagle Hills, and Latsis Group. Significant investments are also made by the Greek concern Lamda Development, which is one of the main property developers.

Conclusion

The gambling industry in Greece is growing rapidly, and now, all efforts are fostered to the creation of the Hellinikon casino resort. This is an important project for the country, which will attract huge cash receipts and create thousands of workplaces.

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