Dragonara to consider reapplying for casino concession

Dragonara Casino will consider participating in a tender issued this week to operate a casino in Malta, with its current concession expiring this year.

In a statement released Friday, Dragonara Casino clarified that the current tender awarded to them in June 2010 expired in June 2020, but was extended by government for two six-month periods until June 2021 due to delays in preparing for the new concession tender.

Dragonara Gaming said that it will be studying the contents of the RFP and, subject to an internal review of the conditions, will then determine whether the company will participate in the tender. 

The company also pointed out that the lease agreement signed between government and Dragonara Gaming in 2019 is unrelated to the casino concession or license. 

The agreement had left gaming industry players fuming after the Dragonara Casino operators received a 64-year extension to their lease agreement without government issuing a competitive tender. 

Earlier this week MaltaToday reported that government is issuing a request for proposals for the operation of a casino to the tune of €11 million payable over three years.

The tender document itself makes no reference to the Dragonara Palace, which has housed the casino since 1964. The winning concessionaire would be at liberty to choose another spot to set up the casino.

Casino concessions are adjudicated via public tender every 10 years, with a casino license awarded to the concessionaire by the Malta Gaming Authority once the winning entity is found to be fit and proper for casino operation.

Malta currently has four licenses casinos - Dragonara Casino, Portomaso Casino, Casino Malta and Oracle Casino. 

As this new tender replaces the current Dragonara concession, Malta will remain with four casinos.