Annexed properties to be opened by Balearic casinos
On the Balearic Islands of Spain, three casinos located in the area will now be allowed to run an annexed casino in another area apart from their existing operation. The regional government has a goal of complying the law with the regulation carried out in a restrictive way and the casinos would like to have more land for their gaming branches.
The public notification of the regulation ended last week and states that for an additional gaming site to be established by an operator, a deposit must be put down, according to a report on G3 Newswire. The gaming venue extensions have the option to be located on any of the Balearic Islands.
Currently, the deposit to be made by the gaming venues will be the Mallorca paying €450,000, the Menorca paying €225,000 and the Ibiza and Formentera paying the €225,000 deposit as well. Comprehensive gaming laws were put in place back in July of 2014 and the area is already seeing gaming in a widespread area.
The purpose of the 2014 law was to promote responsible gaming and fill a legal vacuum as well as take advantage of a sports betting increase online by offering land based wagering options. The law made it possible for sports betting shops to operate as well as casinos, slot parlors and bingo halls to offer sports betting wagering. Regulations were also included to help monitor the gaming venues which includes three casinos, five bingo halls and 90 slot parlors. Gaming is also offered at cafes and bars with over 4,000 slot machines available.
The law states that gaming will be allowed at the venues offering bingo, game rooms, and casinos. The casinos would not be allowed as part of a hotel but could have an additional annex located off-site. 60% of the annexed space will have to be used for non-gaming purposes. The option to have an offsite annex has caused some controversy as the measure was approved while members of the socialist party were opposed based on principle. Lawmakers were arguing that a standalone annex should be subject to public tender.
The local government has stated that the annexes will have to be operated by the same group that runs the casinos on the islands. This will count as one business unit for taxes. Mallorca will be able to operate one gaming room for six months while the other islands will have the option to operate for only three months. The Mallorca annex will be located north of the island or be in the Bay of Palma has a five-star hotel.