Austrian group, Novomatic have teamed up with local gaming operator Pinnacle Group in a consortium which will be managing the Dragonara Casino, the longest established casino on the Maltese Islands. After months of delay, the move granted Novomatic a 10 year concession to manage the casino after it submitted the highest bid amongst the 3 short-listed bidders for this tender.
The consortium, named Novomatic Peninsula Consortium is made up of Novomatic, the Pinnacle Gaming group [operator of the Fairplay gaming halls] and Bianchi Group. The bid offered by the consortium amounted to €12,780,760 and amongst others terms, the group have committed themselves to retaining the current workforce and provide further investment in the casino.
Bids for the management of the Dragonara Casino were also offered by the Dragonara Casino Ltd [€10 million bid] as well as Tomino Ltd [€11 million bid], who already own a split license for the Oracle Casino, Qawra and the Portomaso Casino in St. Julians.
The finalisation of the bidding has been welcomed as a breath of fresh air on the islands and will definitely help boost competition within the local live gaming industry. The new management is also likely to take advantage of the current trend of hosting international poker tournaments in the same fashion as the Portomaso Casino and the Casino di Venezia have in the last 24 months.
This is great news for Maltese poker fans that already enjoy the many games available at the Dragonara Casino. The new management is enjoying a 10 year lease and has ample time to increase the quantity of poker tables at the Dragonara casino, which would be an essential move in order to accommodate poker tournaments of an international scale and capacity.
Visit the Dragonara Casino website