Dragonara to consider Government casino concession RFP

The owners of Dragonara Casino “will study” the Government Request for Proposals (RFP) as its casino concession approaches the end of its 10-year period.

As reported by BusinessNow.mt on Thursday, the Government-granted casino license allowing Dragonara Casino to operate has gone up for grabs via an €11.1 million concession, after the Government decided not to extend the casino’s 10-year concession.

According to an announcement on Friday, the casino, which describes itself as “Malta’s foremost”, will study the contents of the RFP, and “subject to an internal review of the conditions will determine whether to participate in the tender”. 

Its operators emphasised that, should they choose to participate, the company “has the right knowledge, experience and drive to successfully operate a casino in Malta as it has done in the past 11 years”. 

Citing confusion in news articles covering the initial RFP, Dragonara shed light on the process of applying for the tender, pointing out that “the fact of the matter is that casino concessions in Malta have a term of 10 years and once these terms are over the Government of Malta is obliged by law to issue a public tender.”

After the issuing of a public tender for a concession, the company emphasises, “a casino licence is awarded to the casino concessionaire by the Malta Gaming Authority once the Authority finds the entity that has won the public tender for the concession to be fit and proper to operate a casino.”

Dragonara is adamant that the RFP does not reflect an extraordinary occurrence, but rather that the public tender “follows the same process that has taken place in the past”.

Actually, the company says, the initial extension of its concession for two consecutive periods of six months was the only extraordinary measure, prompted by “the fact that the preparation of the new concession tender amidst the COVID-19 pandemic was delayed”.