Casinos Austria International is “fully committed” to its Belgian casino operation Grand Casino Brussels@Viage, despite reports that it is making significant losses.
“Yes it is true we are suffering heavy losses in the CAI Brussels project,” Mark Banks, general manager of the casino, told InterGaming. “CAI is fully committed to the project, which has a concession until 2020 and we hope to continue well after this concession period ends.”
The key challenge, however, remains the issue of taxation.
“We are actively seeking solutions to our problems with both the City of Brussels and the Region of Brussels in several key areas,” he said, “notably in the area of gaming taxes, taxes that the gaming industry in Belgium considers out-dated and out of line with current market conditions, as well as with neighbouring countries, many of which have recently taken steps to reduce the tax burden on casinos.”
