A report by PwC shows that the integrated resort casino model could offer European countries significant opportunities in areas such as revenue, jobs, investment and growth.
The report also highlights that Europe is absent both from the list of major casino markets globally and is under-represented in the current pipeline of new IRCs.
David Trunkfield, head of hospitality and leisure, said: “Even though Europe is the third largest region for gaming globally, the casino market is small in comparison and most casino properties are smaller, less attractive developments, catering to the locals market, where the revenue potential is inevitably constrained.
“In 2013, European casinos earned an average of $11.3m per casino, compared to $1,977m in Singapore, $1,267m in Macau, $286m in Australia and $151m in the Las Vegas Strip. Nonetheless, Europeans are clearly interested in gaming.
“And there seems to be no reason why they would not be interested in a more attractive IRC proposition either local to them or in nearby European countries to which they already extensively travel for either work or leisure.
“A successful IRC can make a significant contribution to a country’s GDP. It can provide jobs, both in the construction phase and once opened, and provide gaming and other tax revenues. Macau is obviously the most extreme example of this, with casinos accounting for almost all of GDP growth between 2005 and 2013.”
The report also underlines the strength of the European tourist and leisure attractions, from heritage to theme parks to beach resorts. In 2015, five of the top 10 countries by tourist arrivals were in Europe. Furthermore Europe is an established conference and meetings destination, with 15 of the world’s top 20 cities for this type of travel.
Trunkfield added: “It’s clear that there is a significant opportunity to implement the IRC model in Europe and do it successfully. The economic conditions are right, the fundamentals are strong and the consumers are there.
“As IRC operators look across Europe, they will need to understand the scale of the opportunity and how this differs in different countries. There are crucial issues to consider from an economic, practical and regulatory standpoint and it will take time to evaluate these fully.”
