In Australia the New South Wales government has received a second casino proposal for Sydney in a surprise move announced today.
The state government has revealed that it has an “unsolicited” proposal from Echo Entertainment Group, operator of The Star Casino in Sydney, which currently has the only casino licence in the city. That monopoly is due to run out in 2019 - the company’s licence was issued in 1994 and runs out in 2093 but it has exclusivity until 2019.
There is already a proposal under consideration from Crown Ltd for a VIP gaming facility at Barangaroo, overlooking Sydney Harbour, as part of a luxury hotel resort. The gambling facility would come into operation once the monopoly held by Echo has run out and the government has hopefully issued a second licence.
Echo’s new proposal is for an extension to its monopoly beyond 2019 and it has already undergone an initial assessment and been approved for consideration under stage two of the process. But only one of the proposals will go forward to stage three because of the “mutually exclusive nature.”
Echo has promised additional investment in and around The Star “to develop a globally competitive integrated resort at Pyrmont, including investment in local transport initiatives.” It argues that New South Wales will be a stronger competitor in the international tourism market with one large resort instead of two.
Assessment reports are now expected to be submitted to the NSW government by the end of May.
