Cyprus legislators have shortlisted as many as three casino bidders that will be competing in the final stage of the bidding process for the establishment of a casino complex on the Mediterranean island. The gambling venue will be the first one within the borders of the Republic of Cyprus.
Local media reported that a statement with the names of the three bidders will be released in the upcoming week. Unnamed sources said that each of them was submitted by operators that were either coming from the Far East or managed gambling venues there.
It was also reported that Cypriot legislators came to a decision to shortlist the three best bids, which had been filed by a consortium of some of the biggest gambling operators in the Asia-Pacific region and the world as a whole, with those being Hard Rock International, Melco Crown, Bloomberry, and Naga Corp.
Officials have agreed on the best three casino proposals of all eight that were submitted last December. The bidding process’ final stage is slated to start any time soon and the selected casino bidders will have to submit their complete and finalized casino plans. Those will then be reviewed and evaluated by legislators until the very best proposal is chosen. All preferred candidates for the establishment of the island country’s first casino will have to provide extremely detailed plans as well as information about where exactly they want it to be located.
Under the framework casino legislation, the winning bidder will have to build a “holistic” integrated resort, the first of its kind across Europe. It will have to feature no fewer than 500 hotel rooms, more than 1,000 slot machines, 100 table games, and numerous other food and beverage and entertainment options.
The preferred candidate will be awarded a 30-year casino license with an exclusivity period of 15 years, during which no other casino complex will be built on the island. Officials said late last year that the license will be issued in the first half of 2016 and will come into effect immediately. Thus, the winning bidder will be urged to complete the casino resort more quickly.
Once operational, the venue is expected to attract gambling customers from Russia, the UK, Germany, and the rest of Europe. The Cypriot government said that it would consider the establishment of other casino complexes around the island after the end of the 15-year exclusivity period.
