Limassol and Larnaca competing to host casinos Cyprus

Property owners are fiercely competing whilst the three contenders for the sole casino license on the island prepare to choose a location.

Cyprus.- Large property owners in Cyprus offer their sites as the three contenders for the sole casino license on the eastern Mediterranean island prepare to choose the location for their investment.

The preferred bidders for the Cyprys casino project were announced in March 2015 and consist of Philippine casino developer, Bloomberry Resorts Corporation; NagaCorp Ltd., the Hong Kong stock exchange listed Cambodian casino operator; and Melco/Hard Rock Resort Cyprus Consortium, a venture of Macau’s Lawrence Ho and the U.S. based Hard Rock International.

It has transpired that two of the bidders are holding talks with large property owners in Larnaca and one in Limassol. The Church of Cyprus and almost all of the big developers comprise the island’s large property owners.

According to their initial bid, Limassol was chosen by the Melco/Hard Rock Resort Cyprus Consortium and Larnaca was NagaCorp Ltd’s choice. Bloomberry Resorts Corporation decided not to specify a location, however, last year when the final three contenders for the license were announced, local sources indicated that Bloomberry was eyeing Paphos.

Any location should feature a mix of amenities and gaming configuration to be chosen by the three investors, as their final proposal plans include at least 500 luxury hotel rooms, 1,000 gaming machines and 100 gaming tables. The Cyprus gaming license is expected to be awarded in September, with the resort opening its doors by 2019.

The winner will be awarded a 30-year license, with the possibility of competing licenses being issued in 15 years. The winner will also be able to build one satellite casino and three slots-only casinos as soon as the license is granted so that revenue may be generated for what is expected to be the “leading integrated casino resort in Europe and among the best in the world,” according to the licensing update last year.