The Government will extend the concessions of the casinos of Solverde, a former client of Spinumviva, and Estoril Sol, “for a strictly necessary period”, writes this Friday, 26th, the weekly Expresso, adding that the international public tender has stalled.
According to the newspaper, which cites the office of the Ministry of Economy and Territorial Cohesion, the deadline for submitting proposals for the allocation of concessions for the gaming areas of the Algarve, Espinho and Póvoa de Varzim is currently approaching.
Afterwards, he adds, the proposals “will be opened and the jury will evaluate them, preparing a preliminary report that will be made available to competitors for comment”.
“After analyzing possible pronouncements and if nothing else impedes, the final report will be prepared with an award proposal”, explained the ministry that oversees the sector, without clarifying exactly until when, in 2026, the deadline will be extended.
Therefore, by the last day of the year – when the term of the current concessions expires – operators interested in the concession of the five casinos in Portugal will have to submit their respective financial proposals, including other counterparts that they are willing to provide.
Until all the procedures involved in the competition are completed, the Government will extend the current concessions, on an exceptional basis.
In practice, this means, on the Government’s side, the drafting of an order or a decree-law justifying the delay in the dossier until there is a final decision, explains the newspaper.
Citing sources linked to the process, this should involve “a short process, of one to three months”, unless the competition results in the results being contested – which could require a longer extension.
The topic was a topic in the campaign for the previous legislative elections, when, in the midst of the crisis triggered by the Spinumviva case, the then leader of the PS, Pedro Nuno Santos, accused Luís Montenegro of favoring the Solverde Group (the company’s former client) with the possible extension of the casino concession, due to the lack of an international competition and to the detriment of the State.
Montenegro denied this, recalling that “the last two extensions were decided by PS governments” and guaranteeing that the tender for the new casino concessions was on time.
After being re-elected, the second AD Government would end up launching the public tender for 15 years of concession and receiving proposals. But, despite the commitment, the process stalled.
The Government’s initial forecasts for the three competitions in the gaming areas of Algarve, Espinho and Póvoa de Varzim, launched by the State on July 24th – and giving a deadline of September 5th for candidates to ‘get ahead’ – was to have the process completed by December 31st, including the award to new concessionaires.
The deadline for applications from operators interested in competitions for the new concessions of the five casinos in Portugal for another 15 years ended on September 5th. At the time, the Government said it had received eight applications, without revealing the names of the companies that were in the race.