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Austria – Casinos Austria revenue exceeds €4bn

By - 19 March 2018

Casinos Austria revenue slightly exceeded the €4bn mark in 2017 (including lotteries) and recorded a 3.5 per cent increase over 2016.

All the operator’s gaming divisions grew, including the foreign subsidiary Casinos Austria International (CAI). However, CAI and the 12 domestic casinos have earned less than in 2016. The operating result fell from €150m to €139m. Consolidated net income increased by more than ten per cent to almost €101m.

In the 12 domestic casinos, revenues increased slightly by one per cent reaching €330m. Operating profit fell from €30m to €19m and earnings after taxes fell from €74m to €60m. More than half of the 2.85m casino guests were from abroad. In the previous year, the Group invested heavily in the casinos with the total reconstruction of the Casino Graz now completed, and the lucrative Casino Vienna getting a slots area for VIP players from abroad. Salzburg was also rebuilt and Kitzbühel got a new restaurant.

The foreign subsidiary Casinos Austria International (CAI) saw its revenues increase by 5.9 per cent to €134ma but its profits fell by half from €35m to €16m.

The company’s lottery division, which includes subsidiaries win2day, the only legal online gambling platform in Austria, and the 18 WINWIN slot machines in Austria, increased its revenues by just under four per cent to € 3.48bn and the profit from 68m to almost €70m.

Win2day saw its revenues increase by 4.8 per cent to €1.61bn whilst The WINWIN slot machines, where players can win up to €10,000 grew by 5.2 per cent to €525m. One of the reasons for the increase was a new location in Bischofshofen (Salzburg). This year, the casinos have already opened two more locations, in premises of the Novomatic group, the former archrival, now involved in the casinos. The Prater has been hosting the Video Lottery Terminals (VLT) of the Casinos Austria since February, and 15 VLT units are being used in an Admiral betting office in Eugendorf near Salzburg. According to the law, 50 VLTs are allowed per location, with a total of 5,000 being available throughout Austria.

Revenue from classic lottery games rose by 2.4 percent in the previous year to € 1.34bn, with EuroMillions rising by 9.3 per cent to € 343m due to stronger development in Europe. Lotto “6 out of 45” increased by 1.3 per cent to €604m. The introduction of the additional game LottoPlus at the beginning of October as well as the first six-fold jackpot in the lottery history for Christmas helped drive sales.

The Casinos Austria group has optimised processes and streamlined costs, said the new CEO Alexander Labak, pictured.
Mr. Labak is a member of the Czech Sazka Group, which is the largest single shareholder of Casinos Austria AG (Casag) with 34 per cent of the shares. Sazka is still looking to take complete control of Casinos Austria, and is believed to have options on the shares of Schelhammer & Schattera.

There is though a dispute among the shareholders about the long-term future for Casinos Austria International as Sazka want to sell the company’s 26 foreign casinos and the Ministry of Finance and some other shareholders don’t.

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