The future of Brussels’ casino is in doubt as the Council of State suspends the award to Napoleon Games

Mayor’s position as Independent Director of Anderlecht football club, which Napoleon sponsors, called into question

The Belgian Council of State has now ordered the suspension of the awarding of the future concession for the Brussels casino to Napoleon Games, a decision made by the City on July 17.

City of Brussels councillor Benoit Hellingson has also filed a formal complaint alleging a potential conflict of interest against City of Brussels Mayor Philippe Close over the capital’s casino licence.

Hellingson says that Napoleon Games is a major sponsor of Anderlecht football club, where Mayor Close sits as an independent director.

Acting on a petition filed by Viage, the current operator of the casino and a candidate to succeed it, the Council ruled that the justification for evaluating the various bids was insufficient. The concession, valued at €750m over 15 years, is scheduled to begin on January 1.

The court upheld several of Viage’s complaints. The operator, a subsidiary of Casinos Austria International, contested, in particular, the way in which certain criteria stipulated in the specifications had been applied to the various candidates, while other elements not included therein had allegedly been taken into consideration. This was notably the case with the commitment regarding the deployment of the operator’s servers in the Belgian capital, which could generate tax revenue for the region.

In its ruling, the Council of State said: “The reasoning behind the evaluation of the bids did not sufficiently verify that all the elements announced in the specifications had been taken into account, and that some of the elements considered did not appear to be related to the purpose of the concession.”

“There is an apparent inaccuracy in the assessment of certain partnerships cited in support of the selected bid.” Viage had expressed doubts about some of the commercial partnerships presented by Napoleon Games in its bid.

The Council of State also upheld the complaint based on the European regulation on foreign subsidies. It considered “that the obligations stipulated by the European regulation on foreign subsidies distorting the internal market were not respected within the framework of the award procedure.”

Viage said it believes that the decision ‘confirms our interpretation.’

“The evaluation of the bids by the panel of experts is not based on sound information,” the operator said to Journal des Casinos. “We will do everything in our power to ensure that the project we submitted is properly considered.”

The suspension comes four months before the scheduled start date of the new concession. The City of Brussels must now determine its next steps to ensure the casino can operate from January 1. A new justification for the decision, a reassessment of the bids, or the launch of a new tendering process are among the possibilities being considered. The City also expects to receive an annual fee of €10m from the concession.