Introduction
Casino Lisboa is located in Parque das Nacoes (Park of the Nations) in the city of Lisbon, Portugal and opened its doors in 2006. When Casino Lisboa initially opened it had approximately 700 slot machines, 20+ gaming tables, three restaurant, 4 bars and a theatre seating 600 people. Today the Casino has 1100 slots, 26 Table Games, 2 Poker Tables.
The Casino operates 12 hours a day each day except Dec 24th of each year when they are closed. Estoril-Sol owned casino Lisboa a company majority-owned by Dr Stanley Ho, a Hong Kong-Macau gambling king until he died in 2020.
Business
The Casino Lisboa has been plagued with controversy since being green-lighted in 2001-2002. One of them was that its location would create gambling problems as it would give easier access to Gambling to the younger population. It was finally decided on its current location Parque das Nascoes.
The Start of Casino Lisboa
All Gambling is subject to concessions by the State, and the country is divided into gaming zones, each having its own concessionary with a single casino. The Casino Lisboa falls within the Estoril gaming zone. It was built for 108.9 million Euro including a 15-year concession fee of €30 million.
Effects Casino Lisboa had on other Casinos in Portugal
Casino Lisboa became a threat as workers at the Estoril Casino the biggest in Europe were concerned they would lose customers as the two casinos were only 35 km apart. It threatened their job security and a decline in revenue of 15% was noted.
Casino Lisboa is a significant landmark in the Portuguese capital Lisbon. Today it’s the largest Casino in Europe and the 9th largest globally and has generated tremendous revenue for Portugal, it’s well regulated and governed and has survived many controversies. It’s certainly here to stay.