Century Casinos Gets Eighth Police License

U.S.-based Century Casinos has bagged yet another license for its Polish unit, Casinos Poland Ltd. The latest license will be its eighth, and it has attracted a lot of attention, both positive and negative. This has been considered a win for the company, but it has come with some setbacks.

A Remarkable Winning Streak

Century Casinos now has a total of eight licenses to operate in Poland. Three of these licenses are registered in Warsaw, the casino capital of Poland. The rest of the licenses are registered in Wroclaw, Lodz, Krakow, Katowice, and Bielsko-Biala. Six of the casinos are already in operation, and the other two are expected to start operations this coming month.

Century Casinos has garnered attention throughout the industry because of its remarkable success in Poland when compared with most other casino brands. This attention, of course, has mostly been suspicious.

A Questionable Awarding Criteria

Many parties have questioned the criteria used to award Century Casinos its Polish licenses. These criticisms seem to hold some weight, especially considering the latest closures of its casinos. All of its casinos across Poland were temporarily closed by the authorities because of concerns about the timing of the issuance of the licenses. It is suspected that Century Casinos has been circumventing the law in a bid to establish its presence in Poland, which ranks among the most lucrative European countries when it comes to gambling.

More Licenses, More Profits

Poland, as previously mentioned, is one of the fastest growing gambling markets in Europe. The country has favorable gambling laws, and many citizens are ardent gamblers. As such, Century Casinos is optimistic that its revenue will increase following the issuance of its eight licenses, as well as the reopening of the casinos that are closed. This is the reason behind the company’s enthusiastic announcement of its latest license to the Nasdaq Capital Market, on which it is listed. This latest development is expected to boost its stock prices and facilitate further growth and expansion into more international markets.

However, Century Casinos, and its Casinos Poland Ltd. unit, in particular, has been losing money instead of increasing its revenue. Shareholders are concerned about the recent closures of its casinos in the country and how the licenses were awarded. The problem has been so bad that the parent company issued a profit warning for the second quarter of 2018. The Polish government has also been losing from the lost gaming tax. This may explain the quick reinstatement of the halted licenses, as well as the issuance of an eighth license.

Co-CEOs Erwin Haitzmann and Peter Hoetzinger, however, are optimistic that the company’s fortunes will change soon. Speaking to interviewers about the company’s latest victory, Haitzmann and Hoetzinger said that they have confidence in the robust Polish gambling industry and look forward to “sustainable and solid returns” going forward. This, however, will depend on how well the company gets along with authorities in Poland, especially considering the harsh criticism from locals and competitors alike.

Expanding a Vast and Growing Company

Even though Century Casinos is based in the United States, it operates internationally with many casinos in North America and Europe. It has casinos in Calgary and Edmonton across the border in Canada and it also owns a racing track in Calgary. It is currently developing another in Edmonton. Some of its casinos in the United States are located in the Colorado cities of Central City and Cripple Creek. In addition to Poland, the company also operates casinos in Bath, England. Finally, it operates mobile casinos on 13 cruise ships and is currently considering increasing its fleet.

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