According to the newspaper, which cites the office of the Ministry of Economy and Territorial Cohesion, the deadline for submitting proposals for the concessions of the gaming zones in the Algarve, Espinho, and Póvoa de Varzim is currently underway.
Afterwards, it adds, the proposals “will be opened and the jury will proceed with their evaluation, preparing a preliminary report that will be made available to the competitors for their comments.”
“After analysing any objections and if nothing else prevents it, the final report with a proposed award will be prepared,” the ministry overseeing the sector further explained, without clarifying exactly until when, in 2026, the deadline will be extended.
Thus, until the last day of the year – when the current concessions expire – operators interested in the concession of the five casinos in Portugal will have to submit their respective financial proposals, including other counterparties they are willing to undertake.
Until all the procedures involved in the bidding process are completed, the Government will extend the current concessions, on an exceptional basis.
In practice, this means, on the government’s side, the preparation of an order or decree-law justifying the delay of the dossier until a final decision is reached, explains the newspaper.
Citing sources linked to the process, this should involve “a short process, of one to three months,” unless the tender results in a challenge to the results – which could force a longer extension.
The issue was a topic in the previous legislative election campaign when, amidst the crisis triggered by the Spinumviva case, the then leader of the Socialist Party (PS), Pedro Nuno Santos, accused Luís Montenegro of favouring the Solverde Group (a former client of the company) with the possible extension of the casino concession, due to the lack of an international tender 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 schedule.
After being re-elected, the second AD government ended up launching the public tender for a 15-year concession and receiving proposals. But, despite the commitment, the process stalled.
The government’s initial forecasts for the three tenders in the Algarve, Espinho, and Póvoa de Varzim gaming zones, launched by the State on July 24th – with a deadline of September 5th for candidates to ‘come forward’ – were to have the process completed by December 31st, including the awarding of the contracts to the new concessionaires.
The deadline for applications from operators interested in the tenders 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 running.