Extremadura passes integrated casino resort legislation

In Spain, the western province of Extremadura has reportedly opened the door to the possibility of hosting large leisure facilities such as the $2.3 billion Hard Rock Entertainment World integrated casino resort currently being built by Hard Rock International in Catalonia.

According to a Tuesday report from G3Newswire, the Assembly of Extremadura has approved new legislation that sets out specific rules for the construction of such giant entertainment enterprises, which usually encompass a casino as well as ancillary amenities such as hotels, conference facilities, golf courses and spas.

Legislation ratified despite protests:

Initiated in March by Guillermo Fernandez Vara, the autonomous province’s President, the legislation has reportedly also been designed to simplify the process of bringing an integrated casino resort to Extremadura, which is located along Spain’s western border with Portugal.

The Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party politician purportedly saw his proposal receive a favorable opinion from the nation’s Council of State in April despite protests from the left-leaning Podemos political party over allegations that the measure had been ‘tailored to suit casinos’ and would result in future gambling operators paying a lower rate of tax.

Specific rules established:

The legislation approved by the 65-member Assembly of Extremadura mandates that developers will now be required to spend at least $1.16 billion on any future integrated casino resort for Extremadura.

The measure purportedly that such coming facilities must moreover feature a minimum of 3,000 hotel rooms and create no less than 2,000 direct jobs.

G3Newsire reported that pro-casino politicians in Extremadura are additionally hoping that the new legislation will make the largely rural province of only 1.08 million people more attractive to developers of theme parks and family entertainment centers.

In order to help accomplish this goal, Vara’s original measure was purportedly amended to lower the minimum footprint for any large future leisure facility from 2,471 acres to 741 acres.

Measure seen as necessary:

Valentin Garcia, a spokesperson for the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party, reportedly detailed that the legislation was necessary because Extremadura had earlier had no relevant rules in place while local government counterpart Isabel Gil Rosina purportedly subsequently declared that there were at least four developers said to be ‘looking at the region’.