Andorra’s regulator rejects casino licence award to Jocs SA

 

 

The Andorran Gaming Control Board (CRAJ) has once again rejected granting a licence for a casino in the microstate’s capital to local company Jocs SA.

The firm had proposed a EUR15m, 4,000 sqm casino in Andorra la Vella.

In mid-2018, Jocs controversially beat a number of established international operators in a tender for Andorra’s first casino licence.

The decision prompted legal challenges from the other bidders, who cited “serious irregularities” in the tender process. Nevertheless, the Andorran courts ultimately rejected these appeals.

Last year, the CRAJ withdrew Jocs’ casino concession based on “deficiencies” in the paperwork it had presented, a decision that the company in turn appealed last June.

The regulator announced its latest rejection of Jocs’ concession on 19 February. While it acknowledged that Jocs had submitted revised paperwork aimed at correcting the problems identified in January 2019, it concluded that there remained “significant differences between the initial commitments and the final project”.

Jocs has confirmed it will also appeal this latest rejection within the prescribed 30-day window, after which the CRAJ will have two months in which to respond.

Following this, if the board again rules against granting Jocs the concession, the dispute will then have to be resolved via litigation.