Casino operator Olympic Entertainment Group (OEG) has signed on to manage the biggest casino in Malta. The 2,700-square-metre Casino Malta project, which is slated to open before the end of the year, will cost €10m – of which €7m will be paid by OEG – and host over 250 slot machines, around 30 gaming tables and a sportsbook. The operation will be run by OEG’s wholly owned subsidiaries OEG Malta Gaming Limited and OEG Malta Holding Limited.

In December, the Maltese government awarded a new casino concession to hotel and entertainment outfit Eden Leisure, which controls the island’s Intercontinental Malta and Holiday Inn Express hotels, as well as a radio station, cinemas, health clubs and the Bay Arena.

After a competitive bid process for the right to manage the casino operations. Eden executive chairman Ian De Cesare said OEG was selected due to its “wealth of experience” and the fact that the two companies share “a similar ethos” with regards to customer service and entertainment.

OEG chairman Armin Karu said his company had been looking for opportunities to expand into “popular holiday destinations” and the Malta project was “a large step forward in making our expansion plans comes true.” OEG is primarily based in the Baltic region but also had operations in Italy, Poland, Slovakia and Belarus.

In its 2014 earnings report card, OEG reported full year revenue up 3.8% to €141m. Latvian operations rose 21.1% to €43.9m, Lithuania was up 3.3% to €20.9m and OEG’s fledgling Italian business nearly doubled to €6.4m. Things weren’t so rosy in Estonia, which fell 2.6% to €31.6m, while Poland fell 16.9% to €22.5m and Slovakia fell 3.4% to €14m.

MALTA LGA REBRANDS

In other Malta gaming news, the Lotteries & Gaming Authority has decided to rebrand under the moniker Malta Gaming Authority. Executive chairman Joseph Cuschieri said the rebrand was intended to provide “a better representation of the Authority’s heritage, pass successes, vision and values within the national agenda and in line with our strategic objectives.” The MGA has a new website at www.mga.org.mt.