US casino operator Cordish Gaming says it will take legal action to protest Madrid’s regional government rejecting the company’s proposal to build a €3b integrated resort project.

On Friday, Spanish media reported that Madrid officials had rejected Cordish’s latest plan to build its Live Resorts Madrid project. The rejection was the second time Madrid’s government had found fault with Cordish’s efforts to bring big-time casino gaming to the region.

On Saturday, Cordish issued a statement expressing annoyance at having learned of the rejection not from Madrid’s government, but through reports that were apparently leaked to the media by certain government officials.

Cordish also said it had observed “very serious irregularities” in the application process regarding “professional secrecy” of intellectual and industrial property. As a result, Cordish intends to “vigorously pursue the exercise of all legal actions that may be in defense of their legitimate interests against the regional government and the responsible persons concerned.”