Casino battle for new license brewing in Queensland

star-casino-whales-australia-sports-bettor-taxQueensland may not be as recognizable a destination as Sydney or Melbourne are in Australia. But that could change soon with the rise of new entertainment options in Brisbane, and no more is that coming to life than the interest of numerous casino operators in building a new casino at the Queens Wharf development in Brisbane.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, a number of operators headlined by Crown and Echo Entertainment are angling to secure the license to build a new casino at the new development site. In addition to the two Australian casino giants, other consortium bidding for the new Brisbane casino license includes New Zealand’s SKYCITY Entertainment Group, construction company Lend Lease, China’s Greenland Holdings, and a Far East Consortium/Chow Tai Fook Enterprises joint venture.

All told, Queensland Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney told state parliament that 12 companies have already made their interests known, paying the $100,000 to lodge the interest, six of which involves the Brisbane development and another six on building a new integrated casino development in regional Queensland.

The next step of the process is a little trickier now that these interested parties are required to submit their full proposals to the government by the end of the year, at which point, the government will decide on which proposals are best suited to meet its objective of, according to Seeney,”establishing developments that will be drawcards for both international and domestic visitors and provide employment for thousands of Queenslanders.”

“This process will also deliver a much-needed boost to the state’s construction industry.”

Truth to that, but we’re more interested in how this race shapes up once all the proposals are laid out on the table.