Last week the Slovenian gaming company Hit signed a deal with Harrah’s Entertainment for a resort casino in the Gorisko region of the country. The US$1 billion development to include hotels, convention and events centre and other facilities will depend on the Slovenian government reducing the gaming tax and changing rules on foreign ownership. In April last year the government stated that poor road infrastructure was the main impediment to development of the western region, but confirmed plans to link the three main valleys in the mountainous area.

Finance for the road project was not an issue, but a lack of appropriate potential development was. The government then expressed support for the Hit/Harrah’s deal and the Finance Ministry apparently is working on amendments to the present legislation already. The current limit of 20% for foreign ownership is expected to be raised to 49% and the tax rate is likely to be lowered from 38% to 17.5% on revenues over US$404.4 million. Parliament will debate the changes next month and the National Assembly could pass the amendments before the end of 2007.

The fact that the Slovenian government seems ready to alter its gaming legislation in order to accommodate a partnership between two gaming companies demonstrates the confidence it has that a casino complex will boost the economy. It is anticipated that as many as 3,200 new jobs will be created, with another 1,000 indirectly. Tax revenue could exceed US$160 million and the casino development would require over US$220 million in goods and services annually. There should also be a knock-on effect of increased tourism as Gorisko is close to the Italian border. (E-06.11.07)

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