We are the end of the year 2018 and this period remains favorable for the establishment of balance sheets and more particularly financial reports.
And if the gambling industry is doing rather well on the whole, that of the casinos sometimes suffers some shameful crises like that of the casino Barrière of Lille, in the north of our French neighbors, which is to this day still in red and which therefore seems rather poorly to end 2018 and probably start 2019 with difficulty …
The crisis at the Lille casino
We see today that things do not really look like they want to improve for the gaming establishment located in the north of France. Indeed, the Casino Barrière de Lille is following its little man of crisis, after already a few inconvenient years of losses, and remains for the moment and to this day still in a worrying situation. Still in the red, it continues to record deficits brilliantly and unfortunately does not manage to get out of this bad patch which is starting to last and especially to become dangerous for those responsible.
We find ourselves here facing a casino which had nevertheless started its activity well, in particular making profits during the year 2013. But as of today, it records a new loss of 5 million euros, despite however a significant increase in turnover …
A contract in question for the crisis
It must be said that this bad situation is partly due to a contract which in fact pulls the finances of the casino to the bottom.
We have to go back a decade, in fact, to 2007, when he signed a public service delegation contract with the city of Lille. This is a concession contract which extends over a period from 2007 to 2025 and which therefore makes him responsible for a period of 18 years. But in 2007, the casino took place in a temporary building, which was then occupied for the needs of the activity. It will only be 3 years later, in 2010, that he will be able to really settle in his premises which will remain official and in which he is still today.
But for the casino and since this installation, nothing really goes as planned, the establishment has never since made a profit. Worse yet: instead of making a profit as expected, the casino keeps recording serious losses every year.
A big money story
But we are not talking here, you can imagine, of small sums, but indeed of more than 9.8 million euros of losses which were in fact recorded in 2012.
If we wish to remain optimistic while the boat sinks, we will say that in 2013 we could see a slight improvement since this amount had decreased slightly although remaining a loss, up to 7.3 million euros.
It must be said that with an investment having cost 100 million euros, the losses are rather substantial since they are already more than 62 million euros. And if we refer to the experts who analyzed the situation, their forecasts do not really point to optimism since, according to them, things should not get better.
In short, we are here exposed to what can quite be qualified as a real disaster. To better understand what awaits the casino, it suffices to know that these predictions in fact reveal that the amount of total losses in 2025 is estimated at nearly 120 million euros. Especially if nothing changes by then. But what could get this casino out of the crisis? For the moment, no one seems to have the answer except that his future is in the hands of the players now, but also and most certainly, in those of the town hall …