The Council of State found that the Extremaduran Law for Large Leisure Complexes is “in accordance” with the Constitution, opening the door for the legislation to be put before the regional Parliament.
It is now the responsibility of the government’s General Committee to establish a schedule to process the bill. The law was presented to the legislature by the centre-left Independent Socialists of Extremadura (SIEx) on 22 March, while the president of the Government of Extremadura, Guillermo Fernández Vara, has confirmed that there is at least one foreign investor interested in opening a resort complex in La Siberia.
Speaking during a press conference, the vice president of Extremadura, Pilar Blanco-Morales, explained that the Council of State had made a number of observations “which are going to be incorporated into the text” of the new law before its debated upon in a plenary.
The Council of State ruled that environmental legislation deadlines for planning permission must be respected, which could lead cause delays of up to 45 days during the licensing process.
Legio stipulates that a resort project should cover at least a thousand hectares, include 3000 hotel rooms, and represent a minimum capital investment of a billion euros.
The casino portion of a resort development will be exempt Extremadura from existing local licensing regulations, which require a public licence tender and allow only one casino per 500,000 inhabitants.
Casinos in the new resorts will pay a fixed tax rate of 15%, nevertheless the government is reportedly considering a reduction of up to 80% in gaming taxes depending on the total amount invested and the range of facilities included in a project.
The new initiative comes as part of a plan to attract investment to the area, at at time when the government is facing a E300m shortfall in state finances.
Source: GMB / Casino Review
