JUE 28 DE MARZO DE 2024 - 22:51hs.
Pandemic continues to affect land-based operations

Cirsa down by 60% in Spain affected by new COVID-19 restrictions

The third wave of the coronavirus has hit Spanish operator Cirsa’s revenues by up to 60% with profit affected by a similar amount. Before knowing the impact of new restrictions, the firm calculated that in the last quarter of 2021 the levels of activity prior to the pandemic would be reached again. With the virulence that the virus hit Spain in January, any forecast is in doubt. “Nobody knows what will happen for sure,” said Alejandro Landaluce, General Director of the General Gaming Council.

With the pandemic closing casinos, bingo halls and slot halls, only the Sportium sports betting site was able to continue its business in a relatively normal way. EBITDA for the last four months of 2020 came in at around €66m, compared to almost €140m earned in the same period of the previous year.

The third wave and with a new range of restrictions introduced by the different local governments came when the business was showing signs of recovery: in the third quarter, EBITDA was €37.5m compared to €118.7m the previous summer.

During the spring, Cirsa tried to strengthen its balance sheet and signed lines of credit worth €200m with the banks. In June, it asked for three new credit lines for €55m, €20m and €23m, respectively. By the end of the third quarter, Cirsa had reserved €352.7m, 121% more than at the end of 2019.

Before knowing the impact of the third wave restrictions, the company calculated that in the last quarter of 2021 the levels of activity prior to the pandemic would be reached again. With the virulence that the virus hit Spain in January, any forecast is at least in doubt. More when the firm’s business has become a puzzle in which each Autonomous Community has different restrictions.

The closure of bars in Catalonia left 34% of the company’s slots out of action, while the closure of the gaming halls forced 20% of the company’s slot halls to close. From January 25, slot halls in the Community of Madrid are being forced to close at 9:00 p.m. with diners in hotels limited from to four.

General Director of the General Gaming Council Alejandro Landaluce said: “At the end of October, the drop in the physical gaming sector ranged from 54% to 60%. Right now it is impossible to know the fate of the gaming halls. For example: each province of Castilla y León has different conditioning conditions. Nobody knows what will happen for sure.”

Source: GMB