Cirsa, one of the largest international groups in the gaming and leisure sector, based in Terrassa (Barcelona), has just closed two corporate operations that will allow it to expand its presence in Morocco and Italy. On the one hand, the company, belonging since 2018 to the financial giant Blackstone, has taken over the management of the casino in the city of Tangier, which will allow it to operate from now on with three casinos in the Alawite country.
In parallel, the group chaired by Joaquim Agut has acquired 60% of the Italian online gaming and sports betting company Eplay24, a segment in which it operates in the Spanish market through the Sportium brand. The other 40% of the shareholding will remain in the hands of the founders of the Italian company. With more than 20,000 gaming machines, Cirsa has been present in the transalpine country since 1997 and is its major European market along with Spain.
The Tangier Casino, the only one in the city, has an area of 2,000 square meters distributed over three floors and is located within a hotel complex. Cirsa will operate it through a management contract, expanding its presence in the country, where it has two casinos (Atlantic and Le Mirage) in the tourist city of Agadir that reopened in May after two years without activity due to the pandemic. In the nine countries where it operates, Cirsa has a total of 150 casinos, located especially in Latin America, in countries such as Colombia, Panama, Mexico and Peru. In Spain it has six, including the Gran Casino Costa Brava, located in Lloret de Mar (Girona).
The company has announced these two operations in a context of strong recovery in its revenues after the hard blow caused by the health crisis. Thus, in the first half of 2022, Cirsa has seen its turnover practically double, with operating revenues of 778 million euros, 92% more than in the same period last year. Consequently, its results have also soared, with a semi-annual ebitda of 250 million, 128% more, thanks to the return to normality and the end of restrictions. According to the company, operating profit in the second quarter was already above (+18.8%) the pre-covid figures of 2019.
In addition to the network of 150 casinos, Cirsa operates more than 82,000 recreational machines, owns 78 bingo halls, 243 gaming halls, and almost 3,000 points for sports betting. The Catalan company also operates in the online gaming business and is, in addition, a manufacturer of recreational machines for bars and gaming halls through its subsidiary Unidesa.
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