Hard Rock to Sue Greek Gambling Regulator over Failed Casino Bid

Casino and hospitality operator Hard Rock International will take what it believes are necessary actions after Greek gambling regulators rejected its bid for a 30-year license for a casino resort near Athens and granted the permit to rival Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment.

In a statement issued Thursday, Hard Rock said that it was disappointed by how things turned out and that it would seek to reverse the Hellenic Gaming Commission’s decision to award the license to the other bidder in the race.

The Florida-headquartered gaming and hospitality giant said that it would take the matter to the European Commission and to competent Greek authorities. The company said that its actions aim to protect it and its brand “from unfair and improper practices” and that it was disappointed by both the Hellenic Gaming Commission’s decision to reject its bid as well as by the whole selection process.

News that the Greek gambling regulator had rejected Hard Rock’s bid to build a €1 billion casino resort as part of the planned €8 billion Hellinikon complex at the site of Athens’ former international airport first surfaced in December.

Back then, Hard Rock’s CEO, Jim Allen, spoke with Greek Finance Minister Christos Staikouras and Development and Investment Minister Adonis Georgiades at the 21st Annual Capital Link Invest in Greece Forum in New York and told them that the casino bidding process might be marred by a conflict of interest.

Conflict of Interest

According to Hard Rock, the law firm that was hired to advise the Hellenic Gaming Commission and the specially assembled Hellinikon IRC Tender Committee has been representing a member of Mohegan since 2008. Hard Rock went on that it proceeded to notify all involved parties about its findings, but little attention was paid to those.

The Florida company was officially informed by the Gaming Commission that its bid was rejected this week, when the regulator also announced that the 30-year license was going to Mohegan. Hard Rock said in its statement that “while we are disappointed by this news, we are more disappointed in the process” and that it “firmly believes it was wrongly disqualified based on an inaccurate rationale and a clear conflict of interest.”

The company concluded its statement by saying that it would take all the necessary legal actions to “see that a fair process for the tender is completed and that the technical and financial sections of the submission are opened for both parties to ensure a transparent outcome.”

According to reports from Greek media, the Hellenic Gaming Commission disqualified Hard Rock because its application had important financial information left out and a required letter of guarantee that the company had the necessary finances to develop its casino resort as part of the larger Hellinikon complex was short by four days of the length prescribed by the Greek regulator.

Awarding the casino license was a mandatory step before the long-stalled Hellinikon project could move forward. However, any litigation resulting from the rejection of Hard Rock’s bid could delay the long-anticipated start of the mega-scheme even further.

Source: Greece Casino: Hard Rock Not Going Down without a Fight

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