The family of the late gambling tycoon Stanley Ho risks losing the concession of two of Portugal’s biggest casinos after a rival bidder for the license to operate both venues made a higher offer.
The Casino de Lisboa, in Portugal’s capital, and Casino do Estoril, located in the seaside town of Cascais near Lisbon, are operated by Estoril Sol SGPS SA, whose main shareholder is the Ho family.
Pansy Ho, Stanley Ho’s second wife’s eldest daughter, is Estoril Sol’s chairwoman.
The license to operate both casinos expires at the end of December, and the Portuguese government opened an international tender in August for a new 15-year deal. The tender attracted two bids: one from a subsidiary of Estoril Sol and another from an undisclosed suitor.
“Overall, the competing offer had a higher value than the offer presented by our own subsidiary,” Estoril Sol said in a regulatory filing on Monday. The tenders will now be evaluated, it said, without providing details.
A representative for Portugal’s economy ministry declined to comment.
Estoril Sol operates the 91-year-old Casino do Estoril, one of the largest in Europe, with slot machines, a traditional gaming room, several restaurants, and a showroom with a capacity for 1,000 people.
It also manages the Casino de Lisboa and the smaller Casino da Povoa in northern Portugal and owns online gambling and sports betting licenses.
According to its earnings report, the company’s revenue reached €133 million (US$130 million) in 2021, compared with €136 million in the previous year.
Finansol, a holding company controlled by members of the Ho family, owns a 57.8% stake in Estoril Sol.
Stanley Ho, the billionaire who built the Chinese territory of Macau into the world’s biggest gambling hub, died in 2020 at 98.
Known as the King of Gambling, Ho has held the license to operate the casino in Estoril for decades.
He also made several real estate investments in Portugal after its colonial rule over Macau ended in 1999.
With information from CL Brief