RIGA — The Olympic Entertainment Group, which runs a pan-Baltic chain of casinos, is losing less money than during the deepest period of economic crisis.
In the second quarter of 2010 the company lost €790,000, significantly less than during the same period in 2009 when the company posted -€3.6 million. Overall revenue was down €1.1 million as the company closed a number of loss-making casinos in the Baltics.
Over the past year six casinos in Estonia, four in Latvia and five in Lithuania have been closed by Olympic. Likewise, the Estonian-based company closed locations in Poland and Romania as well, reducing its number of casinos across Europe from 86 to 64.
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Sure, they’ve closed casinos, but these casinos were actually products of over-expansion. Some were put into bedroom communities, or neighborhoods where there are few restaurants or bars. The bad part is that once a casino is placed, even if it is closed, it will reopen with a new owner, and a stripped-down location which reflects it’s lowered expectations of profit.
These were small coin-machine operations, no tables.