The Belgian Council of State has suspended the planned 15-year concession for the Grand Casino Brussels after incumbent operator Viage challenged the City of Brussels’ decision to select Napoleon Games.

The ruling puts the future of the €750 million concession under review less than four months before the new licence is scheduled to begin on January 1. Viage has operated the Brussels casino since 2010 and finished a close second among five bidders in the latest tender.

Viage challenged the award on several grounds, including the way the tender criteria were applied, the reasoning behind the decision and what it described as errors in the assessment of the competing bids. The operator also raised concerns about a possible conflict of interest involving Brussels Mayor Philippe Close.

Close serves as an independent director of Anderlecht football club, which has a major sponsorship relationship with Napoleon Games. Viage questioned his participation in the discussions surrounding the concession award.

The Council of State ultimately upheld several of Viage’s complaints. Its assessment found shortcomings in the justification for the evaluation and raised concerns about compliance with European rules concerning foreign subsidies that can distort the internal market.

The court said: “The reasoning behind the evaluation of the bids did not sufficiently verify that all the elements announced in the specifications had been taken into account, and that some of the elements considered did not appear to be related to the purpose of the concession.”

The ruling also stated that “not all elements of the tender specifications had been adequately taken into account”. It found that certain factors considered during the assessment “do not appear to be relevant to the subject matter of the concession”.

Council Questions Tender Assessment

The decision followed Viage’s request for a suspension order. The operator had argued that the selection panel failed to apply the published requirements properly and relied on information that should not have influenced the outcome.

The court also identified an apparent problem involving partnerships cited in support of Napoleon Games’ bid. It said: “There is an apparent inaccuracy in the assessment of certain partnerships cited in support of the selected bid.”

Viage had specifically questioned some of the commercial partnerships included in Napoleon Games’ proposal. Another disputed element concerned a commitment to place the operator’s servers in Brussels, which was presented as potentially generating tax revenue for the region.

The Council of State additionally concluded that European obligations concerning foreign subsidies had not been met. It considered “that the obligations stipulated by the European regulation on foreign subsidies distorting the internal market were not respected within the framework of the award procedure.”

Viage welcomed the ruling.

“We’re pleased that the Council of State has ruled in our favour,” said Viage spokesperson Siham Makrache, as reported by The Bulletin.

“We expect the case, on which we have worked for years, to be reviewed and for this to be done correctly.”

Viage has also argued against restarting the tender, saying that doing so “would cost us another year.” The operator said: “We are asking for certainty, not temporary solutions or extensions.”

The current concession expires on December 31, leaving the City of Brussels with limited time to determine how it will proceed.

City Faces Decision Before Licence Expiry

The city can now consider several options. It could restart the tender procedure, which would take several months. It could retain Napoleon Games as the preferred bidder while strengthening the reasoning behind the original decision. It could also reassess the bids submitted during the suspended process.

Each route could lead to further legal action from an unsuccessful bidder.

The timing creates an additional issue because the new concession is scheduled to start on January 1. City officials must therefore determine how the casino will continue operating while the legal and administrative process develops.

Mayor Close responded through a spokesperson: “The City takes note of the Council of State’s ruling. We are carefully examining the judgement to determine what next steps we need to take. At this stage, it’s still too early to comment further.”

Brussels alderman for trade and the economy Didier Wauters also said the ruling required further examination.

“On the one hand, I’m surprised, because I feel that this case has been handled with great care and the procedure was followed rigorously, but on the other hand, the Council of State has followed the auditor’s advice: in that respect, this decision did not come out of the blue.”

“We need to examine the judgment thoroughly and will meet with the full college of aldermen to discuss this. I cannot yet say whether we can work with a temporary extension of the current licence to prevent the casino from having to close.”