A branch of the Casino de Mallorca in Portopí is expected to open in Playa de Palma in time for next year's tourism season.
The Casino's operators are said to have started looking for a potential site for the branch at the end of the summer. Contacts have apparently been made with Hipotels, with the idea being that the branch should be in a building by the company's Gran Playa de Palma and Playa de Palma Palace hotels.
In order to obtain a licence for the branch, the Casino would, according to Balearic gambling law, have to pay a bond of 450,000 euros. The branch cannot be more than 450 square metres and would be open for a minimum of six months.
The director-general for trade and business, Pilar Sansó, says that casino branches will be positive in terms of job creation and economic benefits. There are as yet, though, no plans for branches for the casinos in Minorca and Ibiza.