Groupe Lucien Barrière, which has been running the casino of Saint-Raphaël for 18 years, saw its contract being officially renewed by the town.

Georges Ginesta, the deputy-mayor of Saint-Raphaël and Jean-Raymond Castaldi, manager of the gambling house, signed the public service delegation for 20 more years.

This contract will come into effect on the 1st of June 2008. The Group stated that ”this partnership will increase the role of the Casino Barrière de Saint-Raphaël in the tourist, cultural and economic life of the region. An investment plan amounting to more than 8 million euros will be carried out in order to extend and renovate the establishment and make it more attractive.

The first phase of the renovation works for the Casino Barrière de Saint-Raphaël will begin in 2009, with the installation of new slot machines.”

The Casino Barrière de Saint-Raphaël was ranked 32rd amongst the French casinos (out of 194) for the financial year 2006-2007. It reported a gross gaming revenue of 24 439 164 euros, with 158 machines, down 5.65% from the previous season. The increase in the number of slot machines should help recover the GGR of the establishment.