Casinos Austria International: Best Gaming Operations Europe 2015

With gambling and gaming steadily moving online, the brick-and-mortar casino industry is meeting the challenge head-on by upgrading facilities emphasising the unique experience of class, fun, and social interaction that, for all its prowess, the virtual world has been unable to distil into bits and bytes.

Long gone are the days when the gambling known as business looked with austere disfavour upon the business known as gambling. While US journalist and satirist Ambrose Bierce may have been on to something in the early 1900s, today’s gambling industry is fiercely competitive, highly professional, and tightly regulated. Globally, the casino industry is expected to reach a turnover in excess of €160bn this year. Casinos are big business and run as such.

In Europe, Casinos Austria International (CAI) has established a well-deserved reputation for corporate excellence – combining tradition with innovation, integrity, and corporate social responsibility in order to stay at the top of its game. The company operates 32 casinos in eleven countries and aboard six cruise liners. CAI’s corporate parent, Casinos Austria AG, operates the country’s twelve casinos and can trace its origins to 1934. Employing over 1,700 people in Austria, and more than 2,000 abroad, Casinos Austria is also one of the country’s largest tax contributors.

Not merely a casino operator, CAI has also earned a peerless global reputation as a purveyor of expertise to like businesses looking to start or perfect operations. As such, CAI has helped establish and improve over 300 casinos in all corners of the world. The company not only offers its vast reservoir of knowhow specific to the industry, but also disseminates a unique set of principles aimed at improving the sector’s sustainability.

CAI actively promotes operational procedures and processes that seek to maximise the entertainment value of casinos while minimising the risk to clients, thus offering an optimised experience for guests. Ever conscious of its duty for care, Casinos Austria International has managed to set and maintain the benchmark for the global gaming industry by steadfastly respecting the limits of the business.

Taking the long-term view, and eschewing quick fixes and superficial solutions to complex issues, allowed Casinos Austria International to prosper even during the lean years of economic downturns. This thorough approach has also enabled the company to keep visitor numbers stable. By broadening – and redefining – the casino concept to include world-class shows and events, in addition to leveraging the exquisite settings of its premises to offer guests an exceptionally fine dining experience, Casinos Austria International has added significant value to its facilities.

The CFI.co judging panel wishes to congratulate Casinos Austria International on the success of its bold corporate strategy that, while steeped in tradition, is both innovative and daring. The judges are very pleased indeed to offer the company their 2015 Best Gaming Operations Europe Award.