The Belgian Council of State has suspended the 15-year Brussels casino licence awarded to Napoleon Games after current licence holder Viage challenged the decision.
Viage argued that the award failed to comply with the selection criteria, lacked sufficient reasoning, and contained manifest errors in assessment, The Bulletin reported. It also raised a potential conflict of interest involving Brussels mayor Philippe Close, who sits on the board of directors of Anderlecht football club, one of Napoleon Games’ key partners, and did not recuse himself from the meeting on the contract award.
The Council of State ruled in Viage’s favour on its application to suspend the €750 million (US$872 million) contract.
The court identified several shortcomings in the award procedure, particularly concerning the reasoning behind the decision and compliance with European regulations. It found that “not all elements of the tender specifications had been adequately taken into account” and that some factors considered “do not appear to be relevant to the subject matter of the concession.”
The court also ruled that the procedure did not comply with European regulations on foreign subsidies that distort the internal market.
The City of Brussels now has several options. It can restart the award process, which would take several months while the existing licence expires on 31 December; confirm Napoleon Games as the selected bidder by strengthening the legal reasoning behind the decision; or reassess the bids submitted under the suspended procedure.
However, any of these options could lead to another appeal from a rejected bidder.
“We’re pleased that the Council of State has ruled in our favour,” said Viage spokesperson Siham Makrache. “We expect the case, on which we have worked for years, to be reviewed and for this to be done correctly.”
Viage said it hopes the concession process will not be restarted because this would cost another year. The operator said it wants certainty rather than temporary solutions or extensions.
Viage has operated the Brussels casino since 2010 and ranked a close second among five bidders in the latest award process.
“The City takes note of the Council of State’s ruling,” mayor Close said through his spokesperson. “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.”
Didier Wauters, Brussels alderman for trade and the economy, said he was surprised by the ruling but noted that the Council of State had followed the auditor’s advice.
“We need to examine the judgment thoroughly and will meet with the full college of aldermen to discuss this,” he said. “I cannot yet say whether we can work with a temporary extension of the current licence to prevent the casino from having to close.”
The Brussels casino provides the City of Brussels with €10 million (US$11.63 million) in annual royalty revenue.
Original article: https://www.yogonet.com/international/news/2026/09/07/126266-belgium-suspends-napoleon-games-brussels-casino-licence-after-viage-appeal
