Partouche casino in Sawclose, Bath to open Spring 2018

Approved by the Bath Council provisionally on August 9, 2012, Global Gaming Ventures Limited whose casino operator is Groupe Partouche, won full council approval for a new ‘small casino’ for Bath in March 2014. Local news outlet, The Bath Chronicle, has discovered the latest information on the project which is expected to open in the spring of next year.

The £19m development will feature a 147-key Z Hotel, casino gaming floor, and two restaurants. Developers are expected to turn the keys over to individual owners in August after completing major structural work. After interior construction and finishing touches are completed the casino, hotel, and restaurants should open in the springtime.

The historical site where the facilities are being constructed was once occupied by the Pavillion Music Hall (Lyric Theatre, President Cinema) and later, Gala Bingo before being closed in September 2014 and partially demolished to make room for the new development.

According to the Chronicle, the facilities will have outdoor food and beverage seating in a large terrace out front with special traffic controls to allow the leisure and dining hub to prosper, adding to the Sawclose area’s already prolific restaurant and bar offerings.

A smoking terrace will be located upstairs with views of the historic Theatre Royal directly across the street.

New areas are being built for the casino which will also occupy parts of the old theater, according to the report. A VIP bar will accent game offerings of poker, casino table games, electronic gaming and slots.

A Deeley Freed Estates of Bristol spokesman reportedly told the local news outlet that, “We had a few delays at the beginning after asbestos was found, then we discovered a historic clay pipe factory which is fascinating.

“We are only six weeks behind schedule which is really good for such a big project on such a historic, sensitive site,” he said.

According to a Council report in 2012: “The project will be developed by Deeley Freed Estates Limited, a highly regarded West Country company with a long and distinguished track record of working with Bath & North East Somerset Council to deliver quality projects in the region on a punctual and professional basis, read the announcement of provisional approval.

At that time the casino alone was expected to create 78 full-time casino jobs, 3 full-time apprenticeships, 17 job/training opportunities, and full-time training courses for casino employees.

Groupe Partouche is Europe’s largest casino group entering the business with their first casino acquisition in 1973. The company now operates 43 casinos in France, Switzerland, Belgium and Tunisia, and has business interests in various hotels, restaurants, spa centers, golf courses, spas, and beaches.

Global Gaming Ventures Limited was established in 2010. Primarily operating in the online gaming sphere, GGV has over 100 employees and 50,000 associate brokers and clients across the globe with clients spread across Europe, the United States, Africa, and Asia.

In addition to the Bath small casino license, GGV was granted a provisional large casino license on May 17, 2013, for the Leeds Victoria Gate Casino development. That casino is set to open in ten days on January 26, 2017.

This article has been updated to correct the date GGV was awarded a provisional license for Victoria Gate Casino.