Italy seeks to bring back Europe's biggest casino from bankruptcy

Campione d'Italia, a small Italian tax haven on the shores of Switzerland's Lake Lugano, is now fighting for its survival after its giant casino employing around a quarter of the population went bankrupt. The Casino closed its doors last July after decades of attracting tourists to the small enclave.

Since then the community has struggled to cope with the loss of income and unemployment which has seen the Mayor quit, the local nursery close and the food bank inundated with people in need.

'SOS Campione is dead' reads a giant banner hung opposite the large 10-floor casino designed by Swiss architect Mario Botta and made up of modernistic cubic-shaped blocks with darkened windows. 'Rien ne va plus' - the French version of 'no more bets' - reads another banner on a tent set up by the unions representing 500 of the casino employees, who suddenly found themselves without work.

The demise of the casino is believed to have stemmed from new laws permitting slot machines in bars and cafes and the rise of online gambling, all of which have gradually whittled away the house winnings. The strengthening of the Swiss franc against the euro, as well as the opening of three large Swiss casinos nearby since 2000 have also taken their toll.

Last July, a local Italian court in Como ordered the casino to close after it failed to honour its financial obligations to authorities in Campione, which is part of Como province.    

However, there is still hope for the casino's resurrection after a Milan court recently overturned the Como legal ruling on the grounds of procedural inconsistencies. And last month, the Italian government sent an expert to evaluate the possibilities of bringing the casino back to life. Inhabitants are demanding that Rome comes to the rescue.

Unionist Vincenzo Falanga said: "Campione is Italian. Italy cannot just abandon it. It must take all possible steps [to save the enclave]."

For the 1,961 inhabitants of this one-square-kilometre sovereign Italian territory inside southern Switzerland, the closure of the public casino has been devastating. For decades, it guaranteed the prosperity of the town, 23 kilometres from Italy.

In 2007, after seven years of construction, the brand new, 36,000-square-metre, ochre-coloured casino, was opened. The building, designed by Swiss architect Mario Botta, can accommodate 3,100 gamblers at a time, offering them 56 tables and around 1,000 slot machines to choose from.

'Campione has not seen a situation this difficult since the war,' said Giorgio Zanzi, the administrator sent by Rome to run things after the mayor left. The casino and municipality have together raked up millions in debt, Zanzi told AFP, adding, though, that he was still holding out hope for a rescue.

As a result of the downturn, Campione had no candidates for Sunday's local elections and has cancelled the ballot, which should have run in parallel with voting in European elections.

The situation will soon become even more complicated, as next year the enclave is due to become part of the European Union customs area, raising practical questions about interactions with non-EU member Switzerland. Authorities in Bern say discussions with Italy about the implications of the change are 'under way' but refuse to give details.