Napoleon Games Awarded 15-Year License to Operate Brussels Casino, Replacing Casinos Austria’s Viage

The City of Brussels has awarded its casino concession to Napoleon Games, ending a 15-year run for Casinos Austria International’s Viage brand at the iconic Boulevard Anspach location. The Belgian capital’s mayor granted the new 15-year license following a competitive tender that drew six bidders, with Napoleon Games set to take over operations on January 1, 2027.

The switch marks one of the more significant land-based gaming shakeups in Belgium this year, handing control of a casino that reportedly draws more than 310,000 visitors annually to a rapidly growing operator backed by international private equity money.

A Six-Way Race for a 750 Million Euro Concession

The Brussels Land and Economic Affairs Authority values the concession at roughly 750 million euros, excluding VAT, underscoring just how much was at stake in the bidding process. Viage, which has operated the venue since 2010, was among the six operators vying to keep or win the license, alongside groups such as Golden Palace and Star Casino. In the end, city officials sided with Napoleon Games, leaving Viage’s parent company to wind down its tenancy by the end of 2026.

The casino itself sits in the pedestrian zone of downtown Brussels and spans roughly 14,300 square meters, making it one of the largest gaming venues in the country. It operates under a Class I gaming license, one of just nine such licenses issued across Belgium, a market where land-based casino real estate rarely changes hands.

Napoleon Games’ Rapid Expansion Continues

Napoleon Games has been owned since 2021 by the Romanian gaming group Superbet, which acquired the Belgian operator in a deal reportedly worth more than 350 million euros. Since then, the brand has continued to build out its footprint in the country, already operating the Grand Casino Knokke in the coastal town of Knokke-Heist along with roughly 25 gaming arcades scattered throughout Belgium that collectively employ around 400 people.

Landing the Brussels concession gives Napoleon Games a flagship property in the country’s capital and signals Superbet’s continued appetite for expanding its European land-based casino holdings, even as Belgium’s broader gambling market has faced headwinds, including declining gross gaming revenue and tighter regulatory restrictions in recent years. The move also comes as regulators across the region have pushed operators toward stricter player-protection standards, making a well-capitalized, multi-brand operator like Napoleon Games an appealing long-term steward of a high-traffic venue like the Brussels casino.

What Happens Next

Viage will continue operating the casino through the end of 2026 before handing over the keys on January 1, 2027, when Napoleon Games officially begins its 15-year concession. For now, the transition gives Casinos Austria International time to plan its exit from a market it has served for over a decade, while Napoleon Games works to prepare for its highest-profile Belgian property yet.