Cirsa

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Cirsa
Company typePrivate (IPO filed, 2025)[1]
IndustryGambling
Founded1978 (1978)
FounderManuel Lao Hernández
HeadquartersTerrassa, Catalonia, Spain
Areas served
Europe and Latin America
Key people
Joaquim Agut (Executive Chairman)
Revenue€2.15 billion (2024)[2]
€699 million (2024)[2]
OwnerBlackstone Inc. (2018–present)[3]
Number of employees
15,510 (2024)[4]
Websitewww.cirsa.com

Cirsa Enterprises, S.A. (branded CIRSA) is a Spanish multinational casino and gambling‑machine operator founded in Terrassa in 1978. The group runs 447 casinos and gambling halls and more than 83,000 slot machines across eleven regulated markets, making it Spain’s largest casino operator.[5] Private‑equity firm Blackstone bought the company in 2018 and is now floating up to 25 % of its shares on the Bolsa de Madrid at a set price of €15, implying a post‑money valuation of €2.5 billion.[6] Cirsa posted record revenue of €2.15 billion and EBITDA of €699 million in 2024, its third consecutive year of all‑time‑high results.[2]

History

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Cirsa was founded in 1978 by Manuel Lao Hernández. It is involved in the fabrication and distribution of different types of gambling machines. By 1990, they started to expand their presence outside of Spain. It started with the Dominican Republic, then in 1991 went to Venezuela, and currently over seventy countries around the world.[7] The company generated 349,328,000 million euros of revenue solely in the first quarter of 2018[8]

On 8 April 2022, Cirsa announced the organisation had appointed Antonio Hostench as CEO.[9][10][11]

In 2024, Cirsa acquired Apuesta Total, Peru's online gambling operator.[12][13]

Blackstone takeover

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In April 2018, it was announced that The Blackstone Group would acquire the company.[14] Blackstone Inc. acquired Cirsa in July 2018 for an enterprise value of about €2.2 billion, according to Refinitiv data cited by Reuters.[3]

Controversies

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A 2023 Cyprus Confidential leak revealed Cirsa was embroiled in a tax dispute over two Moroccan casinos it bought from Israel’s Red Sea Group. Le Desk reported that Cirsa sought reimbursement for past taxes, while investigators questioned inflated fee invoices linked to a shell advisory firm.[15]

References

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  1. ^ "Cirsa's Spanish IPO open to investors until July 7 in deal valuing it at nearly $3 BLN". Reuters. 2 July 2025.
  2. ^ a b c "CIRSA records over $734 million in operating profits for 2024, with total revenue crossing $2 billion | Yogonet International".
  3. ^ a b Crowley, Amy-Jo; Cerqueiro, Pablo Mayo; Gonzalez, Andres; Cerqueiro, Pablo Mayo; Gonzalez, Andres (4 May 2023). "Exclusive: Blackstone weighs options for Spanish gambling firm Cirsa". Reuters.
  4. ^ https://www.cirsa.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Cirsa-2024-Annual-Report.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  5. ^ "Cirsa eyes €2.5B valuation in Blackstone-backed IPO". SigmaPlay. Retrieved 2025-07-28.
  6. ^ "Blackstone's Cirsa Seeks €2.5 Billion Valuation in Set-Price IPO". Bloomberg.com. 2025-06-30. Retrieved 2025-07-28.
  7. ^ Ortega, Pedro. ".: CIRSA - Casinos, Bingos, Maquinas de juego, Centros de apuestas, juego Online:, Salones de Juego :". www.cirsa.com. CIRSA. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  8. ^ "CIRSA Gaming Corp SA - Company Profile and News". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2025-07-28.
  9. ^ "CIRSA Appoints Antonio Hostench as CEO". European Gaming. 8 April 2022. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  10. ^ "CIRSA Names Hostench as Group CEO". GGB News. Retrieved 2025-08-28.
  11. ^ "CIRSA appoints Antonio Hostench as new Group CEO". 2022-04-07. Retrieved 2025-08-28.
  12. ^ "Cirsa Announces its ITF on Spanish Stock Exchanges". London Stock Exchange. Retrieved 2025-08-28.
  13. ^ "Apuesta Total: Cirsa confirma la compra del 70% del operador" (in Spanish). 2024-07-17. Archived from the original on 2024-11-02. Retrieved 2025-08-28.
  14. ^ "Blackstone acquires Spain's Cirsa". iGaming Business. iGaming Business Limited. 30 April 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  15. ^ "An oligarch's chef-turned-personal assistant, a Moroccan casino mystery, and more Cyprus Confidential stories from ICIJ's partners - ICIJ". 2023-12-06. Retrieved 2025-07-28.


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