- Century Casinos could sell its two Alberta racinos as one package and its two commercial casinos as another, or all four together.
- Co-chief executive Peter Hoetzinger said the company should disclose something on at least one package before the end of the year.
- The Canada segment posted $20.4 million in second-quarter revenue, up 2.2 percent, with adjusted EBITDAR up 11 percent.
- VICI Properties owns the real estate under all four sites, so a buyer would inherit an existing triple net master lease.
EDMONTON, Alberta – Century Casinos is weighing whether to sell its four Alberta properties as a single portfolio or as two separate packages, and said it should be able to disclose something on at least one package before the end of the year. Co-chief executive Peter Hoetzinger set out the options on the company’s Aug. 7 second-quarter earnings call.
Two Packages, Four Alberta Floors
Century Casinos operates four gambling properties in Alberta and none elsewhere in Canada. Century Casino & Hotel Edmonton and Century Casino St. Albert are the commercial casinos. Century Mile Racetrack and Casino in Edmonton and Century Downs Racetrack and Casino in Balzac, north of Calgary, are the racinos, each pairing a track with a slot floor. Century owns 75 percent of Century Downs, with unaffiliated shareholders holding the remaining 25 percent.
Hoetzinger said the company could sell all four together or run the racinos and the commercial casinos as separate deals, and that there is buyer interest in both configurations, with one further along than the other. On the call he said that “at least for one of those packages, we should be able to publicly disclose something before the end of the year.”
Canada Grew 2.2 Percent While Poland Fell 19 Percent
The Canadian unit is not the weak link in the portfolio. Net operating revenue in Canada rose 2.2 percent to $20.4 million in the quarter and segment adjusted EBITDAR rose 11 percent to $6.2 million, on Century Mile’s best quarterly EBITDA since it opened and a 1.3 percent decline in operating expenses.
Poland is the segment under pressure. Revenue there fell 19 percent to $19.9 million and segment adjusted EBITDAR fell 97 percent, to $52,000. Hoetzinger said two groups are in due diligence on the Polish business and that no bidder has been given exclusivity. He said the war next door and the regulatory environment make Poland the harder of the two exits.
Company-wide, Century reported net operating revenue of $152.0 million in its second-quarter filing, up 1 percent, and adjusted EBITDAR of $31.7 million, up 5 percent, against a net loss of $10.9 million, or 39 cents a share. The company told analysts net debt-to-EBITDA improved to 6.5 times and should fall well below 6 times by year end.
A Buyer Inherits VICI’s Lease And Alberta’s Slot Split
Century does not own the ground under any of the four floors. Subsidiaries of VICI Properties own the real estate under all four Alberta properties, and Century leases them back under a triple net master lease. A September 2023 amendment added the Canadian properties to that lease, raised initial annualized rent by about CAD 17.3 million and extended the lease term by 15 years.
What is for sale is the operating business, the licenses and the rent obligation rather than the land, which narrows the field to buyers willing to run casinos as a tenant.
Alberta’s own economics travel with the floors. Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis, the province’s gaming regulator, approved a temporary increase in the share of slot machine net sales that casinos keep, from 15 percent to 17 percent, in February 2023, and extended it in January 2026 through March 31, 2029.
Century also told analysts it is defending its position in the Edmonton market. The filing says a competitor won conditional approval in 2024 to move its casino from Camrose to south Edmonton, about 11 miles from Century Mile, and that a judicial review in May determined the competitor must reapply.
The Sale Lands In Alberta’s First Year Of Legal Online Play
Century is selling into the opening months of a regulated provincial online market. Alberta’s online gambling market opened July 13, putting a licensed digital channel alongside the province’s casino floors for the first time and making Alberta the second province after Ontario to license private online operators. That widened the field of legal Canada gambling sites.
The new licensees behind Alberta gambling sites are chasing the same Edmonton and Calgary customers who fill Century’s floors. A buyer pricing either package is pricing physical slot and table revenue against a competing channel that did not exist a year ago, over a lease that runs well past the sale.
What Happens Next
Hoetzinger said the company expects more clarity on the Polish process within a couple of months. Century has deferred any meaningful paydown of its term loan until the timing and proceeds of the asset sales are settled. The filing says the board has set no timetable for the strategic review it opened in August 2025, and that no commitments or decisions have been made.
