The Mauritian government has relaunched the sale of its stakes in Casinos de Maurice after the company posted nearly Rs 2 billion in losses between 2015 and 2025. PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has been appointed to oversee the multi-stage privatization process. In the investment opportunity document issued to formalize the initiative, PwC says interested parties must submit their expressions of interest by 15 August.
The decision forms part of a wider government plan to rationalize public assets and reduce the strain on public finances. On 5 May, Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam told the National Assembly that the state could no longer support the enterprise sustainably, describing the existing business model as “obsolete.”
The cabinet has approved PwC’s role in managing a phased divestment strategy. The government said the approach is intended to bring in private capital, improve management, and maintain local employment and ongoing operations where possible. According to the PwC document, the opportunity could allow a potential investor to expand and diversify activities while benefiting from a growing entertainment and hospitality sector.
Casinos de Maurice is majority owned by the state through the State Investment Corporation (SIC). The company has operated major gaming venues across the island since 1984, including the Grand Casino du Domaine at Les Pailles. While the business was profitable in the past, it has recorded recurring losses over the last two decades.
The current administration attributes the decline to several factors, including an operational model that did not adapt to changing market trends, increased competition from online gaming and new gaming houses, high fixed costs, and governance problems. Financial mismanagement has also become a political issue this month.
In May 2026, Prime Minister Ramgoolam criticized the previous administration’s governance, including the distribution of staff bonuses such as a 14th-month salary, which was paid on the eve of the last elections. This latest privatization effort is not the first. Over the past two decades, successive governments have attempted to sell the venues without success.
In 2019, the MSM government launched a privatization process that later collapsed. Between 2021 and 2022, consultancy mandates were awarded to firms including KPMG, and negotiations reached an advanced stage, but the deal still failed. A further exercise announced in 2023 also did not reach an outcome.
Source: Defi Media
