LATINO AMERICA – PART ONE A
By Ricki Chavez Munoz
s Latin American markets stay on course leading growth of new properties, with sales of machines and systems also at the forefront, two markets have gone to the dogs. While the Venezuela government just sends the police and judiciary to close bingos and full casinos based on questionable regulations, Ecuador has gone one better and carried a President-led plebiscite that
yielded marginal approval to enable the Executive to close casinos, bingos and slots parlours throughout the country in truly Cromwellian fashion.
At long last, Bolivia has regulated its gaming industry, albeit with heavy tax impositions that include a levy on players’ win; and whilst Brazil, with a brand new lady president, toys with the idea of casino legislation in the country, it is still a matter of seeing and believing as the country manages best regional growth and has no need to legislate casinos to balance budgets or promote tourism.
Further South, Paraguay opened tenders for ten casinos throughout the country, including one in Asuncion the Capital City, three times, and had to cancel every time as the documents were poorly drawn. The head of the local regulating agency resigned amid claims of personal threats, and six months later Conajzar still has no president and no tenders.
There are some voices saying that a fourth improved tender for the same concessions is being prepared. THE STARS Two countries continue the regulated upward trend in the region, as the markets mature
and investments bring reasonable returns. Operators in Peru and Colombia are managing to sustain a level of compliance, after years of quasi legal gambling, and while the former is more settled and has legislation mandated to install online slots control in all the operations in the country, certainly during 2012, the latter is getting its house in order with a new regulating body replacing the misfiring ETESA agency, which is in a liquidation process. There are in excess of 1,000 slots operations between the two countries.
The 15 new casinos in Chile, under the 2005 Casino Law, continue an upward operating trend, with three additional new casinos under this law in the process of being built. The
casino law has a provision for 24 casinos in the country (excluding properties in Arica border city), including 7 municipal casinos, which should go up for grabs by 2015. At present the local governments where such casinos are sited are lobbying to change the law and carry on operations beyond the set date, but either way, all municipal casinos are in need of refurbishment and equipment updating in order to compete with the new casinos that are sited in 5-star hotels.
Continued in April…
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