Reports LATIN AMERICAN FOCUS
The SJC is now in the process of the third major licensing process. In Chile, casino licences for the casinos that were built from 2005, under law No. 19.995, are up for renewal in a multi-million dollar tender. While there have been significant delays caused by Covid-19, and yet more legal wrangling in the courts, the new tender process will undoubtedly bring in significant investment into the land-based sector.
table since 1999 and was aimed at regulating casinos, expanding their number and more equally distributing the tax revenue they generated. Operators were invited to bid for the 18 new licences on offer. Te law known as Act N° 19.995 also created an independent gaming commission called the Superintendencia de Casinos de Juego (SCJ) which would be responsible for regulating the industry.
Before 2005 there were seven casinos, which combined made around US$85m in revenue a year. However, the new law green-lit large-scale casinos with both slot machines and table gaming and was designed to help stimulate tourism. It was decided that five types of gaming would be allowed on the premises: bingo, cards, roulette, dice and slot machines.
Licences for the new casinos would run for 15 years and during the bidding process the absolute key to winning a licence was the operator’s ability to prove that their project would significantly increase tourism in the area. Once the licence was granted the operator was given two years to get the casino up and running and a further three years to have adjoining amenities ready. However, in many cases operators applied for and were granted permission to expand the investment in the wider facilities on offer which surrounded their gaming operations.
As a result almost every new casino in Chile was part of a brand new five star hotel and wider entertainment facility.
Ten years after the establishment of the first privately-run casino the SCJ was given the task of developing the licensing process for the eight so called municipal licences - casinos which had been run by the local municipal governments
P34 WIRE / PULSE / INSIGHT / REPORTS
and put them under the supervision of the board. Delays were caused by legal measures as operators sought to protect their interests in the local courts which led to considerable acrimony between stakeholders and the board.
Although the process was beset by a great many legal setbacks overall there has been significant investment as many municipal casinos are located in popular tourist destinations. In June 2018, the Deciding Council of SJC awarded five municipal casino licences with Enjoy winning four licences and Sun Dreams the other. According to the statement issued by the board at the time, the total amount of the winning bids combined exceeded the minimum financial bid by as much as 68 per cent. However, a small number of municipal licences are still being
processed as they failed to attract sufficient interest amongst operators.
Te SJC is now in the process of the third major licensing process. In Chile, casino licences for the casinos that were built from 2005, under law No. 19.995, are up for renewal in a multi- million dollar tender. While there have been significant delays caused by Covid-19, and yet more legal wrangling in the courts, the new tender process will undoubtedly bring in significant investment into the land-based sector.
In May 2021, the SCJ confirmed that it would be re-launching its process of granting licences for the operation of casinos, which had been suspended since 27 July 2020 due to the
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