INSIGHT LATIN AMERICA


Emerging Markets Hot Tamales


What do the tumultuous changes taking place in Latin America mean for the gambling industry? Which markets in LatAm are showing real signs of regulatory change? What are the chances


that new regulations will be passed and what can we expect to see from some of the emerging markets in the near future?


Tere have been a number of surprising developments in the Latin America gambling market. Most notable of all has to be Venezuela. For over a decade there has been hardly any news from the gambling sector. Now as many as thirty casinos have opened up. In other jurisdictions such as Ecuador, where left wing populist Rafael Correa also banned casinos and all gambling back in 2010, the new government is looking at bringing them back.


Tese are two major reversals when it comes to the casino industry. In Venezuela’s case it is yet more indication that the socialist and oppressive policies of President Nicolás Maduro - not to mention corruption on an almost unimaginable scale - has failed. In Ecuador it reflects a broader swing from left wing policies to the market friendly polices now being embraced by the new government. Ecuador’s conservative former banker Guillermo Lasso has to steer a very fine line so as to get his pro-market reforms through parliament.


Guatemala is also showing a distinct shift to the right. Conservative President Alejandro Giammattei is aiming to put in place a business-friendly agenda and economic reforms saying he will focus on promoting private-sector investment. Again this will be a difficult task: popular discontent is mounting amidst a failed vaccine rollout and a corruption scandal.


Centre right policies have failed in other countries in the region. In December 2015, Argentine President Mauricio Macri planned to kick-start the economy using traditional free market measures such as cutting government spending and borrowing from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Unfortunately Macri only managed to put the country in record debt with the IMF and lost the election four years later.


P26 WIRE / PULSE / INSIGHT / REPORTS


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