SOUTH AMERICA
Uruguay - Casinos del Estado reopens casinos Uruguay casino group Casinos del Estado, which currently runs 32 casinos throughout the country, is closing in on a protocol to reopen all of its gaming floors. Gustavo Anselmi, General Director of Casinos del Estado, said: "We are finishing the protocol. It has already been presented to the gaming room’s union, we have received their comments on it, and we are making new contributions. On Friday this week we will send it to the Ministry of Public Health (MSP). After the MSP responds, it will go to the expert committee and they will say when t will be possible to get back to normal in casinos. Today I don't have a date; that depends on them.”
Casinos hope to reopen with a ‘50 per cent limit on capacity.’ Slot machines will be separated from each other in order to comply with the social distancing recommended by the government. In addition, to enter the casinos, people must comply with strict hygiene measures. "At the entrance there will be a stand with alcohol gel and a mat to wipe off the footwear. All those who enter, public and officials, will have to do it with face masks. Furthermore, everyone will get their temperature controlled," Mr. Anselmi added. The casinos, which have been out of operation for almost two months, have 1,100 employees of which 950 of them are dedicated solely to the casinos
Colombia - Covid-19 closures cost US$15m Colombian trade association Fecoljuegos has said that the shutdown of bingo and casino sectors have cost the health sector US$15m in contributions. The Colombian government has allowed some sectors to reopen, casinos and bingo halls remain shut. Fecoljuegos President Evert Montero Cardena, said: “The 365 concessionaires who are authorised to operate 2,765 establishments, represent more than 60 per cent of the revenue that Coljuegos perceives in taxes. In 2019, this vertical sent around $100m to the health sector and $45m from taxes to the public finances. Operators are looking for ways to reduce expenses in order to guarantee employees’ payrolls and protect the 60,000 jobs that this sector generates. We also have to mention the lack of access to financial institutions, since they’re not granting credit lines for the gambling industry.”
“Although the establishments are closed, the operators continue to work because they are committed to resuming activity with the corporate responsibility that the situation warrants. We do not want to improvise because what is at stake is the health of employees, clients and their families For this reason, we have signed a contract with an expert biosafety consultant to make a protocol with the sanitary measures required by the Ministry of Health and that adjust to the operation of the gambling halls, as well as, we are training the personnel of the casinos and bingos to provide sufficient trust and guarantee to the players," he added.
Colombia could launch its new live dealer sector as early as June according to Juan B Pérez Hidalgo, President of Colombian regulator Coljuegos. Mr. Hidalgo said: “The National Gaming Council has already approved live casino, which allows you to play at the tables, but virtually. We have also enabled the online sale of the Super Astro and the Baloto. I think all this will be enabled in a month.”
P8 NEWSWIRE / INTERACTIVE / MARKET DATA
As Enjoy seeks a three year delay to the development of municipal casinos licences won in the 2019, Chile’s regulator remains unmoved
CHILE CASINO LICENCES Chile’s Regulator Unable to Help Enjoy
Chile’s gaming regulator Superintendencia de Casinos de Juego (SCJ), has said that due to restrictions with legislation, it’s unable to help casino operator Enjoy
Vivien Villagrán, Head of Chile’s gaming regulator Superintendencia de Casinos de Juego (SCJ), has said that due to restrictions with legislation, she is unable to help casino operator Enjoy as it looks to delay the development of municipal casinos licences won in 2019.
Enjoy said it needed at least a three year extension to launch four municipal casinos in Coquimbo, Viña del Mar, Pucón and Puerto Varas. Te operator has said the current economic situation caused by the COVID-19 outbreak have made it impossible for it to comply with the projects committed to in the tender. It also confirmed it is planning a judicial reorganisation to protect its gaming empires in Chile, Argentina and Uruguay, which have now been shut for a month due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Ms. Villagrán said: “Te law is clear and leaves no room for a different interpretation. I have no powers to do what they are asking of me to
because there is no provision in the Law.”
Enjoy had put forward three alternative solutions: “First, if allowed, the licensing permits to have another tender process. Second, an extension of the current casino licences held in the municipalities with terms for starting projected operations and the new tender processes to begin for a five-year period. And third, that SCJ authorise an additional extension of at least three years for the start of operations of the four municipal casinos (for which Enjoy won tenders), a period described by Enjoy as the “minimum period” for its financial recovery.”
Ms Villagrán added: “Enjoy has all the alternatives established by the Law at the stage where they find themselves, and as they have not yet begun operations, they may waive the permit or, eventually, they could dissolve the operating company. It is obvious that the moment in which that happens, the SCJ forecloses on the relevant warranties.”
Argentina Land-based protests Buenos Aires online law
Puerto Rico
Land-based casino operators in Argentina are looking to block the arrival of new gaming operators in the region through the online sector with a judge agreeing that the Loteria de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires (LOTBA), the local regulator, should not give licences to new companies.
Manuel Lao, Founder of the Cirsa subsidiary that runs the floating casino in Puerto Madero, Federico de Achával and Ricardo Benedicto, operators of the Hipódromo Argentino de Palermo casino, united to file an injunction against LOTBA.
Te injunction from the united operators states: “Te decision to
hold an application process to grant supposed online gambling permits to private operators, would violate federal legislation that established that the regulation of gambling falls within the scope of the City of Buenos Aires.”
Online operators have been applying to LOTBA for licences with land-based casinos unable to apply due to current legislation.
Te Association of the Personnel of Racetracks, Agencies, Gambling and Related (Aphara) said in April the new online sector could jeopardise thousands of jobs. Diego Quiroga, Head of the association, said online gambling could cause ‘serious occupational risks.’
Te Puerto Rican Sports and Video Games Association (PRSVGA) wants Governor Wanda Vázquez Garced to allow esports into the country to generate new revenue for the island following effects of COVID-19. It believes emergency regulation could be introduced to permit esports to help fill the void in revenues from land- based gambling companies. Gerardo Mora Pérez, Executive Director of the PRSVGA, said: “Given the minimal risk of spread, the potential of esports in the world and especially in the US, it could be added to the urgent need for new revenues in the first phase of reopening.” Te association highlighted how introduced new laws to allow for new gambling verticals during the pandemic. Mr. Pérez: “Only two states, New Jersey and Nevada, have established new strategies during the pandemic to formalise online sports and betting. We know that, due to the emergency, Puerto Rico’s income has plummeted and the online gambling industry is a viable option, as it also complies with the social distancing rules.”
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