Wire SOUTH AMERICA
Argentina - Licences renewed in Salta Four operators have had their licences extended for a further 10 years in the province of Salta. Although a new bidding process was expected, since the concessions were set to expired in two years, the Salta authorities announced that it had extended the licence extensions ahead of schedule to Tecno Acción, New Star, New Gaming and Gammalink .
The Minister of Production and Sustainable Development, Martín De los Ríos Plaza, commented that the extension "will not only have a favourable impact on maintaining the support of numerous families from Salta who directly or indirectly work in that area, but it will also generate new sources of work. The linking of recreational activity to tourism will provide those who visit us with a new source of entertainment; to which must be added that the adaptation of the license to the new requirements will mean greater tax collection, benefiting society as a whole.”
The measure was also supported by the lieutenant governor of Salta, Antonio Marocco , and the general secretary, Matilde López Morillo . The extension comes into effect before the licences expire in two years so that the "firms can adapt to new regulations in place.” As part of the agreement the casinos will need to modernise their computer systems and carry out extensive remodelling as well as hire and train new staff.
Argentina - Government appeals CAI claim The Argentine government has filed an appeal against the compensation awarded to Casinos Austria International (CAI) in November 2021. The Treasury Attorney made an appeal against the judgment of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes at the World Bank (ICSID). There are around 29 casinos and slot parlours in Salta. The majority are stand alone slot parlours. In November, ICSID awarded Casinos Austria International around US$36m in its action against the state of Argentina after a five-year battle for compensation. Casinos Austria's original claim against the province of Salta was for an amount of US$150m.
Colombia - EGT Interactive partners Rivalo EGT Interactive is strengthening its position in the Colombian iGaming market after signing a partnership with operator,
Rivalo.co.
“We are extremely proud to expand our Colombian presence with such a prominent operator as Rivalo,” said Ivo Georgiev, the Managing Director of EGT Interactive. “We are looking forward to seeing this partnership grow, and we are confident the results will exceed our expectations.”
The sports betting and online casino has been operating for more than three years in Colombia and seven years across Latin America. Presenting its new campaign as Colombia’s biggest online casino, the operator is adding EGT Interactive’s portfolio to diversify its offering and attract more players.
P8 WIRE / PULSE / INSIGHT / REPORTS
Lotteries and Sports Betting in Brazil
Te Legislative Chamber of the Federal District approved the creation of the Federal District Lottery. PL No. 2,312/21 covers several types of games.
Te only opponent to this measure, deputy Julia Lucy, questioned the ‘monopoly’ granted to the BRB: ‘Other banks should compete and dispute the service,’ she said.
BRAZIL LEGISLATION
Te Legislative Chamber of the Federal District approved the creation of the Federal District Lottery. PL No. 2,312/21 covers several types of games including instants, a number of different types of lottery draws and sports betting.
Te bill received 27 amendments, 18 of which were accepted. Te approval of a number of amendments had already been agreed upon with the team and the support base of Governor Ibaneis Rocha, which guaranteed a successful vote in the legislative session. Among them, was an amendment that assigned the operation of lottery games to the Banco de Brasília (BRB). BRB is a Brazil-based bank that is controlled by the government of the Federal District.
“In the same way that the Caixa Econômica Federal is responsible for the management of lotteries at the national level, by symmetry, BRB should be responsible for the operation and exploitation of lottery games in the Federal District,” said Deputy Chico Vigilante, author of the amendment.
Deputies who opposed the bill questioned the government's intention to create a local lottery and the way in which the project had been put
forward. “Society wants to understand the reason for this project. We know that, historically, lotteries have often been used for money laundering,” said lawmaker Fábio Felix. “In addition, it has become a 'patchwork quilt': the money raised goes to health, to education, to culture, to sports, to assistance, it goes to everything," he said.
Te expansion of the sector on a state-by-state level was only made possible by the Supreme Court. In September 2020, the Supreme Court of Brazil ruled that the federal government's lottery monopoly was unconstitutional, paving the way for states to develop state lotteries for each of Brazil's 26 states and one federal district as long as they comply with federal regulations. Tis means that current operators can extend their offerings while states will begin to roll out their own lottery products within their borders.
Te STF decision could also open up the sports betting market. Online and land based sports betting was permitted by the federal government in December 2018 via Law No. 13,758/18. Sports betting was categorised as a lottery. Consequently all states could possibly operate sports betting within their territories.
Chile Enjoy withdraws from tender in Antofagasta
Te Gaming Board (SJC) has revealed that Enjoy has withdrawn from the tender for the casino licence in Antofagasta. "Te withdrawal of the offer by Antofagasta is based on a responsible decision made by the company, after considering the high costs, demands and high requirements for the issuance of guarantees necessary to continue with the application process," Enjoy said.
According to the company, the decision was made in order to “protect its financial stability, sources of employment and focus efforts on future business projections." Tese "have been the main reasons for this withdrawal, which is only limited to the Antofagasta process, in which Enjoy was the only bidder, therefore not affecting the rest of the bidding processes in which Enjoy is currently taking part.
“Lastly, we want to reinforce our commitment and interest in maintaining Enjoy's presence in the city of Antofagasta, for which we will continue to work with passion and enthusiasm, confident that we will later find better conditions for issuing the guarantees that the new application process.”
Enjoy was the only bidder for Antofagasta, so the SCJ will have to restart the process to find a new interested party. Te board stated that it would now begin a new tender for the casino. For its part, the Superintendence also reported that Operación El Escorial S.A withdrew its application for an operating permit in Antofagasta, and that "the technical evaluation of twelve applicant projects continues, which were presented at the public hearings held on October 18 and November 19, 2021 and January 7 of this year.”
Colombia
Te President of the Colombian gambling control board (Coljuegos) César Augusto Valencia Galiano, announced that during the first quarter of 2022 the board registered record revenues in gambling licensing fees. As of March, he said that the government had collected around COP$170,062m - an increase of 17 per cent compared to the same period the previous year. Of this total, “Juegos Localizados” which include bingos, slot parlours and casinos had contributed COP$71,525m, online gaming COP$50,045m, the Baloto Revancha lottery COP$17,703m and the Super Astro lottery COP$29,707m. In the case of games such as lotteries, Chance and Raspa y Listo (instants), sales in the first quarter of 2022 reached $794,790m - a growth of 22.6 per cent.
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