Chile Size of the Illegal Gambling Market
In July 2016 Te Chilean Gaming Board (SJC) released the results of its first ever survey into gaming machines operating outside of casinos.
As part of the study, researchers visited more than 3,000 locally licensed amusement arcades and discovered that more than 33 thousand machines were handing out cash prizes - something which is in direct contravention of Chile’s gaming laws, as according to federal law, slot machines may only be present in casinos. Te study identified a number of different categories of game, which fell into this type. Tese included a wide variation of video poker, lotteries and bingo as well as coin pusher games.
Te study did not take into account the large number of small businesses and shops, which also house illegal slot machines. Known locally as ‘casinos of the people’ or ‘neighbourhood slots’ there could be more than 50,000 slot machines located in small businesses and shops in Chile.
Current Measures in Place
Te rise of illegal slot machines in licensed arcades is down to local municipalities as local governments have allowed them to operate in their jurisdictions but have not drawn a clear line between machines that award prizes and those that have an element of skill involved (skill with prizes machines) and slot machines. Subsequently, a great many slot parlors house both with revenue increasingly deriving from the latter.
Outlook
Chile Market While new rules are in place not much has actually changed so far regarding the current illegal gaming landscape. However the new rules certainly provide more clarity on the issue and could help local governments in their crackdown against illegal gambling in the future. Tis has already proven to be the case as in May 2017 an appeal filed by a slot parlour operator was rejected by the Court of Appeals in the Coquimbo region. Te operator had lodged the appeal in protest against fines and closures by the municipal government of Ovalle arguing that it infringed upon their constitutional rights.
In what could be an important development in the SJC’s ongoing battle against illegal gaming, the court ruled unanimously, that the municipal government of Ovalle had neither acted in an arbitrary nor illegal manner when it had closed the business for offering slot machines outside of its licence to run "billiards and electronic games." Te resolution adds that it should be the leasing company of electronic games, which must collect the report issued by the SJC, which will define if the electronic device on site
corresponds to a gambling machine or not which is in keeping with new rules set forth by the Office of the Comptroller General.
In addition a number of municipalities are strengthening measures against illegal gaming. Municipal government such as in the city of Chillán, Ovalle and Valparaíso are continuing to try to close down illegal slot parlours via the courts, as well as via on site inspections and the enforcement of new rules designed to eliminate illegal gambling as set down by the new ruling made by the Office of the Comptroller General. Indeed Valparaiso is currently cracking down on illegal slot parlours with over 50 closures over recent months.
In addition, in November 2017 the Constitutional Court of Chile rejected a motion put forward by Te Association of Operators, Manufacturers and Importers of Electronic Entertainment (FIDEN) against the Office of the Comptroller General when it comes to slot machines. FIDEN an interest group for the SWP (Skill with Prizes) industry had sought to deny the Office of the Comptroller General the right to force municipal governments to deny the granting or renewal of licences that allow for slot parlours in their territory.
In the past, local rules applicable to AWP machines have resulted in protracted legal battles with owners taking the issue to appeals courts whenever local municipalities have tried to close them down.
In January 2017 the Office of the Comptroller General of Chile issued a statement clarifying the procedure for the municipal governments when it comes to defining when machines should be classed as gambling machines. Te new guidelines indicate that the municipalities should ask those interested in obtaining permission to operate electronic gaming machines, to obtain a report from the SJC stating that prizes are not handed out randomly by the electronic machines on their premises.
Te rules give the SJC the right to determine what constitutes random and what constitutes entertainment machines and state that only certifications issued by gaming laboratories approved by the SJC have the capacity to verify conclusively if a machine is either a gambling machine or if the result depends on an element of skill. Te Office of the Comptroller General now considers that municipal governments must follow the new guidelines as the only guide when it comes to how they define gambling and non-gambling machines in their respective jurisdictions..
NEWSWIRE / INTERACTIVE / MARKET DATA P53
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92
