Noticias del operador

Chile – Municipal casinos to remain open until new licences are granted

The Chilean Gaming Control Board (SJC) has issued Circular Number 84 which confirms that the municipal casinos in the communes of Arica, Iquique, Coquimbo, Viña Del Mar, Pucón, Puerto Varas and Natales will remain open until the new operators are ready to take over.

Según un comunicado difundido por la Junta: “La Ley N° 19,995 garantiza la continuidad de los siete casinos municipales por un total de tres períodos de quince años cada uno, establece el procedimiento para el otorgamiento de permisos de funcionamiento para los casos señalados y se refiere a la transición de las concesiones actuales, autoriza la continuidad de la operación de éstas hasta que un nuevo operador –adjudicado bajo el procedimiento indicado por la ley- esté en condiciones de operar”.

La circular ratifica la Ley N° 19,995 (ley de casinos de Chile) en lo que respecta a la prórroga de las licencias municipales. Las siete licencias municipales permanecerán vigentes hasta que el SJC emita un certificado que acredite que los nuevos casinos cumplen con una serie de estrictas obligaciones legales y reglamentarias.

While the statement says that Law Number 19.995 sets a deadline for 31 December 2017 for the municipal governments and the current licence holders to agree on new contracts and extensions, the law according to the SJC, does not actually set December 2017 as the deadline for the new casinos to be operational.
It could provide the SJC some breathing room when it comes to the process of granting new licences which has suffered a number of delays and setbacks. In October last year the SJC announced that it had decided to postpone the hearing for the submission of tenders for the bidding for the municipal casino licences which had been scheduled to take place on November 4th. According to a statement released by the SJC via its website the decision was made while the The Santiago Appeals Court considers a number of motions put forward by investors. Investors have filed a writ of amparo – a remedy for the protection of their constitutional rights. A number of companies have argued that the demands put on operators applying for the casino licences are excessive and would make the businesses unprofitable. According to the statement released by the SJC at the time all seven of the municipal casino licences are now on hold and will resume once the court has made its decision.

According to estimates released by the SJC, the new tender process could help raise tax income generated for the state by the new casinos by as much as 46 per cent on average while gross gaming income (which will be divided equally between the municipality and the state where the casino is located) will increase by 20 per cent. This will herald in a number of new large scale casinos especially as a number of the municipal casino licenses, such as the licence for Vina del Mar, are located in the most popular local tourists destinations.