Noticias del operador

Chile – Results of Chile’s municipal casino tender due in June

The results of the tender for the seven Chilean municipal casinos are now expected to be announced between June 1st and June 19th, according to local press.

Casinos licences are up for tender in the municipalities of Arica, Iquique, Coquimbo, Viña del Mar, pictured, Pucón, Puerto Varas and Puerto Natales. While only two operators Enjoy and Sun Dreams have made bids for the largest casinos, it is believed that the tender process will have a huge impact on the industry. In 2017, the municipal casinos generated revenues of US$224m.

The technical and economic hearings for those communes affected by the new licences was held between September 25th and October 12th. Once this was over the Chilean Gaming Board (SJC) began its technical evaluation of the new casinos projects. The SJC has 120 working days to complete this stage of the process, which ends between 20th March and April 6th 2018. The results will then be put forward to the Resolution Council, the body in charge of ratifying or requesting revisions. The Resolution Council then has forty days to review and if a revision of the scores is required, the SCJ must respond within a maximum period of five days. Once the evaluation is completed and the scores awarded, the SJC must dictate a resolution indicating the final scores for each of the applicants and call a hearing for the financial stage of the bidding process.

Según estimaciones publicadas por el SJC, el nuevo proceso de licitación podría ayudar a aumentar los ingresos fiscales generados para el estado por los nuevos casinos hasta en un 46 por ciento en promedio, mientras que los ingresos brutos del juego (que se dividirán en partes iguales entre el municipio y el estado donde está ubicado el casino) aumentará en un 20 por ciento.

In March 2016, the SJC published the requirements for the tender process for the municipal casino licences. In a statement published on its website the SJC’s Resolution Council laid down the minimum requirements for the new licences including a guaranteed minimum financial bid depending on the size and location of the new casino. This varies from US$526 thousand (for the casino located in Puerto Natales) to a maximum of US$22.3m (for the casino located in Vina del Mar) in order to “foster greater competition” within the industry. In addition, the SJC will take into account and welcome any additional projects connected to the casino, which will improve tourist infrastructure.

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.

However the process which has been fraught with controversy. In October 2016, 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. Companies such as Campos del Norte S.A, Inmobiliaria Proyecto Integral Coquimbo, Inversiones del Sur S.A. and Inversiones Marina del Sol had pointed out a number of shortcomings as well as a lack of information when it came to the process initiated by the SJC via the Santiago Appeals Court. They also warned that the demands put on operators applying for the casino licences were excessive and would make the businesses unprofitable. However, at the end of May 2017 the Supreme Court unanimously rejected the writs of amparo, a remedy for the protection of their constitutional rights put forward by investors – meaning that the licensing process could go ahead.

Los proyectos para las nuevas licencias municipales recibirán puntos y serán juzgados según una amplia variedad de criterios por parte de diferentes ramas del gobierno, incluidos los gobiernos locales y regionales, la Oficina de Turismo, el Ministerio del Interior y Seguridad Pública y el SJC. Se otorgarán puntos según cómo el casino encajará en las comunidades locales y en la estrategia de desarrollo regional. El SJC también evaluará el proyecto sobre cómo afectará al turismo y tendrá en cuenta la ubicación, el diseño y la calidad de las instalaciones propuestas.