Operator News

Argentina – Río Negro approves large scale casino and extends existing licences

By Phil - 20 December 2017

The government of the province of Río Negro has presented the final agreement with local operator Crown to extend its licence agreement with seven gambling halls in the province.

In return, the company will build a hotel casino complex called the Paseo Sol del Río in capital Viedma. The licence will run until 2042.

Crown will invest around $450m in the new complex which will include a casino, a 54 room hotel, a food court, a convention centre for more than 500 people, a shopping centre and a casino, which according to the architects of the new hotel, will only take up 6 per cent of the new complex. In return, Crown requested and was granted a 10-year extension of its licences for its operations in Las Grutas, El Cóndor, Viedma, Cipolletti, Roca, Choele Choel and Catriel. Construction work should be complete within three years.

Crown will sign a contract with local football club Sol de Mayo for the transfer of two hectares of waterfront land. Members of the club approved the offer in May 2016. In return, the club will receive a $114m facelift including work on the football grounds, the swimming pool as well as other infrastructure works (which will be part of the total $450m budget for the new complex). The current casino in the provincial capital has until now operated in a rented property.

Gaming in the province continues to play an ever-important role in the local economy and earlier this year the governor of Rio Negro, Alberto Weretilneck announced that he had signed an agreement with another local gaming company Entretenimientos Patagonia S.A to extend the licence of gaming halls in the cities of Bariloche, El Bolson and Ingeniero Jacobacci for another 15 years. In addition to an increase in the monthly fee, the operator also agreed to build a new bus terminal in the city of Bariloche as well as fund the building of other public works.