Operator News

Argentina – Argentina’s government appeals against compensation awarded to Casino Austria

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).

The news was made known through the ICSID General Secretariat, which announced the temporary suspension of the ruling, due to an appeal for annulment made on March 9.

In November the 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$150 million.

The trigger for the long running legal dispute was the withdrawal of the licence for the CAI subsidiary Enjasa by the gambling authority of the province of Salta in August 2013, which was challenged by CAI from the outset. The decision of the arbitration court described the withdrawal of licences as ‘arbitrary and abusive.’

Casinos Austria International had been present in Salta since December 2006 when the company acquired a majority interest in Leisure & Entertainment (L&E) a company that owned 90 per cent of the shares of gaming company Enjasa. Enjasa was given the exclusive right to run gaming in the province after gaming was privatised in Salta in 1998.

Under a deal which was agreed to in October 2013 it was agreed that Casinos Austria would own 100 per cent of Leisure and Entertainment SA – Enjasa’s mother company. Casinos Austria agreed to the deal after discussions with the local government of Salta and agreeing to promote tourism and the entertainment sector in the province. However, in August 2013 then Minister of Economy, Carlos Parodi announced that the company’s license would be revoked due to apparent breeches in