Operator News
Argentina – Eight operators interested in Buenos Aires slot tender
By Phil - 4 April 2018
Eight companies have so far expressed an interest in taking part in the upcoming licensing process for the slot machines in the casinos in Buenos Aires province.
According to local daily La Nación, Codere, Enjoy and Boldt (the current operator of the slot machines in the casinos in the province) are amongst the companies that have bought the terms and conditions in return for $500,000 with companies based in Paraguay and Brazil also taking part.
The seven casinos will be tendered in three lots, which combine the most and least profitable rooms, so that there are offers for all of the casinos. The tender for slots for the Trilenium in the city of Tigre (the largest casino by far) will be tendered alongside the casino in the coastal resort of Pinamar. The slots in the Central casino in the resort city of Mar del Plata will be tendered alongside Monte Hermoso, while slots for the Hermitage casino (also in Mar del Plata) will be tendered alongside the slots in the casinos in the cities of Tandil and Miramar.
The first company to buy the terms and condition was Boldt SA. Boldt operates 2,600 slot machines in the province of Buenos Aires. The second company to sign up was Yojne SA, an anagram of Enjoy, the Chilean firm that owns the Conrad of Punta del Este and the Mendoza casino. The third list was acquired by Codere. Smaller locally based companies, Bingo Pilar SA and Victoria Casino also bought the terms and conditions.
Under current rules, operators of the slots of the Buenos Aires casinos are left with around 55 per cent of the “net win” generated by slot machines. The province receives the remaining 45 per cent per cent of this but must pay for maintenance, salaries and uniforms as well as services and security. Unlike bingo halls, casinos belong to the province.
The opening of envelopes was scheduled for last Tuesday, but has been extended and will now be held between June 11 and 27 in the Office of Provincial Administration and Finance. Licences will run for a period of twenty years, with the possibility of an extension for one additional year.
The tender process for the 3,860 slot machines operating in the seven casinos was made official after Resolution 34/2018 appeared on January 30 in the government’s Official Gazette. According to the resolution, the new operator will need to invest in much needed building and infrastructure improvements and is permitted to build additional entertainment facilities.
The purpose of the tender will be to “contract the provision and maintenance of automated gaming machines, the on-line control of the same, the remodelling, construction and / or cession and enhancement of the different gaming rooms and a variety of complementary services and annexes to gaming activity ” according to the resolution. The last casino tender in Buenos Aires province was in 1999, and since then all licence extensions and licences have been granted by resolutions or by decree.
