Supplier News
Chile – Chile publishes details for Municipal Tender Process
By Phil - 8 March 2016
The Chilean Gaming Board (SJC) has published the requirements for the upcoming tender process for the municipal casino licences.
In a statement published on its website the SJC’s Resolution Council lays 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$526,000 (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.
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.
The SJC’s Resolution Council confirmed that the casinos in Arica, Iquique and Vina del Mar will continue to be housed in the municipal buildings which are already built and intended for this purpose but operators will be permitted to renovate and expand upon these properties.
The seven new licences are available after President Michelle Bachelet signed into law new regulations, which extend the licenses of the seven municipal casinos in Chile. The new rules extend the licenses until December 2017 in the districts of Vina del Mar, Arica, Iquique, Puerto Varas, Coquimbo, Pucon and Puerto Natales, which all expired on December 31, 2015. Once these licences expire the statute provides that from that date onwards, those municipalities will continue to be a home to a casino for a total of three periods of 15 years each and the new casinos will come under the supervision of the SJC. 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.
