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Chile – Mayor to lobby for casino licence in the City of La Serena

By - 18 February 2018

The Mayor of the Chilean city of La Serena in the region of Coquimbo, Roberto Jacob, has said that it is ‘unfair’ that only some communes in Chile have the right to have a casino in their territory and receive as a consequence more than $5bn pesos per year due to the additional revenue they generate.

The Mayor informed local councillors that he will soon begin conversations with parliamentarians in the area, in order to seek changes to current legislation, which would allow for the building of a casino. Local councillors have given the mayor backing for his proposal meaning that Jacob will shortly begin talks with legislators from all parties, in order to push for the relevant legal changes. Gaming laws in Chile currently prohibit the construction of a casino unless it is 60 kilometres away from another casino.

“I think it is a tremendous injustice that other communes receive over five billion pesos a year, tilting the balance of the budget much more favourably for them. I’m glad they have it, but why can not La Serena have a casino, which is a tourist city, just because of the famous restriction of 60 kilometres?” Jacob told El Día newspaper.

Jacob said that the city of La Serena is a tourist destination like other coastal resorts such as Viña del Mar, which has a casino. In addition, casinos could also be permitted elsewhere in the country if changes to the law were made. Casinos would he said generate enough in a year to pay off the municipal debt of the commune of La Sirena. To this end, “I will make all the necessary arrangements, because La Serena deserves to have a casino,” he said.

When asked if he considered that it would be profitable to install a casino when they are already present in the cities of Coquimbo and in Ovalle, which are in the same region, the Mayor explained that it would. “This is the same as supermarkets, people say why so many, but there are clients for them all, therefore, it will be profitable in any case, adding up the number of tourists that arrive in the city.”

La Serena is a city and commune in northern Chile and capital of the Coquimbo Region. Founded in 1544, it is the country’s second oldest city after the national capital, Santiago. The city is an important tourist destination, especially during the summer. La Serena is experiencing marked development, centred on tourism, thanks to the great variety of its cultural and natural resources, as well as its well-known beaches along the Avenida del Mar.

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