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opened the first floating casino. Just fiveminutes from the Buenos Aires city centrethe ship is located in Puerto Madero.

The concession for the casino was givento Casino Buenos Aires SA and today itoperates via the Estrella de la Fortuna andPrincess boats which are replicas of thetraditional casinos, which went along theMississippi. Both ships can go along theRio de la Plata and anchor in the Port.

The casino has a capacity for 1,700

SouthAmericaSpecial

Originally, Argentina was populated by scattered groups ofIndians when Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci arrived inthe country in 1502.

Juan Diaz de Solis of Spain was hot on his heels and in1516, Vespucci was killed and over the next few decadesthe Spanish began to build settlements despite resistancefrom the indigenous Indians.

A permanent Spanish settlement was finally establishednear present day Buenos Aires in 1580 and 200 years latera Spanish monarchy was established.

In 1816, the United Provinces of the Rio Plata declaredtheir independence from Spain and after Bolivia, Paraguayand Uruguay went their separate ways, the area thatremained became Argentina.

For many years, Argentina suffered border disputes andwars. By the 19th century levels of peace were restoredand the Europeans (especially Spanish and Italians), beganto move in and Argentina began to emerge as one of theleading South American nations.

After World War II, the era of ‘Peronist’ authoritarian rulebegan. But as the rule of Juan Peron and his wife Evacollapsed, the last traces of military leadership faded awaywith the defeat to the British during the Falkland Islandswar. Democracy returned in 1983.

Despite various challenges including the severe economiccrisis in 2001/02, democracy has persisted and theeconomy has recovered strongly.

GAMING INARGENTINASince 1989 Argentina’s government has embracedprivatisation following the economically turbulent years ofthe 1980s.

This was thanks to former president Carlos Menem, whonot only began a programme of privatisation of stateowned businesses, but enabled the currency to be peggedto the US dollar.

With this came the decision to set up a structure similar tothe US where each of the 23 Argentinean Provinces aregiven the autonomy to regulate their gaming industrywithin its jurisdiction.

Therefore, there are currently 23 gaming authorities. plusthe federal gaming authority, known as the National StateLottery Company.

Usually, the provinces hold a public bidding process toaward operation concessions to a single company, whichgives the winning company an exclusive monopoly.

The Loteria Nacional Sociedad del Estado (LNSE - NationalState Lottery Company) was originally created back in1893 to aid social economic problems.

ArgentinaArgentina has see-sawed between stateand private control of its gaming industrybut is currently enjoying a boom period

SouthAmericaSpecial

machines and 99 table games and is open24 hours a day with free entry. ThePrincess is only equipped with slots and itis managed by Spain’s Cirsa group.

In 1993, the National Lottery wasauthorised to open five bingo halls in thefederal capital and these are located inthe centre and districts of Belgrano,Congreso, Caballito and Flores.

In 1988, an agreement was put into effectwith the National Lottery (law 10,756),which meant the province de BuenosAires would pay a 35 per cent royalty ofnet profits for their casino operations.

The Loteria de la Provincia de BuenosAires is an independent entity thatoperates gaming in the Buenos Airesprovince, including bingo halls, casinosand horse racing tracks.

In 1992, a new agreement between thetwo was signed that established anextension of this agreement and in 1993 adecree enabled the Buenos Airesgovernment to operate casinos in thisjurisdiction and this was followed by theopening of the Trilennium.

In the Buenos Aires province there arenow 11 casinos including: Trilennium,Casino Central Mar del Plata, HotelCasino Hermitage, Casino Mar de Ajo,Casino Miramar, Casino Monte Hermoso,Casino Necochea, Casino Pinamar, CasinoSierra de la Ventana, Casino Tandil andCasino Valeria del Mar.

Meanwhile, the Loteria de la Provinciawas also given permission to operatebingos in 32 districts in Buenos Airesunder the law 11,018.

Today, there are 46 halls in 31 districts.Each hall can have a minimum of fiveand a maximum of 15 slots and playersmust have a minimum of three bingocartons to play.

In addition, the group operates theHipodromos de La Plata, San Isidro,Tandil, Azul and Mar del Plata. In Marchlast year, the group was given permissionto re-open the Hipodromo de Tandil after22 years of it being closed. The site wasfounded in 1866 and was the first racetrack in South America.

The agencies for the provincialhipodromos are distributed throughoutthe country. There are 55 provincialagencies, 58 local distributors in thecountry and four in Uruguay. There arealso 3,070 official lottery sales officesthroughout the Buenos Aires province.

In 1993, the firstBingo hall, Bingo

Lavallewas openedand in 2002 theHipodromo dePalermowas

granted permissionto operate slots and

today there are3,000 slots in this

location alone.

In 1944, the national government tookover the casinos, gaming halls andrelaxation centres and put the nationallottery in charge of its administration andoperation.

This began with halls operating in thecities of Mar del Plata (Casino Central,Anexos I and II), Necochea and Miramar(Buenos Aires), extending later to halls inIguazu (Misiones) Resistencia and RoqueSaenz Peña (Chaco), Alta Gracia and LaCumbre (Cordoba), Parana (Entre Rios),

Bariloche and Las Grutas (Rio Negro),Puerto Madryn and Comodoro Rivadavia(Chubut), Tandil, Monte Hermoso, Sierrade la Ventana and Pinamar (BuenosAires) – administrating a total of 18 halls.

It has also operated the horse racingtracks at Palermo and San Isidro since1953. In 1992, the state gave theconcession to HAPSA company whoundertook a renovation programme.

In 1971, it launched the football pools

and in 1990 the national lottery wasturned over to the Sociedad del Estado,which undertook a modernisationprogramme of the operation andadministration.

In 1993, the first Bingo hall, Bingo Lavallewas opened and in 2002 the Hipodromode Palermo was granted permission tooperate slots and today there are 3,000slots in this location alone.

In October 1999, the National Lottery

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Meanwhile, in the north western provinceof Chaco, Loteria Chaqueña, hasannounced that both local and foreigncompanies can now bid for tenderdocuments for three casinos in thedistricts of Charata, Castelli y General SanMartin.

The winning bids will be expected to payroyalties to the province of at least 30 percent. If private operators fail to win thebid, the casinos would continue to beoperated by the lottery organisation on aprivate basis.

Currently, there are more than 70 casinosand 150 bingo halls in Argentina andnumerous betting shops. The gamingsector has doubled in the last two yearsand the manufacture of equipment movesaround US$100m per year.

The industry has generated an estimatedUS$42.bn. There are around 31,800 slotmachines and 1,200 roulette tables.

Major operating groups now in Argentina,apart from the lottery associations,include:

Boldt Gaming, which builds and runscasinos in Argentina, including the largestcasino in Latin America, the Trilenium.Profits from this casino are allocated bythe Provincial Lottery and Casino Entityamong welfare activities.

The Trilenium Casino offers 22,000sq.m.of gaming distributed on three floors.There are a total of 1,900 reel and videoslot machines, electronic roulettes, RoyalAscot and 76 table games, including:roulette, Punto y Banca, Blackjack, Craps

Boldt Gaming, whichbuilds and runs

casinos in Argentina,including the largest

casino in LatinAmerica, the

Trilenium. Profitsfrom this casino are

allocated by theProvincial Lotteryand Casino Entity

amongwelfareactivities.

and poker. The casino receives around250,000 visitors per month.

The casino has recently increased its slotrange with the installation of new videoreel slots from the Blue Bird series byWMS Gaming.

Boldt also operates more than 1,200 slotsin casinos in the cities of Mar del PlataCentral, Miramar, Mar de Ajo, Pinamar,Valeria del Mar and Necochea for theBuenos Aires Provincial Lottery andCasino Entity.

Recently, the company, together withInversama SA, acquired the Casino PuertoSanta Fe for almost US$14m, which waspreviously owned by Grainco SA.

Chilean casino operator, Enjoy, has joined

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TheWorest Groupobtained the

concession tooperate casinos in1992 via a casino in

the city ofCorrientes. This

followedwithfurther casinos

across the countryand today the grouphas seven casinos.

ARGENTINA: VITALSTATISTICSCapital: Buenos AiresPopulation: 40,301,927(July 2007)Land Area: 2,736,690 sq.kmMedian age: 29.9 yearsLanguages: Spanish (official),English, Italian, German, FrenchCurrency: Argentine Peso (ARS)Government: RepublicLand Divisions: 23 provinces andone autonomous city (Buenos AiresCapital Federal)

No. Casinos: Approx 70Gaming Machines: 31,800Bingo Halls: 150Gaming Board:www.loteria-nacional.gov.arLottery:www.loteria-nacional.gov.ar

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up with Argentinean businessman JulioCamsen to develop and operate a hotel-casino in Mendoza.

Camsen has several companies that areinvolved in real estate projects and joinsEnjoy with a 50 per cent share each.

The hotel will be operated by theSheraton chain while the casino will bemanaged by Enjoy. The project will costaround US$65m and is expected to openby the end of the year. The project willinclude a 180 room hotel, conventioncentres, bars, gym, spa, sky lounge andrestaurant and the casino.

Casino Club is an operator which wasborn in 1991 and today operates 12casinos and 16 slot halls across thecountry.

There is one casino in the province of LaPampa with 328 slots and 34 tables; fourcasinos in the province of Chubut with atotal of 550 slots and 31 tables; one inprovince of Misiones with 147 slots and10 tables; one in La Rioja with 146 slotsand nine tables; one in Mendoza with 193slots and nine tables; two in Tierra delFuego with a total of 251 slots and 18tables and two in Santa Cruz with a totalof 273 slots and 17 tables.

The Worest Group obtained theconcession to operate casinos in 1992 viaa casino in the city of Corrientes. Thisfollowed with further casinos across thecountry and today the group has sevencasinos.

Slot Machines SA is a company whichoperates gaming halls in Argentina, the

majority of which are located in the SanLuis province.

Locations in San Luis include GoldenPalace branded casinos in San Luis andNecochea; the first themed casino calledNew York Casino in San Luis, CasinoTropicana brand with six locations in SanLuis, a Flamingo slot hall, the AmerianPalace Hotel Casino, Golden Plaza casinoand a new Casino Dos Venados brandwhich opened recently in Villa de Merlo,San Luis. The new casino includes a slothall, VIP room, Bingo, restaurant and artgallery.

Casino Magic Hotel & Casino is part ofthe Pinnacle Entertainment group and hascasinos and hotels in Nevada, Indiana,Missouri, Europe and the Bahamas.

The company won the contract to operatea casino in Neuquen and two slot halls inSan Martin de los Andes and Junin de losAndes.

Casinos del Litoral SA was born in 1991and opened the Casino de Corrientes inthis year which was the first privatisedcasino in Argentina. It has 28 roulettetables and 30 card tables and 1,014 slots.

The company now also has casinos in thecities of Goya, Bella Vista, Esquina andSanto Tome. It also operates a casino viaa company in Paraguay.

SouthAmericaSpecial

churches and police stations. No gamesof chance or indoor games arepermitted. Again the game rooms comeunder the following zones:

Zone I – games rooms must be aminimum of 800 sq.m

Zone II – game rooms must be aminimum of 400 sq.m

Zone III – Game rooms must be aminimum of 200 sq.m

Games rooms are classified as luxury,first, second and third category locations.

SouthAmericaSpecial

Before the great Inca empire began its conquest in 1463 ofwhat is now known as Ecuador, the country waspopulated by indigenous Indian tribes, which were often atwar with one another.

The Spanish discovered and conquered Ecuador in 1533and ruled for the next two centuries. Quito became a seatof Spanish colonial government in 1563 and part of theViceroyalty of New Granada in 1717.

At the same time, the Spanish also brought with themsmallpox and measles, which wiped out much of theindigenous Indian population.

After a severe depression throughout most of the 18thCentury, Ecuador began its struggle for freedom andindependence was finally achieved in 1830. Over the next140 years a series of military and political groups ruled theEcuador landscape.

Between 1904 and 1942, Ecuador lost territories inconflicts with its neighbours and even though the countrymarked 25 years of civilian governance in 2004, the periodhas been marred by political instability. Seven presidentshave governed the country since 1996.

Today, the indigenous population mixed with those ofEuropean descent give Ecuador a unique cultural texture.

Ecuador is still dependent on its petroleum resources,which have accounted for more than half the country’sexport earnings and the economy has been growing since1999/2000’s severe economic crisis.

GAMING INECUADORCasinos first opened in the 1940s in Ecuador with the firstcasino located in the Hotel Majestic in the centre of Quito.

There are now 32 casinos in Ecuador and the sector isregulated by the Ministry of Tourism. The majority arelocated in the regions of Guayas and Pichincha, whichcovers the capital Quito.

The growth of the casino market has been fairly strongover the last few years. In 2006 there were five casinos inQuito and three more luxury casinos opened that yearbringing the total to eight.

However, some of the smaller casinos are now beingforced to close due to competition from the high classluxury casinos.

Ecuador’s gaming law is quite specific and only permitsslots in gaming halls and casinos, while at the same timeonly permiting casinos within high standard hotels.

The gaming law in Ecuador states that:

• Slots can only be operated in casinos and casinos canonly be operated in hotels and according to zones.

Crackdowns on illegal gaming have had amarginal effect in a country stillgrappling with legal issues and dilemmas

In August 2007, the government signed anagreement to look after the wellbeing ofchildren and teenagers by stamping outillegal gaming.

One of the most important points of theagreement was to maintain aninterchange of information about casinosand games rooms and non -tourism sites,which operate slots and other gaming.

In October last year, the governmentundertook an operation to clear thecountry of illegal gaming and a total of1,151 slot machines were seized from 10locations in the cities of Guayaquil, Quito,Loja and Esmeraldas.

And in May this year, some 78 illegalgaming halls in nine provinces wereclosed. The majority of which werelocated in Guayas, Los Rios andPinchincha.

Despite the legislation, small slot parloursare opening up fast and many operateoutside of the law, whilst others manageto operate under special court ordersknown as ‘amparos’.

One such example is the companyTesupe, which is continuing with theconstruction of its casino in the municipalof Malecon Simon Bolivar in Guayaquil.Although the law states that no casinoscan be located outside of a hotel, theMinistry of Tourism has not intervened inthe municipal’s decision to halt works.

Meanwhile, Ecuador’s national lottery isrun by the Junta de Beneficencia ofGuayaquil, a private company that wasfounded back in 1887 by FranciscoCampos Coello.

The idea was to improve the conditionsand lives of the underprivileged living inGuayaquil, the most populated city inEcuador.

Initially, the association relied ondonations until the lottery was created in1894. Revenues from the lottery now gotowards the hospital in and around theGuayaquil province.

However, the National Assembly, whichhas been elected to develop a newconstitution for Ecuador is consideringthe suspension of the national lotterymonopoly, held by the Junta deBeneficenica. The assembly believes thatthe revenues should also be distributed toother hospitals in the country.

There is now a national debate over thesituation as the lottery says the group

In 2005/06 a tenderwas held for the first

Zone I – the cities of Quito andGuayaquil casinos can only be operatedin five star hotels with a minimum of100 rooms. The minimum investmentfor the casino will be US$400,000

Zone II – the provincial capitals willoperate in five and four star hotels witha minimum of 60 rooms. The minimuminitial investment for the casino will beUS$200,000.

Zone III – the capital cities ofAmazonia and remaining cities in thecountry. Casino will be located in fiveand four star hotels with a minimum of50 rooms. Minimum initial investment

will be US$150,000.

Zone IV – Province of Galapagos andterritorial sea, Casinos and gamesrooms are only permitted in passengertourist cruises in the insular zone andterritorial sea if they have a minimumof 40 double cabins.

• Casinos within a ‘luxury’ categorymust have a minimum of threeinternational games whilst ‘firstcategory’ casino must a minimum oftwo international games.

• Casinos which operate in the cities ofQuito and Guayaquil must have a

minimum of six tables and 60 slots andcomplementary services such as bar,security and café.

• For zones II, III and IV the casinosmust have a minimum of three tablesand 30 slots and complementaryservices.

• No casinos can be permitted in theprovince of Galapagos except on thecruise ships as specified above.

• Game rooms (mechanical bingos) canoperate bingo games and are onlypermitted in establishments that aremore than 300m from schools,



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SouthAmericaSpecial

ECUADOR: VITALSTATISTICSCapital: QuitoPopulation: 13,755,680(July 2007)Land Area: 276,840 sq.kmMedian age: 23.9 yearsLanguages: Spanish (official),Amerindian languagesCurrency: US dollar (USD)Government: RepublicLand Divisions: 24 provinces

No. Casinos: 32Casino Slots: Approx 3,000Casino Tables: Approx 250Gaming Board:www.turismo.gov.ecLottery: www.loteria.com.ec

Ecuador

SouthAmericaSpecial

funds more than 50 foundations withcountrywide reach.

ECUADOR’SCASINOS/GAMINGHALLSGUAYASEight luxury class casinos:CASINOCOLON is located in the Hilton Hoteland features 107 slots and nine tablegames. The hotel has 290 rooms

OROVERDEHOTELANDCASINOhas 83 slots and10 tables. The property has fiverestaurants, a bar and hotel with 212rooms

HOTELRAMADAGUAYAQUIL’Scasino has 10slots and six tables. The hotel wasfounded in 1981 and has 76 rooms.

UNIPARKHOTELANDUNICASINOhas 113 slotsand seven tables. The property has sixrestaurants, one bar and hotel with 139rooms.

CASINOSOLoperated by Latin Gaming is inthe Hotel Sheraton with 164 slots and 10gaming tables.

FARAONCASINOBOULEVARD is located in theEl Hampton Inn Boulevard Hotel whichhas 95 rooms in total. The casino has 140slots.CASINOCALYPSO is located in Salinas.

MIRAMARhas 39 slots and eight tablegames. The casino is located in theBarcelo hotel which has 95 rooms.

One first class casino:CASINOROYAL

PICHINCHAFive luxury casinos:CASINOPLAZAQUITO is located in the BestWestern Plaza Hotel and based on a LasVegas theme.

HILTONHOTELANDCASINOCOLONQUITO isoperated by Latin Gaming and has 91slots and 16 table games. The hotel has250 rooms.

JOKERSCASINO opened in 2006 in the DannHotel Carlton with an investment of $3m.There are 100 slots and eight table games.

MONTECARLOwas opened in 2005 and isoperated by IGGR. The casino includes a175 room five star Hotel Mercure operatedby ACCOR whilst the casino includes 185slots and 16 table games, bar, restaurantand entertainment area for shows. Theinvestment for the casino was aroundUS$10m.

QUITOHOTELCASINO opened in November2005 and has 180 slots and nine tablegames.

Five First class casinos:HOTELAUCACONTINENTAL (now closed)

HOTELCHALETSUISSE is in Quito and islocated in a hotel with 50 rooms. Thecasino has Blackjack, Caribbean poker,seven card poker and roulette and slots.(now closed)

HOTELTAMBOREAL has 90 rooms andrestaurant and lobby bar.

IMPERIALREYNABEL

AZUAYOne Luxury casino:MAJESTIC is located in the Hotel Presidentein Cuenca. The hotel has 70 rooms andthe casino features slots and table games.

CHIMBORAZOOne luxury casino:ZEUSPLAY is located in Riobamba.

ELOROOne luxury casino:CASINOMARTwo first class casinos:RUTMAR

Montecarlowasopened in 2005 and is

operated by IGGR.The casino includes a

175 room five starHotel Mercure

operated by ACCORwhilst the casinoincludes 185 slots

and 16 table games,bar, restaurant andentertainment area

for shows. Theinvestment for thecasinowas around

US$10m.


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ESMERALDASOne first class casino:LOSCHACHIS

IMBABURAOne first class casino:AJAVI CASINO is located in the hotel of thesame name which was founded in 1973and has 60 rooms.

MANABITwo first class casinos:CASINOSPORTOVIEJOATAHUALPADEORO

TUNGURAHUATwo first class casinos:AMBAPLAYCASINOHOTELEMPERADOR

LOJAOne first class casino:BUCAROCASINOS

LOSRIOSOne first class casino:CASINOCLUBLASVEGAS





























Tel: +44 1483 543 543 Fax: +44 1483 543 540

[email protected]






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Progressive interconnected slots– 45per cent

Casino games pay a monthly fixed fee

• National horse racing bets pay two percent of its net income, horse racingbetting on foreign races pay 15 per centof their net income. Prizes distributedmust be at least 60 per cent.

SouthAmericaSpecial

Colombia’s history dates back well over 13,000 years.However, over time many Andean and Caribbean cultureshave occupied in the area.

The Spanish arrived in the early 1500s and the countrybecame Spain’s chief source of gold. Cartagena and Bogotawere founded by the mid-century.

Spain began to tax the colonists to help fund their home-front war expenses and the uprising that occurred markedthe beginning of the revolution to come.

In 1810 Simon Bolivar and his armies defeated the Spanishand the independent Republic of Gran was formed. Thisincluded Colombia, Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela.

By the early 20th Century the other countries withdrewfrom the association and by 1905, Colombia was on itsown. Since then it has survived a 40-year conflict betweengovernment forces and anti-government insurgent groupsand illegal paramilitary groups which escalated during the1990s.

Violence has been decreasing since 2002 but there arecontinued attacks against civilians and guerrilla warfarecontinues.

Political and internal unrest has limited tourism to theCaribbean coastal resorts and Cartagena, even though itremains the most attractive and mysterious country withinthe South American continent.

GAMING INCOLOMBIAGaming in Colombia operates under a state monopolyregime that comes under a constitution from 1991. It isregulated by the decree 643 of 2001, whilst the territorialhealth company ETESA is in charge of organising andregulating the monopoly.

Slots, casino games and bingo are granted via ETESA,which authorises them on a concession basis to anyprivate company that is able to operate them.

A fixed monthly fee per slot or gaming table is then paidto ETESA, whilst a sales tax is also paid on each slot.

In 2007, the Colombian gambling sector saw a total ofUS$275.3m (a 9.69 per cent increase on 2006 figures) ofwhich gaming (slots/casinos) was responsible for 23 percent or US$63.5m.

Gambling is very much part of the Colombian culture andthere has been considerable growth over the last few years.

There are currently 3,592 gaming establishments inColombia. There is no breakdown of actual casinos asmany locations blur the edges arcades and casinos. Thisfigure has increased from 2,168 back in 2002.

The industry is one of the boom countries within SouthAmerica and is making a huge bid to boost tourism.Already special investment conditions have been put into

ColombiaGaming is booming in Colombia as thecountry continues to blur the boundariesof casinos, bingo and gaming halls

SouthAmericaSpecial

With the legalisation of gaming, anational assembly was created called theFederacion Colombiana de Empresariosde Juegos de Azar (FECEAZAR).

This is a federation that brings togethercompanies in the various gaming sectors.This includes localised games andpermanent bets. To date, the federationhas 52 members in the country andrepresents 44 gaming companies.

Illegal gaming is a major problem inColombia. It is reported that Colombiansspend around three trillion pesos annuallyon gaming although a chunk of this doesgo on illegal gambling.

According to FECEAZAR, gaminggenerates some US$1,500m annually, ofwhich a third comes from casinos, bingos,gaming halls and lotteries. ApproximatelyUS$217m annually goes to the statehealth system.

Illegal gaming accounts for around 30 percent of the market so of the 65,000gaming machines said to be in operationit is estimated that around 19,000 areillegal. The legal machines have providedthe regions with more than 220,000mpesos in the last two years.

The plan now is to speed up proceedingsto introduce a law that will seek tocombat illegal operation,s particularlyfocusing on sites with a minimumnumber of 20 machines.

Baltazar Medina of FECEAZAR said: “Weneed to present to the government whatwe, the industry, believe should be thebasis for formulating a public policy ofthe games of chance in Colombia, whichmeans that the government defines inwhich category or in which level of

place for Spanish companies to encouragemore hotel and casino development.

For example, there is a 30 year companytax break for the construction of hotels,whilst taxation is set at 15 per cent for‘free zones’ compared to 33 per cent inthe rest of Colombia.

Tourism has grown by more than 135 percent in five years with around 1.3 millionvisitors in 2007.

Colombia now hopes to introduce newlaws to combat the illegal gamblingproblem and cope with an expected influxof machines.

To operate gaming machines, operatorsmust first get authorisation from ETESAand the mayor of the city where the gamewill be operated. Gaming licences for the

operation of gaming machines are issuedfor not less than three years and no morethan five years.

The minimum amount of slots (MET) forwhich a company/person can beauthorised is 80 with a minimum of threemachines per location. If the operation ismixed (ie: bingo, casino machines) theconcessionaire is granted the equivalentof 80 machines.

Colombia operates with the Law 643unveiled in 2001, which includes thefollowing points:

• Game operators must give a percentageof the net profit to a special account forthe health sector ETESA. Lotteries give12 per cent of the net income.

• Concession contracts for the operation

of games of chance cannot be less thanthree years or more than five years.

• Returns from permanent betting gamesin Bogota and Cundinamarca will bedistributed; 70 per cent for the healthfinance fund in Bogota and 30 per centfor the Cundinamarca health fund.

• Operators of localised games that arebingo, slots and casinos must payETESA a monthly fixed amount per slotor gaming table depending on thevalue of the bet.

For slots with winnings of 0-$500 – pay30 per cent

For slots with winnings of $500 plus –40 per cent


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COLOMBIA: VITALSTATISTICSCapital: BogotaPopulation: 44,379,598(July 2007)Land Area: 1,038,700 sq.kmMedian age: 26.6 yearsLanguages: SpanishCurrency: Colombian Peso (COP)Government: RepublicLand Divisions: 32 Departmentsand one Capital District

Gaming locations: 3,592 (includesarcades, bingo halls, casinos)Gaming machines: 68,729Casino tables: 420Bingo seats: 30,502Gaming board: www.etesa.gov.co

GAMINGMACHINESANDLOCATIONS (2005- JULY2008)

2005 2006 2007 2008

Machines (slots) 56,736 63,973 64,714 68,729Locations (total) 3,197 3,672 3,672 3,592Bingo seats 31,215 33,672 38,823 30,502Casino tables 313 391 411 420

SOURCE: FECEAZAR

SouthAmericaSpecial

importance it considers the sector andthat this be included in a public policy ofcompromise.

“With that policy in place as a frameworkthen obtain the possibility of a CONPESdocument for the gaming industry that isa macro regulation framework fromwhich all the regulations, law and decreesderive from it to stimulate thedevelopment of this activity.”

One of the main issues is to remove slotsfrom establishments like shops, cafes andeven hairdressing salons.

In regions like Pereira, for example, theoperation of slots within these locations isrife and a new decree now bans theseoperations unless they are in gaminghalls. It also states that in cities likePereira, the minimum number of slotspermitted in locations is 16 and themaximum 80.

Figures released by ETESA shows that inPereira there are 52 gamingestablishments with 1,686 slots. InRisaralda, there are 111 establishmentswith a total of 2,414 slots and in Quindiothere are 119 places with 1,446 slots.

Main operators in Colombia includeWinner Group, Maca Ltda and foreigncompanies such as Codere, which hasone casino, seven bingo halls and a totalof 8,463 slots in the market.

The Spanish company opened its firstlocation in 1999, the Cali Gran Casino inSantiago de Cali, and since 2007 has beenworking on its growth in this market.

Codere acquired a leading bingo operatorin the market and now has seven MundoFortuna branded halls with 1,503 seats.The company will open another casino in2009 in Bogota.

The Winner Group is another largeoperator with 21 casinos/gaming halloperations in Bogota, Medellin, Cali,Barraquilla and Cartagena which operateunder the brand names of Rio,Hollywood, Broadway and Rock n Jazz.

There are nine large casino operationsand 12 electronic games halls. Fivecasinos are located in Bogota.

The group has a total of 2,400 machinesand more than 100 table games and15,000 sq.m of gaming space. There arethree million visitors to the locations eachyear and profits in 2006 reachedUS$24.48m

Unidelca (Universal de Casinos SA) has52 gaming locations and recently set up

four main brands. The Caribe andCondado brands are international stylecasinos. Havana gambling halls aresmaller locations with slot machines andmultilayer games, whilst the Real Gamebrand offers slots and video games.Unidelca operates a total of 5,300 slots inColombia.

The Real Game games halls contain atotal of 1,500 slots and have the Red de laFortuna progressive jackpot systeminstalled. There are 14 in Bogota, one in

Codere acquired aleading bingo

operator in themarket and nowhassevenMundo Fortuna

branded hallswith1,503 seats. The

companywill openanother casino in2009 in Bogota.


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Cali, eight in Medellin, three in EjeCafetero and three in Costa.

There are many lottery associations inColombia. The first lottery in Colombiadates back to 1801 and was organised andcontrolled by the Cabildo Municipal ofSanta Fe of Bogota.

Other lottery associations include Thelottery of Bogota, which was created in1967 and The Red Cross national lotterywhich began in 1953. The company canalso operate slots under the 2001 law.

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workers protested against the decision.

Today, the industry limps along in itsstruggle to survive with lots of illegaloperations still in existence. Many havebeen shut down while others areinspected. The lack of regulation andpolitical turmoil has stalled the growth ofbingo and the slot machines market andBrazil remains one of the mostproblematic countries in the SouthAmerican continent. Analysts predict thatlegalised bingo could produce up toUS$3bn in tax revenue.

Today, President Lula is trying to settlethe bingo problem with a review of thecurrent proposals aimed at forming asingle legislative response, however, slotsmachines are not included and theirfuture remains unclear.

A government minister has now beenappointed to liaise between bingooperators and politicians with the aim ofintroducing licences for bingo hallsregulated by Caixa Economica Federal(CEF) – a federal bank that holds themonopoly to the lottery in Brazil.

Caixa is the main agent for the Federalgovernment’s public policies and thelargest public bank in Latin America.

It is a 100 per cent public institution andis not only a bank, but deals withlotteries, urban infrastructureinvestments, social program paymentsand unemployment benefit. Through allthese services, Caixa has put more thanR$115bn into the economy.

Caixa began in 1861 when the CaixaEconomica and Monte de Socorro wascreated with the purpose of providingsavings accounts and small loans to Riode Janeiro’s poor. It later addedmortgages and other services to itsportfolio.

The Federal Lottery was set up in Brazilas a monopoly in 1961. Total sales of thenine lottery games rose by 23 per centlast year from US$2.37bn in 2006 toUS$2.93bn in 2007.

Previously, the lottery has outsourcedGTECH’s online lottery system, but in mid2006 the company brought the lotterysystem in-house and teamed up with IBMto implement a new lottery system.

A new system was introduced that saw amore secure and quicker lottery system.More than 25,000 terminals were installedin some 8,800 sales points throughout thecountry.

By the end of 2008, CEF expects to open2,200 new sales points, bringing thenumber of terminals to 30,800.

Meanwhile, in March this year, after fiveyears of planning and negotiations, thecompany launched a new lotto game,Timemania (Teammania) with 22 per centgoing to the soccer clubs aimed at solvingtheir financial problems.

In the meantime, the crackdown on illegalslots continues with weekly reports ofillegal slots or establishments closeddown by the Federal Police.

By 2004, Brazil hadaround 100,000

video gamingmachines that could

be found inthousands of bingohouses throughoutthe country. It wasestimated that Sao

Paulo had 1,000bingos alone.

in office, politically the incident wasembarrassing for the president.

In response, President Lula quicklypassed the Provisional Measure 168 inFebruary 2004, which prohibitedcommercial bingo games of any kind,including slot machine style electronicgames, from operation.

Effectively, this closed down all bingohalls and some 100,000 workers lost theirjobs overnight. At the time, hugedemonstrations by some 30,000 bingo


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SouthAmericaSpecial

Native Americans have occupied this region of SouthAmerica for eons. That was until 1500, when thePortuguese navigator Pedro Alvares Cabral, en route toIndia, landed and claimed the land for Portugal.

Thus began the 300 year Portuguese era in Brazil. Over theyears more explorers arrived and small settlements wereset up along coastal areas.

In 1580, Portugal took control of the land and in the late16th century when the Portuguese crown was inherited bySpain, the country came under a 60 year Spanish ruleuntil it reverted again to Portuguese sovereignty.

In the early 1800s, Portugal’s king fled to Brazil and heestablished the country as the capital to his empire untilhis son took over and declared independence fromPortugal in 1822.

Brazil’s famous coffee business began to take over the thenprofitable sugar plantation business in the early 1890s andthis funded a military coup that forced the emperor to flee.The coffee producers seized power and half a century ofinstability resumed.

This end in 1985 when military rulers ceded power tocivilian rule and the country finally overcame coups andcorrupt leaders.

Today, Brazil continues to pursue industrial andagricultural growth and is South America’s leadingeconomic power and a regional leader.

GAMING INBRAZILAlthough Brazil could be a serious gambling giant in theLatin American gaming market, there is still no sign that itwill legalise the casino industry in the future.

Gambling is deep rooted in the country despite theprohibition by President Dutra’s conservative governmentback in 1946. This saw around 70 casinos closed and40,000 employees out of work.

The law banned casinos, claiming they spread prostitutionand encouraged the mafia and money laundering.Brazilians today either bet via the Internet or if they canafford it, go to Paraguay or Uruguay and play there.

Lotteries and horse racing survived and in the 1980s bingobegan to enter the market via Peru, and in the early 1990sslots were slowly reintroduced throughout breaches in anew law.

The Zico law in 1993 legalised bingo and the first bingo tobe opened was Bingo Pamplona. However, this ratherambiguous law covered an array of electronic devices andbingo halls resembled casinos without the card tables androulette wheels.

In 2000, these locaitons were banned under the MaguitoLaw, but continued to operate based on court orders underthe leniency and ‘blind eye’ of governors and the police.

BrazilBrazil slowly rebuilds its gaming industryafter scandals within government broughtsevere reprisals for the bingo market

By 2004, Brazil had around 100,000 videogaming machines that could be found inthousands of bingo houses throughout thecountry. It was estimated that Sao Paulohad 1,000 bingos alone.

The year was looking promising for bingooperators, as since 2003 a working grouphad been established to look at regulatingbingo games and a draft legislation wasbeing written.

In February 2004, President Luis InacioLula da Silva announced his decision to

regulate the industry, when just a fewdays later the Waldomiro Diniz gamblingscandal erupted.

Mr. Diniz was fired after a video emergedshowing him demanding a kick-back in2002 from gambling boss Carlos Ramos,who at the time headed the Rio deJaneiro lottery. There were also rumoursthat he helped extend a lottery contactwith a US lottery giant.

Although Lula’s Workers’ Party claimedthere was no wrongdoing during his time


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SouthAmericaSpecial

and distribution company within theBrazilian turf industry and was grantedthe right by the Brazilian Ministry ofAgriculture to distribute internationalsimulcast racing throughout Brazil. In2006, horse racing wagers in Brazilamounted to around US$128m.

SouthAmericaSpecial

In April, the police seized a total of 158slots that were operated in bars andrestaurants across three cities in themetropolitan region of Rio.

And the Jockey Club in Santa Maria wasalso closed in April after illegal bingogames were found on site.

Last year some 22 Fantasia bingo clubs inRio de Janeiro were closed downfollowing an investigation by the police.

Between 2003 and 2007, the MinisterioPublico Federal (MPF) claims some 6,000slots were seized in bingo halls. Theassociation of administrators of bingos inRio de Janeiro (ABERJ) claim some 2,000people lost their jobs due to closure ofbingo halls and another 4,000 run the riskof losing their jobs.

Meanwhile, amusements are also on thehit list. In January this year a ban onpopular role-playing computer gamessuch as ‘Counter Strike’ and ‘EverQuest’was implemented.

The countrywide prohibition was orderedback in October 2007, but notimmediately implemented. It is claimedthe games incite violence and are harmfulto consumer’s health.

In March this year, the Ministry ofAgriculture decided to ban thetransmission of international horse racing.However, following fears that this coulddestroy the country’s horse racingindustry, the government has agreed topush back the ban.

Carnegie Cooke & Company is a media

Between 2003 and2007, theMinisterio

Publico Federal(MPF) claims some6,000 slotswere

seized in bingo halls.The association ofadministrators of

bingos in Rio deJaneiro (ABERJ)

claim some 2,000people lost their jobs

due to closure ofbingo halls and

another 4,000 runthe risk of losing

their jobs.



1

BRAZIL: VITALSTATISTICSCapital: BrasiliaPopulation: 190,010,647 (July2007)Land Area: 8,546,510sq.kmMedian age: 28.6 yearsLanguages: Portuguese (official),Spanish, English, FrenchCurrency: Real (BRL)Government: Federal RepublicLand Divisions: 26 States and onefederal district

No. Casinos: An estimated 100illegal casinosCasino Machines: 500,000(estimation of illegal slots)Lottery: www.caixa.gov.brGaming Board:www.abrabin.com.br

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reforms in a bid to attract foreigninvestment and stimulate the privatesector.

When the Venetiaan administration cameinto offic,e stricter measures were alsotaken to deal with the gambling sector asmany felt that casinos had been left to ‘goit alone.’

In 2005, the law changed and all thosecasinos given licences during theWijdenbosch period had to comply withnew licensing laws to remain open. Oneof the clauses was they must function

SouthAmericaSpecial

Arawak and Caribbean Indians had lived on the northernedges of South America for centuries and in 1498 Spanishexplorer Alonso de Ojeda discovered Suriname.

Dutch settlements began in the early 17th century at themouths of several rivers and Suriname became a Dutchcolony in 1667. Even though the land was briefly held bythe English, the Dutch continued to control the land foralmost 300 years.

Over time the plantations began to decline as the Dutchgovernment started to provide less financial support to itscolony and in the early 20th Century, American firmALCOA invested in the indigenous bauxite deposits andSuriname’s economy surged.

Later that century, Suriname became an autonomous partof the Kingdom of the Netherlands and finally gainedindependence in 1975.

Five years later the civilian government was replaced by amilitary regime that declared the country a socialistrepublic. It continued to rule through a succession ofcivilian administrations until 1987 when internationalpressure forced a democratic election.

In 1989 the military overthrew the civilian government,but a democratically elected government returned to powerin 1991, which remains today.

GAMING INSURINAMEAlthough Suriname is South America’s smallest country,with its unspoilt tropical rainforest covering more than 80per cent of its territory, it is often referred to as the‘beating heart of the Amazon.’

It is nestled between Guyana, French Guyana and Braziland has the beautiful Atlantic coastline to the north. Halfof the inhabitants live in the capital, Paramaribo, leavingthe rest of the country sparsely populated.

The country has more than 13 nature reserves and eco-tourists are eager to venture here and the country is tryingto attract such appreciative visitors.

One of the attractions in Suriname, especially for theneighbouring Brazilians, is the country’s casino industry.

The casino situation in Suriname is a little confusing.There was said at one point to be some 21 casino licencesissued in this country, which was always far too many forsuch a small population.

However, it is believed many of these were violating theirlicences and the Association of Casino Owners (VCS)claim there are actually 13 legal casinos now in operation.

In an attempt to clamp down on illegal activities andregulate the casino industry, the Suriname governmentbegan to take action last year against those casinosoperating in breach of their licence.

SurinameTiny in size, but big in stature, the countryof Suriname punches above its weight inthe gaming stakes in South America

within a hotel, which must have availableat least 20 rooms.

They are required to report allquestionable bets by customers andensure adequate surveillance systems arein place.

They must have security checks toprevent local nationals from enteringcasinos illegally – Suriname nationals aresupposed to carry their ID cards whenaccompanying foreigners visiting casinos.

Many hotels did not meet thisrequirement and in August 2004 theywere given six months to comply or 12months with special circumstances.

During this period, American company,Lottery and Wagering Solutions withdrewits operations in Suriname and sold itssubsidiary company which operated asmall casino in the Golden Tulip CasinoHotel.

The company’s principal operations wereconducted from the Plaza Hotel until 2004via the subsidiary company, SurinameLeisure Company, which was run byLottery and Wagering and ParbhoesHandelmaatschappij, which operated thePalace Casino.

The two joint partners came tologgerheads and in 2005 Palace Casinowas evicted from its premises in the PlazaHotel.

Other gaming operators include PashaGaming Group operates casinos in variouscountries and is headquartered inIstanbul, Turkey. It was founded in 2004and now has five hotel and casinos, twoin Suriname and two in Cyprus and onein Uganda.

Last year, theTorarica paid

SRD440,000 incasino taxes and

SRD719,000 incometax. The casino has

warned that the 300per cent increasecould lead to them

shutting down.

The industry is currently fighting againstgovernment plans, claiming some 2,000locals could lose their jobs, while asmany as 10 casinos could close. Many ofthese are also funded from foreigninvestments and the government standsto lose significant income.

However, the government submitted a billto parliament last year to increase tax oncasinos by 300 per cent and the VCS saythe higher tax will force many casinos toclose anyway.

In addition, casinos already pay 50 per

cent corporate tax rate, compared to 36per cent for other businesses in Suriname.Previously, casinos paid US$145 monthlyfor slots, US$1,450 for roulette tables andUS$1,090 for blackjack.

Last year, the Torarica paid SRD440,000 incasino taxes and SRD719,000 income tax.The casino has warned that the 300 percent increase could lead to them shuttingdown.

The casino sector saw a boom periodbetween 1996 and 2000, when JulesWijdenbosch, the current opposition

leader, was President. He issued around21 casino licences based on touristprojects.

His plan was to link casinos to thetourism industry. However in 2000 Mr.Wijdenbosch was forced to call earlyelections, which saw Ronald Venetiaanand his team take over and put an end tothe political and economic crisis in whichSuriname found itself.

In the first year the new Venetiaangovernment managed to pull the economyout of a nose dive and applied structural


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SURINAME: VITALSTATISTICSCapital: ParamariboPopulation: 470,784 (July 2007)Land Area: 161,470 sq.kmMedian age: 27.1 yearsLanguages: Dutch (official),English, Sranang Tongo(Surinamese), CaribbeanHindustani, JavaneseCurrency: Surinam Dollar (SRD)Government: ConstitutionalDemocracyLand Divisions: 10 districts

No. Casinos: 13Casino Slots: 2,400Casino Tables: 250

SouthAmericaSpecial

the operation of casinos and gamingmachines, was introduced.

This concentrated on the slot machinebusiness and introduced more stringenttechnical regulations for operations,including the creation of a new gamingregulating body.

The new authority, Direccion General deJuegos de Casino y MaquinasTragamonedas (DGJCMT), comes underthe direction of the Ministerio deComercio Exterior y Turismo(MINCETUR). This organisation has theauthority to supervise and administer thesector.

According to Claudia La Puerta Vasquezof DGJCMT, the law was introduced toreduce the margins of unreliability whilstthe DGJCMT could introduce control andprosecutions to close machines operatedin unauthorised gaming halls.

One of the main issues was illegal gaminghalls and the plan is to close many of thesmaller locations that do not comply withthe standards set by the new GeneralBoard of Gaming Casinos and SlotMachines.

This means only 450 of the current 770applications are expected to meet the newcriteria, which will see only the best/strongest operators survive.

The new law also stated that detailedaudio and video footage of each table

SouthAmericaSpecial

Although at one time Peru was homeland to severalAndean civilisations, the Incas were the most notable.

They built amazing mountain temples and palaces (withno mortar), constructed almost 10,000 miles of roads,engineered functional bridges and built aqueducts totransport their water.

At the height of the Inca’s influence in 1533, the Spanisharrived in their quest for gold and executed the indigenousIndians, captured their cities and destroyed this innovativeculture.

For almost 300 years Peru functioned as a Spanish colony,but in the early 19th Century the calls for independencebegan with local uprisings and then civil war in 1821 withthe Spanish finally defeated in 1824.

Peru suffered many wars over the next century or so anddictatorial rule and political upheaval followed. In 1980Peru finally returned to democratic leadership, butexperienced economic problems and growth of anincreasingly violent insurgency.

President Alberto Fujimori’s election in 1990 saw a decadewith a dramatic turnaround in economy and a halt inguerrilla activity, but his reliance on authoritarianmeasures and an economic slump in the late 1990s sawhis demise in 2000.

After a caretaker government and Peru’s firstdemocratically elected president, Alejandro Toledo, theelections of 2006 saw the return of Alan Garcia whopromises to improve social conditions.

GAMING INPERUCurrently, there are eight authorised casinos in Peru and182 authorised gaming halls. However, it is estimated thereare actually around 780 gaming halls that exist alongsidebingo halls, which do not require authorisation.

Peru’s casino industry is governed by the law Number27153, which was introduced in 1999 and later modifiedby the law 27796 in 2002.

The law 27153 (modified by 27796) includes:

• Casinos and slots can only be operated inestablishments not less than 150m away from churches,educational institutes, police stations and hospitals.

• Casinos and gaming halls can only be operated withinfour or five star hotels and five star tourist restaurantsor equivalent style resorts in the provinces of Lima andCallao.

• In the remaining provinces they can be operated inthree, four and five star hotels or resorts and five startourist restaurants.

• Characteristics of slots include a minimum payout of 85per cent

PeruAn active gaming market, Peru hasfollowed a back-to-basics approach torecent changes in gaming regulations

game, payout areas, doors and countingroom must be kept for both casinos andslot halls. Also, licences are now issuedfor five years and can be renewed for anadditional four years.

Following the introduction of the newlegislation the ministry says there hasalready been a decrease of illegal machineactivity in the city of Lima. But they areoften still found in small towns outside ofthe capital.

The Peruvian Gaming Commission,however, reported record takings for 2007with around US$4m monthly compared toUS$1m the previous year. Last year saw atotal of US$38m.

The reason is due to the more rigorouscontrol in the licensing structure and anonline control system, which connects allslot machines.

Illegal machines are still a problem. The‘Chinitas’ or ‘de Bolita’ as they are called,can be found in many illegal premises. Ina year the DGJCMT seized around 1,500slots. They are often found in small shopssuch as bakeries, hairdressers and bars.

Meanwhile, after a delay of three years,La Huaca Hotel Spa and Casino, is onceagain up and running. The five star resortlocated in the Asia region, some 60 milessouth of Lima, is due to finished in 2009.

It is costing developer Revolutions Peruaround US$50m and apart from theMountain Magic Casino will include ahotel with 220 rooms, spa, museum,distillery and private beach club.

Plaza Sur commercial centre in Asiaattracts 1.5m visitors generating morethan $15m in sales and La Huaca expectsthe same. The shopping centre isconstructed on 2,200 sq.m with 30 shopsand two restaurants.

Other operators in Peru include Ritzio,which entered the Peruvian market in2006 and today its company Vieraoperates three gaming clubs and 1,000slot machines. New York, Flamingo andAladdino are large clubs aimed atcustomers of middle to high incomelevels.

Spain’s Cirsa is also active in Peru withthe Majestic Casino operation and itselectronic gaming halls including La SalaJokers in Lima with 143 slots, La SalaMiami with 202 slots and La Sala Premiewith 134 slots.

Since 1993 the Admiral Group in SouthAmerica has been located in Lima and

The newauthority,Direccion General deJuegos de Casino y

MaquinasTragamonedas

(DGJCMT), comesunder the directionof theMinisterio deComercio Exterior y

Turismo (MINCETUR) .This organisation

has the authority tosupervise andadminister the

sector.

• An Authorisation Express must begranted to operate which is publishedin the Official Diary of the ‘El Peruano’

• Licences are granted for a minimum ofthree years, which is renewable.

• Operators must have an annualguarantee in the form of a bankdeposit. Casino must have theequivalent of UIT500 for five starhotel/resort casino, UIT400 for fourstar hotels, UIT300 for three star. Forslot machines UIT1 is payable per slotmachine.

• Creation of the CONACTRA – NationalCommission of Casinos and Gamingmachines.

• Gaming machines no older than twoyears can be imported

Peru has a big problem with the numberof slot halls which exist and also illegalgaming. This all came to a head in 2006when the new APRA party administrationcame into office and a campaign againstgrey gaming began.

At the time it was suggested that of the700 plus gaming halls in Peru, only 36were actually licensed, whilst at least halfoperated through Judicial Habeas Corpusresolutions and the other half were foundto be totally illegal.

Some 55,000 plus slots generate aroundUS$350m per year in gaming revenuesand it is estimated that the slots bring inaround US$700,000 daily with less than10 per cent contributing to thegovernment tax system.

In 2006 slot machine and casino operatorswere fighting with the state over unpaid

taxes worth around US$80m according toSUNAT, the national tax body. Casinoscurrently pay around PEN$90m (US$28m)annually in game tax.

One of the issues has been the haphazardway in which amendments have beenadded to Peru’s gaming law. As some ofthe additions were ‘anti constitutional’ itenabled some companies to bypass thelaw completely. Many even go to court toobtain favourable rulings, which allowthem to avoid paying gaming taxes.

In December 2006, a new law came intoplace. The idea was to introduce a lawthat took Peru back to its original gaminglaw and eliminate all the clauses thatenabled operators to ‘rework’ theamendments to their advantage.

At the beginning of this year, the Law28945 Reordering and Formalisation of


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PERU: VITALSTATISTICSCapital: LimaPopulation: 28,674,757 (July2007)Land Area: 1.280,000 sq.kmMedian age: 25.5 yearsLanguages: Spanish (official),Quechua (official), Aymara andminor Amazonian languagesCurrency: Nuevo Sol (PEN)Government: ConstitutionalRepublicLand Divisions: 25 regions andone province

No. Casinos: 8Gaming Arcades: 182 authorisedhallsOperators: 140Casino Slots: Approx 2,800Casino Tables: 152Gaming Machines: Approx 80,000Gaming Board:www.mincetur.gob.peLottery:www.loteriasperugana.com.pe

SouthAmericaSpecial

SouthAmericaSpecial

also represents Austrian GamingIndustries as distributor.

The company currently has 1,300 slotmachines distributed across 13 gaminghalls, all of which meet the newregulations and between them createaround 600 jobs.

At the beginning of last year, thecompany also took over the operation of12 businesses that were run under theLiberty brand. Admiral is one of first andonly companies in Peru to date which hasbeen granted such a number of licences.

Admiral now has a base in Peru headedby Rudolp Binder and is focusing onimproving its range of slots via the newNovomatic products. There will besatellite sales offices in Chile andArgentina primarily for the group’sexpansion in South America.

Since Novomatic became a shareholder ofAdmiral Group, the company has soldsome 700 slot machines in just onemonth in Peru.

Novomatic’s Max Lindenberg said: “Theemergence of Novomatic as a newmajority shareholder in Admiral willprovide an important support to theactivities of the company and pave theway towards Admiral’s next targets.

“In the medium term the company’sobjective is to find the perfect location forthe development of a large scaleoperation. This project will, in addition tobeing a gaming venue for slot machines,also include other options in terms ofservices that will be attractive to potentialclients.”

Meanwhile, Intralot Peru was awarded a10 year contract with SociedadBeneficencia Publica de Jaen (beneficiaryof the lottery) for the licence of the lotteryorganisation in 2002.

The first game began in 2003 with GanaDiario, which was distributed through1,000 points of sale.

In 2003, the company bought the 100 percent share of the Tektron Company ownerof the brands Tinka, Kabala, Rapitinkaand Juega 3 and became the leader of thePeruvian lotteries market.

Intralot now handles Tektron brands andPeruGana lotteries, which recentlylaunched the game Gana Diario.

In 2005, they signed a contact with theFootball Federation of Peru (ADFP) forfixed odds betting games operation for the

next five years. This was the first sportslottery offered in the Peruvian market.

Peru was the second country in LatinAmerica, after Chile, whose nationallottery company introduced fixed oddsbetting games

Loterias PeruGana is the market leader(96 per cent) in lottery games with onlinesales network of 1,700 points of sale inPeru.

CASINOS INPERULIMAATLANTICCITYCASINOLocated in a five star restaurant andopened in 2007. The casino is part of ahuge entertainment complex andincludes 33 table games and 336 slots.Operated by Corporacion TuristicaPeruana SAC, this company was foundedin 1995. The casino cost around US$24mand generated 700 direct jobs.

LOSDELFINESCASINOLocated in the residential area of SanIsidro overlooking Lima Golf Club thisresort, Los Delfines Summit Hotel andCasino, is located in a five star hotel with197 rooms. The casino has 19 tablegames and 288 slots. It was opened in2006 and is operated by EuroCorporacion SAC.

CASINOLAHACIENDALa Hacienda Hotel and Casino is locatedin the district of Miraflores and is close tothe Costa Verde beaches. It is located in afour star hotel and was opened in 2005.


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The casino has 10 table games and 236slots and it is operated by Golden GamingSA.

CASINOGOLDENPALACESituated in financial area of San Isidro itis located in a five star restaurant. Openedin 2005 and operated by Gold InvestmentSA the casino has 30 table games and 900slots.

MAJESTICCASINOLocated in the five star Marriott Hotel inMiraflores the 300 room hotel is a 25storey glass tower and offer views of thePacific Ocean. It was formerly known asthe Stellaris Casino and was purchased in2005 by Cirsa (Gran Casino de Lima SAC)who refurbished and renamed it. Thecasino is 19,500 sq.ft and has 25 tablegames and 350 slots.

CASINOFORTUNALocated in a five star restaurant thiscasino opened in 2006 and is operated byInversiones Hanson SAC. It has 14 tablegames and 364 slots, three electronicroulettes and a Derby.

JOKERSCASINOOperated in a five star restaurant thecasino opened in 2006 and is operated byInversiones Larimar SA. There are 11 tablegames and 201 slots.

CASINOCLUBSOCIALMIRAFLORESLocated in a five star restaurant it openedin 2007 and is operated by Recreativos delPacifico SA. There are 10 table games and148 slots.

The newauthority,Direccion General deJuegos de Casino y

MaquinasTragamonedas

(DGJCMT), comesunder the directionof theMinisterio deComercio Exterior y

Turismo (MINCETUR) .This organisation

has the authority tosupervise andadminister the

sector.

For a more efficient, profitable andexciting gaming future. Learn moreabout our full range of solutions atwww.octavianinternational.com



In today’s world it’s imperative that casino owners

deploy systems that can be relied upon 100% to manage

operations efficiently, securely and profitably.

Octavian’s integrated casino management system

provides the ultimate end-to-end solution, meeting the

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In 2006, a draft bill 85/2007 waspresented by the Bolivian National Lotteryaimed at regulating gaming in thecountry, ending illegal gaming, generatingemployment and looking at the loss oftaxes to the state. The new law is aimedat financing the public health sectorthrough gaming tax.

The proposed legislation would give theexclusive authority to the state lottery(Lonabol) to operate and regulate allgames of chance, betting and lotteries.This would be via its own company orthrough issuing concessions to thirdparties

The new law covers all types of gamingfrom slots to Internet, telephone andmobile gaming and would seek to removevarious loopholes that exist under thepresent law.

SouthAmericaSpecial

Bolivia’s history dates back to the Andean empires of theAymara civilisation, which was conquered by the Incas atthe end of the 15th Century. The Spanish arrived in the16th Century and with their obsessive pursuit for gold andsilver, defeated the Incas and changed the economic andsocial fabric of Bolivia.

Spain ruled for 300 years until 1809 when Simon Bolivar(the country’s namesake) began the battle forindependence and after Spain was defeated in 1824,Bolivia gained its freedom a year later.

Typically of a new country, political instability wascommonplace with around 200 coups until the late 1800swhen civilian governments came into power and stabilitywas resumed for around 50 years.

After losing a regional war with Paraguay in 1935, when itlost much of its original territories, military controlreturned until 1982 when the country again returned to ademocratically elected form of government.

In 2005, Movement Toward Socialism leader, Evo Morales,was elected president with his promise to change thecountry’s traditional political class and empower thenations poor majority. However, his controversial strategiesmerely increased racial and economic tensions betweeneast and west communities.

Despite the fact the country is naturally beautiful with vastuntapped gas, gold, oil and silver deposits, Bolivia todayremains one of the poorest and least developed countriesin South America and is dependent on foreign aid. Thecountry faces difficult problems of deep-seated poverty,social unrest and illegal drug production.

GAMING INBOLIVIAUp until 1976, all types of gaming in Bolivia, with theexception of the national lottery, were prohibited. Thenational lottery and gaming is protected by the 583 law of1928 and the supreme decree 24446 of 1996, which wasmade by ex-President Sanchez de Lozada.

Technically, slot machines were not permitted, however,the law gave the authorisation for slot machines that couldbe operated in local shops and arcades that opened earlyin the day. However, in some cases licenses were sub-leased. which explains the large number of slots in thecountry.

At the moment the situation is somewhat confusing. Thereare no casino games permitted, however, slots, betting andlotteries are permitted. There is no limit to the number ofmachines or locations an operator can have.

Some gaming halls operate under permits granted by thenational lottery, whilst others have received authorisationfrom local municipalities. And many (an estimated 200)simply operate illegally.

According to the Bolivian lottery, when one location opens

BoliviaG3 explores the history of gaming inBolivia from past to present were taxationis proving a high hurdle for operators

SouthAmericaSpecial

The new law would also see a specialgaming tax (Impuesto Especial al Juego –IEJ) introduced. The IEJ is set at 40 percent of the profits for some locations or afixed fee of 1,500 to 5,000 UFV (unitscalculated by Central Bank) monthly foreach slot machine. This applies to allgaming and betting games. This 40 percent is then divided between the treasurywith 40 per cent, 40 per cent for a socialprogramme and 20 per cent for thenational lottery.

However, there is some argumentbetween operators as to the differencesbetween the two amounts.

Existing concessions would have 60 daysto bring themselves into compliance withthe new regulations and Lonabol intendsto clamp down on slots operated in shopsand supermarkets. Another change wasthe reduction of the current 21 yearsminimum age to 18 years. The bill is stillin parliament

Meanwhile, other operating companiesinclude Quiniela Boliviana SA, which is acompany with Russian investment. Thecompany has 14 gaming halls inoperation in Santa Cruz.

The company recently opened another ElDorado in the city this year and hasinstalled 280 KSI slots, made in Russia,which play with a Bs10 note and have 14types of games. The location is 1,200sq.m and has a capacity for 500 people.

The investment of Quiniela is partly dueto a franchise from Corhat Bolivia and isthe first of its type in Santa Cruz, Asimilar hall but smaller gaming hall existsin Cochabamba and there is a project foranother in La Paz and other SouthAmerican countries.

Also in Santa Cruz is Maya’s Gold club, afranchise of Gloria SRL which opened itsdoors in March 2008 after being closed fora short while pending investigation of itslicense. The site has 100 machines.

Lotex opened its first casinos, BingoBahiti, in Santa Cruz in 2003 and has aconcession to operate for 10 years. Thecompany pays the government 15 percent of its income in royalties.

Lotex is owned by Ritzio EntertainmentGroup and today the group operates 15Bahiti Bingo and Bahiti Club brandedgaming clubs and 1,600 machines. Lotexis the biggest authorised operator inBolivia.

The first to open was Bingo Bahiti inSanta Cruz with an investment of US$3m

In 2006 a draft bill85/2007was

presented by theBolivian NationalLottery aimed at

regulating gaming inthe country, ending

illegal gaming,generating

employment andlooking at the loss of

taxes to the state.The new law is aimed

at financing thepublic health sectorthrough gaming tax.

with machines, another 40 start operatingeven though only half of these may holdthe actual licence.

In Santa Cruz alone it is reported that thesector loses more than BAB1.1m a year intaxes with the operation of some 4,000illegal machines.

Around 700 cases of illegal gaming wereregistered in 2007. Some governmentministers say the rule to only allow eightgaming companies is causing the loss ofsome BAB20m per year.

However, the ex-director of the nationallottery, Laura Encinas, said that in 2006the tax contributed came to BAB18m andBAB27m in 2007 and that the state couldreceive more if it raised its taxpercentages.

It was back in 2002 when things changed.

The national lottery, Lonabol, delegatedthe concession of the lottery game to thecompany Lotex SRL. Lonabol then signedjoint venture contracts with other privatecompanies that operate slots, thus takingadvantage of the lack of legal definition ofa slot machine.

The concession idea came about as thelottery was struggling due to a scandal atthe time. The idea was to launch aconcession for a legal gaming sector tostrengthen the image of the lottery.

In 2002, a process of public tenders tookplace and Lotex was given the exclusiveright to operate bingo halls for 10 yearswith a contribution of 15 per cent of theprofits going to the national lottery.

Up until February 2008, Lotex has givenBAB8.2m to Lonabol.

Initially, the company had to pay BAB25mfor the first year and BAB35m the secondyear to the national lottery before it couldeven open its doors.

The idea was to present traditional andelectronic formats of bingo tocomplement the national lottery and thiswas the first time the government hadawarded such a concession.

A licence was also granted at the time toCorhat Bolivia SA to operate bingo andgaming halls, whilst further licences weregranted between 2003 and 2005 to sixother companies: La Gloria, 7-Sietes,Raffle Games, Game Winning, ODDY andTournaments

Since 2006, two of these licensees havehad difficulties in fulfilling their contractand have had their licences revoked.



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SouthAmericaSpecial

the location includes 2,000 bingo seats,bar and restaurant for up to 350 people,VIP room, outdoor grill and seating. Thesite is 4,200sq.m in size and has a gamingroom with 150 slots and video bingo anda VIP lounge with capacity for 20 bingoterminals.

Bingo Bahiti was the first of otherlocations, which followed in La Paz andCochabamba, Sucre, Trinidad and Tarijawith a total investment of aroundUS$15m. La Paz Bingo Bahiti opened in2006 and has a total of 120 slots

Bingo Bahiti clubs focus on a wide rangeof customers and serve as majorentertainment centres. Bahiti Club is thebrand for smaller, high end gaming clubswith an upscale atmosphere andrestaurant and bar facilities.

The group will open another largelocation with 300 gaming machines inSanta Cruz this month.

Lotex SA is a large company in theentertainment industry and arrived inBolivia in 2002, headed by Spaniard PedroCenteno. In February 2003, the group

made a bid to launch the National Lotteryand was awarded a 10 year concession tooperate and administer bingo games andthe lottery in the country.

Lotex has contributed some US$6m to thelottery since 2002. In 2007, there was aninvestigation of Lotex of fraud regardingits payments to Lonabol.

Meanwhile, Corhat has had a contractwith the Loteria Nacional de Beneficienciay Salubridad (Lonabol) since 2004 toinstall gaming machines in the countryhaving put aside 50 per cent of its profitsto social programmes.

Corhat is a Paraguayan company thatsuccessfully runs a scheme called ‘Bancode los Pobres’ (Bank for the Poor) thatawards loans to families that need helpwith initiatives.

Corhat wanted to repeat the experience inBolivia and has a ‘joint venture’ contractwith Lonabol to install lottery games,football pools, sports books and numbergames.

Up to now the company has invested

Corhatwas recentlyacquired by aSwiss/Korean

investment groupwhich plans to invest

US46.8m in thefootball pools and

gaming. Corhat hasaround 20 gaminghalls and a total of

840machinesdistributed in 28

single site locations.

some US$3m and over the next few yearsplans to increase this to US$18m.

Corhat was recently acquired by aSwiss/Korean investment group, whichplans to invest US46.8m in football poolsand gaming. Corhat has around 20gaming halls and a total of 840 machinesdistributed in 28 single site locations.

Corhat plans to open eight gaming hallsand install around 1,650 slots whilstcreating 450 direct jobs. The company isalso planning to manufacture machinesand software for gaming machines.

BOLIVIA: VITALSTATISTICSCapital: La PazPopulation: 9,119,152 (July 2007)Land Area: 1,084,390 sq.kmMedian age: 22.2 yearsLanguages: Spanish (official),Quechua (official), Aymara(official)Currency: Boliviano (BAB)Government: RepublicLand Divisions: 9 administrativedepartments

No. Casinos: 0Gaming Arcades: Estimated 300(legal and illegal)Operators: 8Gaming Board:www.lonabol.gov.boLottery: www.lonabol.gov.bo



1

licences to be awarded by the first quarterof 2009. The SCJ released its report inJanuary and asked operators interested inbidding for the remaining three licencesto apply by the end of February.

In March, operators had to submit theirprojects and paperwork, which will nowbe evaluated over the following monthswith the winners being announced thismonth, if there are no delays.

The criteria is pretty much the same asthe previous 15 licences and thoseprojects which have the biggest impact oncasino hotel development, tourism andgeneral economy in the region will beawarded the licence.

SouthAmericaSpecial

In the late 15th century the Incas moved their empiresouth and attempted to conquer Chile. They weresuccessful in the north, but their influence elsewhere waslimited and they faced fierce resistance from theindigenous Araucanian Indians (Mapuches)

In 1540, Spanish explorer Pedro de Valdivia arrived andlater founded the capital city of Santiago in 1541. Hemanaged to control the local Indians although thesouthern Araucanians refused to budge.

Numerous Spanish settlements were built in central Chiledespite repeated attacks from the Araucanians whichremained a problem well into the 19th century.

Although the colonies secretly detested Spain’s militaryrule, they remained loyal to the crown for nearly threecenturies. When the King of Spain was overthrown at thebeginning of the 19th century the Chileans began toconsider independence and self government. Independencewas achieved in 1818.

Chile defeated Bolivia and Peru in a regional war (1879-1883) for the control of the Atacama Desert areas and,during the war, Chile gained more land to the north whilstBolivia lost its outlet to the sea.

From 1891, for the next 80 years Chile was governed byself-serving parliamentary regimes, military rule, left wing,right wing parties and a long line of democratically electedpresidents.

Democracy was thrown aside when in 1973 thedictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet began and endedin 1989 when democratic elections resumed again.

Today, sound economic policies and have contributed tosteady growth since the 1980s and the country’s povertyrate has been reduced.

GAMING INCHILEChile is probably South America’s biggest hotspot at themoment in terms of new casino development and onewhich many operators have been eager to enter.

Up until three years ago the country only had sevencasinos, which are located primarily in holiday resorts.These were municipal concessions that were originallyauthorised by the town’s local authorities between 1928and 1990.

Three of these original concessions are operated by Enjoy(Coquimbo, Pucon and Viña del Mar), who is also apartner with Pacifico Sur group (Fischer brothers) in thePuerto Varas casino.

The local authorities receive a significant chunk of gamingrevenues and the seven casinos reported pre-tax profits ofUS$87m in 2004. The Viña del Mar casino accounted forsome 45 per cent of this figure.

In May 2005 the law 19.995 was introduced, which will

ChileChile is currently one of the most excitinggaming markets in South America withnew licences and regional development

Several foreign operators are now linkingup with local partners, such as Spain’sCirsa, who failed to win a licence lasttime around after going it alone. Off-shoregaming companies such as Clairvest,which invested in Chilean companyValmar, and Sun International whichacquired a stake in IGGR, are alsoinvolved.

The SCJ says it has received 10 proposalsand regions of interest include Coquimbo,Maule, Los Lagos and Aisen.

As one of the aims is to boost investmentand employment in the regions;development is banned from themetropolitan region whilst one newlicence is reserved for Aisen in thecountry’s south which is the onlyprovince so far which does not have acasino.

The casinos are all due to be opened insmall towns and cities and with none ofthem in the capital Santiago, andhopefully they will provide a greateropportunity for jobs and localdevelopment in the interior area of Chile.

Apart from boosting local and foreigntourism the new locations will also helpwith other areas such as theatres,museums, and improved infrastructure. Ineconomic terms it is a key role for bothlarge and small companies in the supplychain from construction to equipment.

Any of the regions can be chosenalthough current casino regulations onlyallow each Chilean province to have up tothree casinos so the regions of Valparaisoand BioBio, which already have theirquota, are banned from the new tender.

Meanwhile, Chile does have someproblems with illegal slots that are mainlyfound in the rural and poorer areas of thecountry and are often small machinesfrom Asia.

There are no gaming arcades, althoughamusement arcades do seem to functionvery well particularly in shopping mallsand are often linked with bowlinglocations for family entertainment.

There are around 50 or so amusementarcades. Larger operators includeHappyland with around 22 sites, Aventurawith eight and some smaller arcades invarious provinces.

Ten-pin bowling on the whole is alsoexpanding in the country. Interestingly,three bowling installations are going intothree of the 15 new casino projects withCalama, Talca and Osorno.

In 2005/06 a tenderwas held for the first15 regulated casino

licences in nineregions. The seven

existing casinos arestill valid until 2015

and the lawestablishes a

selection process solocal or foreign

investors can laterapply for these

licences.

permit a maximum of 24 casinos whilst a70km exclusivity zone between casinosmust be respected.

In 2005/06, a tender was held for the first15 regulated casino licences in nineregions. The seven existing casinos arestill valid until 2015 and the lawestablishes a selection process so local orforeign investors can later apply for theselicences.

Although it paves the way for new casinooperations, the law also aims to tightenup regulations by the creation of anational supervisory body, theSuperintendencia de Casinos y Juegos(SCJ).

All the communities of the regions willpay a special tax of 20 per cent of thegross income generated by gambling.Around 50 per cent of the tax will beallocated to the community in which thecasino is located. The remainder goes tothe regional government.

Initially, 15 new licences have beengranted in two different stages. Stage Iawarded 10 new licences with a furtherfive new licenses which followed.

The first stage of the tender wasannounced in July 2006 when 10 gamingcasino licences were awarded in sixregions for Antofagasta, Calama, Copiapo,Los Angeles, Pinto, Talcahuano, Temuco,

Valdivia, Osorno and Punta Arenas.

The second stage saw licences in regionsV, VI and VII in San Antonio, Rinconada,Mostazal, Santa Cruz and Talca. The bidssaw a total investment of US$607.3m forall the projects.

Of the 15 new licences issued to date, themajority went to operators of existingcasinos, however, new operators such asSpain’s Egasa Nervion andAustrian/Chilean venture Polaris alsoentered the market.

Meanwhile, at the beginning of this year,the SCJ announced that it would acceptapplications for the remaining three



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SouthAmericaSpecial

SouthAmericaSpecial

Brunswick importer, Steve Geyger, whoruns Family Entertainment Centre GeygerMaliath Ltda, also supplies amusementproducts, and is installing bowling lanesin a range of locations from malls topetrol stations.

His company handles Chile, Peru andBolivia for Brunswick. The companyrecently completed a 12 lane installationin a Shell petrol and service station inRancauga.

Mr. Geyger said: “Chile is more than5,000km long and 40 per cent of itsweather in the south is hard, with coldand rain, which makes sport activitiesdifficult, so bowling has been of greatinterest to the people. Chile also has asolid economy that brings businessmen toinvest in real estate projects.”

Meanwhile, the country’s lottery is run byPolla Chilena de Beneficiencia SA, whichis an autonomous state-owned companycovering lottery, sports pools and otherrandom draw number games.

Polla Chilena was created in 1934 withthe first draw held at Club Hipico. In1975, Sports pool game was set upfollowed by a modern online gamingsystem 10 years later. The company has2,000 agents across the country whileprofits go to health services.

CHILE’SCASINOSARICA (MUNICIPALCONCESSION)This casino is one of the first of the sevencasinos in Chile and the second oldest. Itwas created in March 1960 in the HotelArica, which at the time was one of themost important hotels in the region. Since2001 it has been operated by LatinGaming and has undergone arefurbishment programme both inside andout. The casino contains 240 slots and 15table games and there are threerestaurants, three bars and events centre.Latin Gaming also has the license for acasino in Calama and Osorno.

IQUIQUE (MUNICIPALCONCESSION)This casino holds 659 slots and 23gaming tables. There is one bar and it isoperated by Casino de Juegos de IquiqueSA (Citigroup Venture CapitalInternational).

COQUIMBO (MUNICIPALCONCESSION)This is operated by the biggest Chileangaming group Enjoy. The casino includes800 slots and 35 table games and 228Bingo positions – the only bingo in thefourth region of Chile.

VIÑADELMAR (MUNICIPALCONCESSION)An hour’s drive from Santiago the casino

is located in a five star hotel with spa,four restaurants and convention centre.There are more than 1,200 slots and 48table games and 200 bingo positions.Operated by Enjoy.

PUCON (MUNICIPALCONCESSION)Located in the IX region the Hotel delLago casino includes 488 slots and 44table games. Operated by Enjoy.

PUERTOVARAS (MUNICIPALCONCESSION)The casino is found in the centre of lakes,volcanoes and native woods and islocated in a five star hotel with spa,restaurants, events centre and businesscentre. The casino has 700 slots and 33table games. Operated by Enjoy/Fischer.

PUERONATALES (MUNICIPALCONCESSION)Operated by Inversiones del Sur.

ANTOFAGASTAIn the north of the country is the regionof Antofagasta. Enjoy has the license tooperate the new casino here which wasscheduled to open in June this year. Inthe II region of Chile the casino cost aninvestment of US$47.7m and created 847jobs. It is located in a 92 room five starhotel with convention centre, showcentre, spa and gym, restaurants andbars. The casino will hold 700 slots and48 table games and 320 bingo positions.

CALAMAIn the II province the licence to operate inthis region went to Latin Gaming. With



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1

an investment of US$27.8m and creationof 600 jobs the project includes a 112room hotel.

COPIAPOIn the III region the licence for Copiagowent to Spanish firm Egasa Nervion. Withan investment of US$16.6m and creationof 292 jobs the project includes a 40 roomfive star hotel, two theatres, conventioncentre, swimming pool, disco andbar/restaurants. Egasa & Grupo Nervionis made up of two business groups –Egasa operates some 6,000 slots and 47arcades in Spain with a turnover of€150m. Nervion is the Spanish operatingarm and has casinos in San Sebastian,Mallorca and Bilbao.

OSORNOIn the X province the license to operatewent to Latin Gaming. With aninvestment of US$24.7m and the creationof 560 jobs the project includes a 100room five star hotel, gym, swim pool,theatres, bowling and commercial centre.The company linked up with the Vallelefamily (which owns supermarkets in thesouth of the country) for the concessionand the casino will include 300 slots and20 table games.

LOSANGELESIn the VIII region of Bio Bio this casinolicense went to Polaris (a joint venturebetween Austria’s CAI and Chile’sUrenda.) It cost US$11.6m investmentcreating 116 jobs and opened in July. The40 room four star hotel, conventioncentre, spa, gym, exhibition room andlibrary will open at the end of the year. Itis 1,300 sq.m and offers 12 gaming tables,200 slots and 40 bingo seats. Urenda is abanking, hotel and real estate group.

PINTOIn the VIII region this license wasawarded to Casino Termas de Chillan (JLGiner group) with an investment ofUS$5.4m and creating 345 jobs.

TALCAHUANOAlso in the VIII region Valmar wasgranted the licence for Casino Marina delSol. Valmar recently sold a 50 per centstake in its business to Toronto basedClairvest Group which paid a reportedUS$41.6m for the deal. With aninvestment of US$82.1m and 1,044 jobscreated, the project contains a 114 roomhotel and is due to open August 2008.

TEMUCOIn the IX region the casino bid was wonby brothers Humberto and ClaudioFischer of Pacifico Sur. This group wonthe most licenses in the 2005/06 tenderwith sites in Temuco, Valdvia and Punta

SouthAmericaSpecial

Arenas with a total investment ofUS$136.7m. This casino includes a 96room five star hotel, spa/gym, swimmingpool, convention centre, disco and shops.There will be 437 jobs created and aninvestment of US$49m.

VALDIVIAThis project includes a 104 room five starhotel, restaurant, bar, spa/gym,swimming pool and convention centre.Total investment was US$49.2m and it isoperated by Pacifico Sur.

PUNTAARENAS.Project investment is US$38.5m andincludes a restaurant, coffee saloon, bar,80 room five star hotel, spa/gym, indoorpool and convention centre. Operated byPacifico Sur.

SANANTONIOIn the V region San Antonio the casinowas given to Casinos de Juego delPacifico SA (IVISA) for an investment ofUS$28.9m. The project will include a 60room four star hotel, convention centre,spa/gym, commercial centre with 77shops and supermarket. It will create1,037 jobs. Parque Arauco, a principalshopping mall developer in Latin Americaacquired 51 per cent of the developmentproject to build the Paseo del PacificoMall. The mall will be the first of its kindin Chile to include a casino, hotel andshopping in the same site. It will cover 17floors.

RINCONADAAlso in the V region this casino will beoperated by Salguero Hotels Chile with aninvestment of US$16m.

MOSTAZALThis project in VI was won by SanFrancisco Investment SA (IGGR) with aninvestment of US$60.5m. SunInternational of South Africa has a 40 percent stake in the company and the casinois expected to have 1,500 slots and 80tables and 300 bingo seats with shops,hotel, conference and sports facilities.

SANTACRUZAlso in the VI region, the casino willinclude a commercial centre with 47shops and coffee shops. The project wentto Casino de Colchagua SA (Cardoen-Enjoy).

TALCAIn the VII region the project goes toSociedad Casino de Talca SA with aninvestment of US$7.6m The projectincludes a 48 room four star hotel, eventscentre, bowling, cultural site, swimmingpool, children’s entertainment area andcommercial centre.

CHILE: VITALSTATISTICSCapital: SantiagoPopulation: 16,284,741 (July2007)Land Area: 748,800 sq.kmMedian age: 30.7 yearsLanguages: SpanishQuechua (official), Aymara(official)Currency: Chilean Peso (CLP)Government: RepublicLand Divisions: 15 regions

No. Casinos: 22 at present with 24maximum permitted. There areseven existing (Arica is not counteddue to status of the borough andcomes under its own law) and 15new licenses due to open.Gaming Arcades: 0Operators: 15 casino operatorsCasino Slots: approx 4,300 (in theseven existing casinos)Casino Tables: approx 218 (in theseven existing casinos)Gaming Board: SCJ - www.scj.clLottery: www.pollachilena.cl

This is the first casino licence expected tobe granted in Guyana, and it is said atotal of four licenses will be permitted infour and five star hotels with at least 150rooms. At the moment, only Buddy’s iseligible, however, there are negotiationswith developers for further hotelconstruction.

A hotel is now being built in Kingston byNew York company Adam Development.Although the project is being advertisedas the Georgetown Marriot Hotel andCasino Complex, Marriot say no decisionhas been made yet as to whether it wouldbe operating and managing the hotel.

The government is also acceptingapplications for investments in theLilliendaal Greater Georgetown area onstate land.

Guyana has a mixed population with

SouthAmericaSpecial

This small piece of South America at the top of thecontinent was first inhabited by wandering Amerindianswho had migrated to South America from the Caribbean.

The country was discovered by the European explorers atthe end of the 16th Century and it was the Dutch whobegan to build settlements here in 1621, followed byAfrican slaves who arrived later.

Guyana history is littered with battles fought and won asthe Spanish, French, Dutch and British all wrangled forcenturies to own this land.

After the last major battle between England and Hollandin 1803, the country was given to England and its largestsettlement was renamed Georgetown.

Guyana remained a British colony until it finally gainedindependence in 1966 and today remains South America’sonly English speaking country.

Ruled into the early 1990s by Socialist governments, in1992 Cheddi Jagan was elected president in what isconsidered the country’s first free and fair elections sinceindependence. After his death five years later, his wifeJanet Jagan became president, later resigning in 1999. Hersuccessor Bharrat Jagdeo was re-elected in 2001 and 2006.

Meanwhile, the Guyanese economy showed moderategrowth between 2001 and 2007 due to expansion inagricultural and mining sectors.

GAMING INGUYANAGuyana is virgin gaming territory, which is about to openwith the possibility of up to 30 casinos permitted in thissmall country.

In January last year, the Guyana Parliament brought thecasino gambling legislation before parliament, which thenapproved the Gambling Prevention (Amendment) Bill2006. The new bill is an amendment of the GamblingPrevention Act Chapter of 1902.

The change of law is seen as a huge step to boostentertainment and tourism in the country, whichpreviously had no casinos and was aimed at providing atleast one casino licence before the start of the CricketWorld Cup in March earlier this year.

Over the last few years tourism has been given a higherpriority in Guyana’s economic development strategy andsince 1986 there has been significant development.

The country received a financial boost earlier this yearwith an allocation of US$1.2m from the national budgetfor the enhancement of the tourism industry.

While tourism is not a traditional sector in Guyana, it hasbeen placed on the high priority list to help the economy.The funds will be used to upgrade several venues.

The government aims to put the emphasis on niche sectors

GuyanaGuyana is virgin gaming territory, butdespite its size, the country could openup with at least 30 new casino licences

SouthAmericaSpecial

many Hindus, Christians and Muslimsand none of its religious leaders are infavour of any form of gambling.

The government opposition, the PeoplesNational Congress Reform (PNCR), wasagainst the new law purely on religiousgrounds and claims it will lead to moneylaundering, increased crime anddisintegration of social values.

Lengthy discussions took place betweenthe government and religious leaders andthe government has promised to takemeasures to limit the possible harm ofproblem gambling.

It is thought that the new law will notallow the Guyanese to gamble, onlytourists, however, many Guyanese alreadytravel across the borders to do so anyway.

Fines of at least US$100,000 andimprisonment of between six months andtwo years will be imposed on locals(other than workers and guests of thehotels or resorts) who enter the casinos.The bill also limits each administrativeregion to no more than three casinos witha maximum of 30 licences in total.

Meanwhile, the Guyana Lottery Companyis owned by Canadian Bank Note, acompany that supplies printed productsand control systems for lotteries,identification systems, payment systemsand shareholder services.

The lottery in Guyana began in August1996 with the launch of instant ticketgames later followed by other games.

Today, the lottery products are sold via150 agents across the country and 24 percent of the company’s gross monthlysales is given to the government for socialcauses and projects with a contribution todate of more than G$2.6bn.

The Guyana LotteryCompany is owned byCanadian Bank Note,

a companywhichsupplies printed

products and controlsystems for

lotteries,identification

systems, paymentsystems andshareholder

services.

such as yachting, bird-watching andeco-tourism and last year the tourismauthority received US$322,000.

The new legislation permitted a casino atBuddy International Hotel and Resort,which was built last year ready for theWorld Cup with an investment ofUS$13m.

The hotel is located in the capitalGeorgetown and although the hotel wascompleted in time, the casino licence isstill dependent on the gaming authorityapproval – an authority which has yet tobe created.

However, since its construction Buddy’shotel has received a lot of bad press andhas since been nick-named ‘Buddy’sCriminal Enterprise.’

It was built by businessman Omprakash

Shivraj, known as Buddy, and there arequestions as to the actual permission tobuild and some say the casino is merelybased on a promise made by thePresident Jagdeo’s administration to thealleged drug lord.

The six-storey, 270 room hotel withswimming pool and shopping mall wasbuilt next to the new Providence cricketstadium and local press continues tobelieve it was funded by launderedmoney from fuel and drug smuggling.

The hotel also contains 15 executive suits,two restaurants, five bars, a conferenceroom for 500 people and a gym. Tocomplete the project the hotel alsoreceived several mortgages including aloan from the state on the sale of roomsto the Guyana government.

Currently, the Buddy’s Hotel project is set

to be purchased by Sudi Ozkan, Presidentof Turkey’s Princess Hotel and Casinogroup, for US$15m. The deal is expectedto be finalised by October this year.

Princess is expected to invest a furtherUS$10m to upgrade the hotel, which hasapparently not been built to five starstandards. The deal is subject toestablishing and operating a casino,however, the casino can only go aheadonce a gaming authority has beenestablished. The Princess Group hopes tohave the casino up and running by theend of the year.

Ozkanlar Group of companies wasfounded in 1974 by Sudi Ozkan, who wasborn in Turkey. The company currentlyoperates hotels and casinos in Belarus,Belize, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia,St. Maarten and Turkey.



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GUYANA: VITALSTATISTICSCapital: GeorgetownPopulation: 769,095 (July 2007)Land Area: 196,850 sq.kmMedian age: 27.8 yearsLanguages: English, Amerindiandialects, Creole, CaribbeanHindustani, UrduCurrency: Guyanese dollar (GYD)Government: RepublicLand Divisions: 10 regions

No. Casinos: 0 (permission for 30in total)Gaming Arcades: 0Gaming Board: Not yet establishedLottery: www.guyana-lottery.com

population. Gaming brings the state morethan PYG$4,000m a month in total. Thefootball pools brings in most revenue forthe state with PYG$2,863m per month.This is operated by the firm Repsur whichhas operated in Paraguay since 1975.

Casinos follow and each bring in aroundPYG$300m monthly. The CasinoAsuncion pays around PYG283m monthlyand the Yacht Club almost PYG$344m.

Televised bingo follows withapproximately PYG$148m a month andthen the Paraguay lottery with aroundPYG$75m a month. The horse racingtrack brings in around PYG$5m

In 2004, the Commission received a totalof PYG$34,000m which increased toPYG$52,000m last year.

Meanwhile, last year the Commission for

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Located in the heart of South America, Paraguay wasdiscovered by Italian explorer Sebastian Cabot who sailedup the Parana River in 1526. The surrounding lands ofParaguay were originally home to many fierce indigenousIndian tribes.

In 1537, Spain’s Juan de Salazar founded the now capitalcity of Asuncion and Spain began to colonise the interiorand the Jesuits converted the Indians to Catholicism.

However, although Paraguay appeared to be a valuableSpanish domain, with no gold found, no silver to bemined and no local Indians for slave labour, Paraguayremained an isolated and peaceful colony that stayed outof the spotlight.

After 250 years of Spanish rule the Spanish King wasoverthrown by Napoleon and the country becameindependent in 1811 and was the first country on thecontinent to do so.

With independence, however, came dictatorships,revolutions, military rule and wars. In the disastrous warof the Triple Alliance in 1865-70 with Argentina, Braziland Uruguay, the country lost two thirds of its adult malesand much of its territory.

Paraguay’s economy crashed and a long series ofdictatorships continued into the late 20th century whenthe 35 year rule of Alfredo Stoessner was finallyoverthrown in 1989.

Paraguay has held relatively free elections since the year2000, despite a marked increase in political unrest andfailed coups.

GAMING INPARAGUAYParaguay is due to see some changes in its gaming lawswhen a new President takes over this month.

Former Roman Catholic bishop Fernando Lugo wonParaguay’s presidential elections in April ending more than60 years of rule by the Colorado Party.

Allegations of corruption have always surroundedParaguay’s political establishment and national gamingcommission. CONAJZAR’s regulations have also beenaccused of automatic licensing and a static tax regime.

But with a new president about to take charge manybelieve his religious and political background could signalimpending doom for Paraguay’s gambling market.

In the meantime, prior to the new president taking officeon August 15 there has been some discretion regarding thelicence renewals granted by gaming authority, CONAJZAR,which are considered irregular by some in the industry.

It is understood that one application would be presentedfor each licence and this would be granted with a three tofive year operating licence in exchange for a minimum fee.

ParaguayThere’s a sense of forboding hanging overthe Paraguay gaming market as thecountry elects a new president this month

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Economics and Finance in Paraguay metto modify articles 21 and 22 of the1016/97 law, which establishes the legalparameters for the operation of games ofchance.

The idea was to set up a legal frameworkfor gaming in Paraguay, whilst limitingthe three daily lottery draws to just one.In addition, the commission wanted toformulate a gaming law that providedmore control over gaming venues inParaguay and increase public participationfor more gaming tax revenue.

The issue in Paraguay now concernsimpending licences and renewals. In2005, the licence was renewed for CasinoEntertainment for the operation of theYacht and Golf Club in Asuncion which isthe most important casino in Paraguay.

Meanwhile, the Hipodrome of Asuncionlicence, currently administered by theJockey Club of Paraguay, expired inMarch this year. Casinos of Asuncion andCentral are also due to expire.

Last year, Cosmopolitan was issued alicence for satellite betting, which was thelast licence authorised by CONAJZARpending the new law 6206/99.

Various companies interested in newlicenses for casinos have put forwardtheir applications before presidentNicanor Duarte Frutos leaves in August. Itis understand a bribe of US$1m was evenoffered to the Vice President of Paraguay,Federico Franco, to sign documents tooperate the Hipodrome in Asuncion. Thisis the only pending licence which hasnow been suspended.

It is understood that the commissionwould rather wait for the newgovernment to come into place beforedealing with the concessions and they saythat once the new government takesoffice it will submit slot machineoperators to more stringent regulations.

One of the problems is that althoughCONAJZAR covers the country’s fivecasinos, it does not have regulatoryauthority over slot machine halls. Theyare authorised at municipal level.

Under CONAJZAR’s proposals themunicipal governments will continue toissue licences for gaming halls, but theregulation of machine gaming itself willbe overseen by CONAJZAR, which isalready talking to GLI regarding machinetesting.

CONAJZAR also aims to combat moneylaundering and illegal gambling, which

Under CONAJZAR’sproposals the

municipalgovernmentswillcontinue to issue

licenses for gaminghalls but theregulation of

machine gamingitself will beoverseen by

CONAJZARwho isalready talking to GLI

aboutmachinetesting.

Paraguay currently operates under the lawnumber 1016/97, which established theconditions for the operation of games ofchance followed by the decree number6206/99.

It states that for the tender process ofgames of chance, a public tender must beperformed as long as regulations allowCONAJZAR to grant temporary licences.They say temporary authorisation wasgranted to the operator, Jockey Club, forthe horse racing track licence andrenewals of Asuncion and Central casinolicences.

There are currently five casinos inParaguay in the regions of Asuncion,Central, Alto Parana, Itapua andAmambay. There is a bid to re-open theCasino Guarani, although nothing hasbeen decided yet. Law 1016/97 includesthe following points:

• Concessions for the operation ofgaming are given via a public tenderfor the time period of five years.

• Finance or a guarantee of funds arerequired whilst a minimum monthlyroyalty or percentage on takings alsoneeds to be provided.

• Casinos are permitted in Asuncion andthe departments of Alto Parana, Itapua,Amambay, Cordillera, Misiones andCentral.

• More than one casino can only bepermitted in Asuncion and departmentswith more than 250,000 people.

• Horse racing tracks are permitted indistricts with more than 100,000 people

• For gaming machines operatednationally and departmentally - the

royalty is distributed with 30 per centgoing to the municipal governments; 30per cent to the departmentalgovernments; 30 per cent and 10 percent to DIBEN (social welfareassistance) and the national treasuryrespectively

• For gaming machines operated inAsuncion – of the royalty, 25 per centgoes to the Municipal Capital, 20 percent to the departmental governments,20 per cent to the municipalgovernment 25 per cent to DIBEN and10 per cent to Rentas Generales.

There are six types of gaming concessionsgranted – football pools, telebingo, bingohalls, casinos, horse racing and betting.

CONAJAZAR, however, has the authorityto permit more casinos in Asuncion andthose departments with 250,000 or more



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of the most original hotels in the country.It is operated by Casino Entertainment.

ALTOPARANACASINOCIUDADDELESTELocated in Ciudad del Este this casino isthe oldest in Paraguay and has been opensince the 1970s. Located on the Brazilianborder it is based on a Las Vegas styleand features 60 slots and 14 table games.It is operated by Azar International.

SouthAmericaSpecial

apparently accounts for more than 50 percent of the market. The commission alsosays more casinos will be introduced inParaguay’s larger cities and remote areasin the near future.

There’s also talk of a new casino to bebuilt by Argentinean operators Boldt(Casino Tigre in Argentina), Paraguayoperators American Gaming and Worest(Argentina) who have teamed together toform the 7 Saltos Company to build acasino in Salto del Guaira, in the region ofCanendiyu, North West region ofParaguay.

With a share capital of US$3.2m they aimto build a casino in this remote region,which will target the Brazilian market asit is right on the border

PARAGUAY’SCASINOSASUNCIONHOTELRESORTCASINOYACHTANDGOLFCLUBThis resort is located on the river banksouth of Asuncion and just 14 kilometresfrom the city. It has a private beach andsurrounded by natural vegetation. TheCasino Tower opened in 2001 and features65 gaming tables and 20 table games. The

resort also includes five restaurants, onebar and hotel with a total of 128 rooms.The casino is operated by Worest ofArgentina the group via a company calledSES SA.

AMAMBAYCASINOAMAMBAYHOTELLocated in Pedro Juan Caballero which isa city in the Amambay department. It lieson the Brazilian border. The casino has 65slots and the hotel has 42 rooms and isoperated by Casinos Cerro Cera.

ITAPUACASINOCARNAVALOpened in June last year in the city ofEncarnacion the casino is operated byCasinos Paraguayos SA, which is a groupmade up of national and foreign investorsheaded by Casinos del Litoral SA whichoperates casinos in Argentina. The casinocost an investment of around US$2m.

CENTRALCASINOSANBERNARDINOLocated in the city of San Bernardinothere are 28 slots and 14 table games atthe San Bernardino Country and GolfClub and Hotel Acuario International, one

There’s talk of a newcasino to be built by

Argentineanoperators Boldt(Casino Tigre in

Argentina),Paraguay operators

American GamingandWorest

(Argentina)whohave teamed

together to form the7 Saltos Company to

build a casino inSalto del Guaira, in

the region ofCanendiyu, North

West region ofParaguay.



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PARAGUAY: VITALSTATISTICSCapital: AsuncionPopulation: 6,669,086 (July 2007)Land Area: 397,300 sq.kmMedian age: 21.6 yearsLanguages: Spanish (official),Guarani (official)Currency: Guarani (PYG)Government: ConstitutionalrepublicLand Divisions: 17 Departmentsand one capital city

No. Casinos: 5Casino Slots: 270Casino Tables: Approx 70Gaming Board: CONAJZAR





























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The move represents a significant splitfrom state controlled gambling inUruguay’s capital that has been tarredwith allegations of corruption.

Six months ago the Director of Casinos,Juan Carlos Bengoa was sent to prison forirregularities during his term as director ofcasinos, including charges of fraud. It issaid some US$14m went missing in theMontevideo state during 2000 and 2005.

Meanwhile, the bid for the licence of anew casino to be opened in a four starhotel in the city of Rivera (near to theBrazilian border) was postponed andre-opened on June 18.

The decision to change the opening datefor bids was down to difficulties onecompany had with a guarantee. There areonly two companies bidding for thelicence.

The tender will be issued for 15 years forthe construction of a new complexbuilding. If the project is for arefurbishment of the current hotel, thelicence is for 30 years. Both options mustcontain a hotel and the licence is for a‘sistema mixto’.

Meanwhile, the well known MaronasHorse Racing Track has been operatedsince 2001 by the SociedadLatinoamericana de Inversiones (GrupoSLI) and Spain’s Codere group. The twocompanies are represented by HipicaRioplatense SA, which was set up tomanage racetracks in South America.

The racetrack had been closed for sevenyears and is one of two major tracks inthe country.

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When Spanish explorer Juan Diaz de Solis came ashore atUruguay in 1516, he was promptly killed by the largegroups of indigenous Indians who occupied this land.

In 1680, the Portuguese founded Colonia on the edge ofthe River Plate, directly across from the Spanish controlledcity of Buenos Aires.

In response, the Spanish established Montevideo in 1726as a military stronghold and with its natural harbour thissettlement soon became an important regional centre ofcommerce.

Claimed by Argentina but annexed by Brazil in 1821,Uruguay began its fight for freedom led by Jose GervasioArtigas. Independence was declared in 1825 and in 1828the State of Uruguay was officially created.

Government reforms were introduced in the early 20thCentury and there was a real effort to improve theeconomy. However, financial pressures on its new welfarestate brought political unrest.

A violent Marxist urban guerrilla movement (theTupamaros) arrived in the late 1960s and they led thegovernment into military control in 1973.

Civilian rule was finally restored in 1985 and in 2004 anew coalition party, Frente Amplio, won national electionsthat effectively ended 175 years of political instability.

GAMING INURUGUAYUp until the 1950s casinos in Uruguay were operatedprivately, but a series of bad situations led the authoritiesto pass the casinos into state control.

In 1994, the Direccion General de Casinos (DGC), whichcomes under the Ministry of Economy and Finance, set upthe ‘sistema mixto’ of tourism complexes and commercialcentres which began the following year.

Today, the casino market is closely controlled by thegovernment and has seen considerable growth thaty hasenabled both state and private casinos to exist

Back in 1996 there were 26 gaming halls with just 1,221gaming machines. There are now 37 gamingestablishments (casinos and gaming halls) throughout 17of the 19 departments in the country.

The state operates four of the eight casinos in total – Puntadel Este, Atlantida, Pirapolis and Rivera. The state alsomanages four gaming halls, which are annexed to casinos– two in Punta del Este, one in Rivera and one at Atlantidaand 17 individual gaming halls.

In 1994, the system enabled jointly run establishments bytourist complexes and/or commercial companies.

The gaming machines operated within theseestablishments are, however, still under the control of thethe country’s DGC.

UruguayPrivate operations exist in Uruguay,though the majority of the gamingbusiness in the country is state controlled

Codere runs a system which combineshorse race betting and the management ofthe gaming machines installed within theracetrack complex.

The concession of the racetrack permitsfive slot machine halls. Codere and GrupoSLI opened four halls and the companyowns racing agencies with domestic andinternational horse races and internationalgreyhound racing. The centres have atotal of 1,523 slots.

CASINOS INURUGUAYCANELONESCASINOATLANTIDAThis casino is located within theArgentino Hotel. There are 170 slots andeight roulette tables (state run).

COLONIACASINOCOLONIADELSACRAMENTOThis casino is located in the HotelRadisson Colonia and has 100 slots and12 table games.

CASINOCARMELOThis casino is located in the Hotel FourSeasons Resort Carmelo. There are 48slots and eight table games. The hotel has90 rooms

MALDONADOCASINOPUNTADELESTEThis casino is located in the ConradResort. The hotel has 296 rooms and 30suites. The Las Vegas style casino is 3,400sq.m in size and has 72 tables and 560slots whilst the VIP room has 66 slots.Under management by Harrahs (staterun).

CASINOLABARRADEMALDONADOThis casino is located in the Hotel MantraResort Spa & Casino on the coast of theAtlantic Ocean. The casino is 2,500 sq.mand spread across four rooms. There are185 slots and 32 table games including apoker room.

CASINOPIRIAPOLISThis casino has 100 slots and seven tablegames. The hotel has 500 rooms. (staterun).

MONTEVIDEOCASINOVICTORIAPLAZALocated at the Hotel Radisson Montevideoin the heart of the financial andcommercial district this casino has anannexed gaming hall. There are 500 slotsand 13 table games.

RIVERACASINORIVERALocated in the Hotel Municipal the casinohas 74 slots and eight table games. Thehotel has 300 rooms. (state run).

Themajority of theUruguay casinos are

located in theMaldonado region

and on coastalresort Punta del

Este.

The four casinos that fall under thiscategory include: Casino Colonia delSacramento, Casino Carmelo, Casino LaBarra de Maldonado and Casino VictoriaPlaza. There is also one gaming hallannexed to a casino (Victoria Plaza) andfour individual gaming halls.

The majority of the casinos are located inthe Maldonado region and on coastalresort Punta del Este. The region aims tobe the main casino hub and hasannounced plans to attract furthertourism investment. The centre piece ofthis plan is the construction of a cruiseship port and adjacent five star hotel andcasino with an investment of aroundUS$300m.

Meanwhile, earlier this year thegovernment authorities in the capital ofMontevideo opened an internationalpublic tender for a 30 year concession to

renovate and operate the casino at theHotel Carrasco.

The hotel is a landmark building on thecoast. It was opened in 1921 in the styleof the French ‘Palais Royal’ and wasdeclared a National Historic Monument in1975.

Since the late 1990s, Carmitel SA has heldthe rights to operate the hotel. However,the company has failed to carry outrequired renovation work and its licencehas now been suspended. The projectaims to bring the hotel in line with fivestar international standards with 118rooms and modern facilities.

The casino is at the moment operated bythe Montevideo Municipal Governmentand the plan is to privatise the operationvia the public tender. The winningcompany will be given a 30 year licence

and will have to renovate the property(estimated at US$40-50m), which couldtake up to two years to complete.

Bidders had until May to present theiroffers and some 11 groups from the US,Spain, Portugal and France haveexpressed an interest in the bid, includingHyatt Hotel, which says its intention is todevelop the property with local GrupoLiberman.



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URUGUAY: VITALSTATISTICSCapital: MontevideoPopulation: 3,460,607 (July 2007)Land Area: 173,620 sq.kmMedian age: 32.9 yearsLanguages: Spanish, Portunol orBrazilero (Spanish/Portuguese mix)Currency: Uruguayan Peso (UYU)Government: ConstitutionalRepublicLand Divisions: 19 Departments

No. Casinos: 8Gaming Arcades: 29Casino Slots: 1,800Casino Tables: 160Gaming Machines: 4,928Gaming Board: www.dgc.gub.uyLottery: www.loteria.gub.uy

GAMINGMACHINES INURUGUAYYEAR GAMINGMACHINES GAMINGLOCATIONS AVERGESLOTS

(SLOTS) PERGAMINGLOCATION

2001 3,048 33 89.702002 3,425 33 92.362003 4,412 39 113.122004 4,928 36 136.892005 4,928 36 136.89

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commercial Centre Ciudad Tamanaco,which were closed in August this year.

Venezuela is governed by the Law for theControl of Casinos, Bingos and SlotMachines, which includes the following:

• Operators of casinos or bingo hallsmust be constituted as a corporationwhose corporate capital is representedin nominative shares.

• Foreign capital can not exceed 80 per

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Human settlements in Venezuela can be dated back to13,000BC. The land was discovered in 1498 by ChristopherColumbus and named Venezuela (Little Venice) byAmerigo Vespucci in 1499.

It remained a colony of Spain until declaring itsindependence in 1811. After the defeat of the Spanish bySimon Bolivar in 1819, along with Colombia, Ecuador andPanama, it formed the independent Republic of Gran.Venezuela later emerged from that coalition in 1830 tobecome an independent nation.

Since then, and for most of the first half of the 20thCentury, the country was ruled by numerous militarystrongmen who profited from the oil industry and allowedfor some social reforms.

Democratically elected governments first took place in1959 and on the back of this, Venezuela established itsown constitution in 1961.

The election of President Hugo Chavez in 1999 saw theimplementation of his 21st Century Socialism, whichclaims to alleviate social ills, while at the same timeattacking globalisation and undermining regional stability.

Today, concerns include a weakening democraticinstitution, political polarisation, drug related violence,over-dependence on the petroleum industry andirresponsible mining operations, which endanger the rainforest and indigenous communities.

GAMING INVENEZUELAVenezuela is governed by the leftist government of HugoChavez and many types of gaming are prohibited.

The casino sector provides a great source of tourismrevenue and jobs for the locals and is also popular withVenezuelans as they are the only legalised type ofgambling in the country.

No sports betting or gaming outside of casinos is permittedalthough illegal dog and horse racing does exist, alongsideillegal casinos and slot halls.

The country currently has four casinos that remain open,although accuracy of this figure is somewhat sketchy.They are found along the coastal cities and one onMargarita Island, just off the coast of Venezuela.

There are also two Internet casinos. The Internet gamingcompanies do not operate on the mainland, but via theVenezuelan island of Margarita Island. The two onlinecompanies are CasinoOnAir and Casino Bar, with ratherdubious reputations.

Margarita Island is a resort island less than 25 miles offthe coast of Venezuela and has a permanent population of300,000 residents.

It has an ideal climate of a steady 80º and 320 days of

The introduction of huge tax increasesacross the bingo and casino sector hashit the gaming industry hard inVenezuela

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cent of the corporate capital of thecompany.

• Operators of casinos in five star hotelsmust purchase an investment of notless than 300,000 tributary units.

• Operators of bingo halls must purchasean investment of not less than 100,000tributary units.

• Casinos must be located within fivestar hotels and have a minimum of200 rooms.

• Bingos must be located in four or fivestar hotels or in other locationsauthorised by the commission. In otherlocations they must provide thefollowing amenities: bar, restaurant,lounges, parking and live shows.

• Casinos, bingo and slot machineoperations must be located in areasdeclared as tourist zones and apt forthe operation of such premises. Theycannot be located near to educationcentres, temples, health centres andhospitals and there must be at least200m distance between them.

• Casinos and bingo must install adouble system of computerised securityfor entrance and games.

• Slots may only be operated in casinosand bingos.

• Casinos or bingos cannot advertise orpromote their games.

• Casinos are taxed with 10 per cent ofthe net earnings. Bingos are taxed at 12per cent.

• A monthly royalty of 40 TU isestablished for each gaming table. Eachslot machines pay 10 TU.

In May last year, a new law wasestablished which saw huge tax increasesacross the bingo and casino sector.

The law saw a new monthly tax ofbetween 120 TU and 320 TU (US$2,100-US$5,600) for each table game installed ina casino. Slots saw a minimum of 100 TUand maximum of 200 TU (US$1,750-US$3,500) monthly for each machine incasinos and bingo halls.

Bingo halls pay between 12 and 20 percent on profits from revenues whilstoperators of gaming machines paybetween 30 and 50 per cent.

The tax debate had been discussed forover a year, but many say the increase

In 2007, SENIAT (theMinistry of Tourismcustoms and exciseservice) collected a

record US$17.7mfrombingos and

casinos in Venezuela.

sunshine a year, sandy beaches andabundant leisure activities.

In 2007, SENIAT (the Ministry of Tourismcustoms and excise service) collected arecord US$17.7m from bingos and casinosin Venezuela.

The total gaming tax was a 13 per centincrease on 2006 figures, whilst MINTUR(Ministry of Tourism) predicted a furtherincrease for this year to aroundUS$21.4m. The money will go to thedevelopment of the non-gaming tourism

sector in Venezuela.

The gaming sector is governed by theComision Nacional de Casinos (CNC),which comes under the Ministry ofTourism in Venezuela and is responsiblefor the control, supervision, licensing andinspection of the sector. It is headed byPresident Olga Cecilla Azuaje.

At the beginning of the year thecommission announced that it would nolonger renew or issue licences for the

installation or operation of casinos andbingos for the next three years starting inMarch 2008.

Meanwhile, the commission has alsorequested that anyone operatingauthorised slots must present the detailsof each machine to the commission.

Last year, the CNC worked hard to wipeout illegal gaming and 23 operations wereclosed. Some of the most recent includesites in Caracas, operated in the



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was based on hearsay and a misreadingof local slot statistics.

Mr. Chavez was expected to send a bill tocongress this year banning all gamingrelated operations. Last summer, theChavez administration implemented anew gaming tax structure that broughtwidespread outcry from the industry.

The Nueva Esparta State Bingo WorkersUnion even requested that the SupremeCourt suspend the new regulations.

The union argues that the ten-foldincrease in gambling taxes has put undueeconomic pressure on bingo operatorsand many have been forced to layworkers off.

On the island of Margarita, six bingo hallsand three slot casinos have closed theirdoors in protest at the tax hike.

Lottery operators are also complainingthat their sales have dropped as the newtaxes and fees have led to a reduction inthe value of prizes.

It is understood that lottery retailers arenow keeping just two per cent of thevalue of each bets, which is not enoughto cover operational costs.

Under the new regulations, SENIATimmediately began to crack down onoperators that did not abide by the newrules and has fined and temporarilyclosed several operations.

Meanwhile, the main operators in

It is understood thatlottery retailers arenowkeeping just twoper cent of the valueof each bets, which isnot enough to coveroperational costs.

Venezuela include Tilley Entertainment,which has two casinos in Venezuela – theCasino Maruma since 2002 and the ElDorado since May 2007.

The company did have a third casino,which was opened prior to last year’sCopa America Tournament, however ithad to close when the promisedinternational airport in the area failed toopen in the area.

The company also operates a casino inColombia with plans to open another fourwithin the year.

Tilley Entertainment’s Elena Chavezcommented: “The tax increases did affectus and our operations and as a directresult we have had to reduce our gamingpositions.


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Newcasino projectsinclude Group

Caroni’s plans for acasino, conventioncentre, hotel towerand shoppingmalls

at the Hotel BellaVista property, againonMargarita Island.

VENEZUELA: VITALSTATISTICSCapital: CaracasPopulation: 26,023,528(July 2007)Land Area: 882,050 sq.kmMedian age: 24.9 yearsLanguages: Spanish (official),Indigenous dialectsCurrency: Bolivar (VEB)Government: Federal RepublicLand Divisions: 23 States and onecapital district and one federaldependency

No. Casinos: 4Casino Slots: Approx 850Casino Tables: Approx 120Gaming Board:www.cncasinos.gov.veLottery:www.loteriadeltachira.com.ve


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“In our view the gaming industry inVenezuela is very unstable due tounpredictable policies made by thegovernment, however, we are optimistictowards the future.”

New casino projects include GroupCaroni’s plans for a casino, conventioncentre, hotel tower and shopping malls atthe Hotel Bella Vista property, again onMargarita Island.

The group bought the hotel in 1997 andhas received the licence for the casinosand is due to start work on the project.

CASINOS INVENEZUELAFIESTACASINOGUAYANALocated in the Intercontinental GuayanaHotel. There are 26 tables and 101 slots

and was the first casino to open in thecity. There are three restaurants, a barand hotel with 189 rooms.

MARUMA INTERNATIONALHOTELANDCASINOThis casino opened in 2002 in the busyindustrial city of Maracaibo. It was builtto complement the five star Crowne PlazaHotel complex, which includes a hotelwith 410 rooms, convention centre,restaurants and bars and shops. There arethree levels of live gaming and sportsbook with several large screens. Thecasino has 37 tables, 320 slots includingtwo eight seat electronic roulettes and ahorse racing machine. It is operated byTilley Entertainment

GRANCASINOMARGARITALocated at the Hilton Margarita and Suites

Hotel on Margarita island, the resort sitson the Morena Beach facing theCaribbean sea. It has 38 tables and 200slots and is operated by Cirsa.

CASINOELDORADOThis casino opened in May 2007 and hastwo levels of gaming via the main floorand VIP club and includes a restaurantand two bars. The casino has 20 tablesand 214 slots including two electronicroulettes with eight seats and a 23 seaterhorse racing machine. Operated by TilleyEntertainment

SouthAmericaSpecial

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