The objective given by representatives was that there is a need for amendments to the current Casino Law, and to establish responsibilities in the event of proven wrong doing by the Casino Commission (Superintendencia de Casinos de Juego – SCJ), the licensing body.

Representative Pablo Lorenzini, president of the Exchequer Commission, who promoted the Casino commission of enquiry, said that there is a need to halt the licensing process, which should authorize the remaining five casino licences, adding that: “The idea is to give maximum transparency to this process, which has been affected by all kind of hearsay.”

However, according to a press release issued by the Casino Commission the process cannot be stopped: “As far as current legislation is concerned, neither the Casino Commission, nor its Executive Council have been afforded administrative powers to interfere with the legal terms relating to the dates for evaluating the casino projects, which must end according to law by November 2. Additionally, the licensing dates according to the law must end by January 1, 2007, and this date cannot be changed by the Executive Council”.

What this means is that casino licensing in Chile must continue irrespective of Congress commissions or legal injunctions, unless provided for within the Casino Act 2005. It is no surprise then that Chile, a country with per capita GDP of US$12,000, should generate the figures forecast by the Casino Commission, which indicated that the ten new casinos licensed to operate could see gross gaming revenue of US$186 million in their first year of operation.

The figure represents around US$34.4 per person for Chile’s 5.4 million population, including the very young and very old. According to the Casino Commission, gross gaming revenue should reach US$250 million after five years and around US$300 million in a decade. These amounts will be subject to 18% VAT and a 20% gaming tax, as required under Chile’s Casino Act. The taxes will be divided equally between the host municipalities and the regional governments.

The SCJ is remarkably even more specific in its forecasts. The casino in Talcahuano, awarded to the company Valmar, will apparently make gross gaming revenue of US$58 million in its first year, followed by US$38 million from Enjoy’s casino in Antofagasta and US$25 million from the Fischer Group casino in Temuco.

As the local newspaper El Mercurio states, the total figure quoted is almost twice that recorded by the seven already operating casinos in 2004, and does not include the five pending casino licences. In effect these statistics conclude that whoever obtains the Rancagua licence, the city closest to Santiago where there will be no casinos, will generate GGR of US$50 million in the first year of operation – without taking into account the additional traffic from metropolitan Santiago.

It is anticipated that Chile will be the most important development in the global gaming industry in the next two or three years. The granting of casino licences in Chile’s Regions signifies a great opportunity for investors, operators and the growth of the country’s tourist industry. To the SCJ figures for the seven existing casinos can be added the fifteen new licences, giving possible gross revenue of US$300 million after just one year in operation.

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