Chile receives bids for casinos in four communes
The tender for four casino operating permits in Chile entered a decisive stage on August 11, with the hearing for the presentation of technical and economic offers that the Superintendence of Gaming Casinos is conducting in Santiago for the locations of Iquique, Coquimbo, Viña del Mar, and Pucón. The process seeks to award 15-year permits for four locations that became available after the early resignations of Enjoy and Dreams during 2025, as Enjoy relinquished the licenses for Coquimbo, Viña del Mar, and Pucón, and Dreams that for Iquique, with processes formally opened by the regulator in January.
The instance comes after several weeks of challenges and various submissions to the Competition Defense Tribunal. The controversy began in June when Marina del Sol brought a query before the tribunal regarding the technical specifications, arguing that certain requirements could restrict competition and favor operators with a presence or assets in the tendered locations, including minimum investment amounts, the prior definition of certain sites, the obligation to retain the outgoing operator's staff, and investments in tourism infrastructure. Dreams joined the request for suspension and questioned the obligations of employment continuity, complementary investments, and certain conditions regarding municipal properties, while the Peruvian-origin Grupo Meier filed various actions, arguing that there were insufficient guarantees for a competitive and transparent process.
The tribunal initially rejected the suspension linked to Viña del Mar and, on July 28, dismissed the appeals for reconsideration from Marina del Sol and Corporación Meier, as well as Meier and Dreams' request to suspend all four processes, with which the superintendence confirmed the validity of the schedule. However, on August 7, Grupo Meier appealed again to insist on the suspension, requesting to halt the process at least until the tribunal analyzes the observations on the specifications in September, at a hearing scheduled for September 9 with the participation of the Municipality of Viña del Mar, Marina del Sol, and the National Economic Prosecutor's Office. This body analyzed the special conditions of the specifications and stated that it observed no restrictions, considering them requirements contemplated in the Casino Law, equally applicable to bidders and known before the presentation, a precedent that the tribunal took into account when ruling on the suspensions.
The superintendence also introduced modifications to the specifications during the process, as in April it adjusted technical, financial, and methodological aspects of the four tenders and extended the submission deadline by 12 business days, with changes in minimum investment amounts, guarantees, required background information, and evaluation methodology, including a reduction in the minimum investment in Coquimbo. In parallel, the process added new names, with the establishment of Casino Volcán Pucón for the Pucón location and Casino de Juegos de Coquimbo, linked to the private investment fund Octium managed by Alza, for the Coquimbo location. Following the submission of offers, the superintendence must proceed with the evaluation of the technical proposals, a stage that contemplates a period of up to 120 business days using the methodology defined in the specifications.
Tags: Superintendency of Gaming Casinos, Chilean casino tender process, Competition Defense Tribunal, Grupo Meier