According to the regulatory entity, initiatives for casino projects were presented up to March 31st in councils of Ovalle, Coyhaique, Romeral, Curicó and Castro, which, in total, would represent an investment of USD 158.8 million and will generate 2,191 direct employments.

With this, it concluded the formalization stage of the projects announced during the first months of the year, agreeing the 70% of the announcements. Councils with the largest number of initiatives were Ovalle and Coyhaique, with two projects each, while in the rest of them, just one was presented by location.

In Ovalle, projects that applied for a license are: Casino Gran Ovalle, of Polaris group, with an estimated investment of USD 17.9 million and society Inversiones Sotaquí SA, which belongs to the investment group Citigroup Venture Capital Inter, with a planned investment of USD 19.2 million.

In Coyhaique, the groups that will compete are: Inversiones Moraleda SA, belonging to Citigroup Venture Capital Inter and Casinos de Juego de Coyhaique SA, from Fischer group, with investments of USD 14.4 million and USD 19.7 million, respectively.

In Romeral and Curicó, Fischer group also presented initiatives with societies Río Baker SA and Tierra de Agua Negra SA, with investments of USD 26.9 million and USD 22 million, respectively. Finally, in Castro council, the only project presented belongs to Enjoy –which is currently the best casino operator in Chile-, with an investment of USD 38.7 million, which re launched a project in the island of Chiloé.

According to the head of SCJ, Francisco Javier Leiva, „the total of the projects formalized, on top of being a clear sign of trust in the technical work developed by the Superintendence, indicate that, once more, we will face a highly competitive process, with more applications than operating licenses available. Those projects that bring more advantages to the councils and regions in terms of employment, investment and infrastructure, will be preferred“.