The Intendencia de Montevideo (IM) has confirmed it will transfer control of Parque Hotel Casino to Uruguay’s Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) by mid-2026, bringing the venue under national oversight through the Dirección General de Casinos.
Camilo Benítez, Director of Economic Development at the IM, told the Departmental Board that the agreement is effectively finalized, although no exact transfer date has been publicly disclosed. According to council members present at the session, there is a broad political consensus that the handover will proceed as planned.
The casino has posted recurring losses in recent years, reporting negative results of UYU 173m ($4.4m) in 2021, UYU 69m in 2022, UYU 87m in 2023 and UYU 83m in 2024. The sustained financial deficit has been central to the municipality’s decision to divest the property.
Shortly after taking office in 2025, Mayor Mario Bergara publicly signaled his intention to shift the venue to national management as part of a broader effort to rationalize municipal spending.
Once the transition is completed, the MEF, led by Minister Gabriel Oddone, will assume operational responsibility through the national casino authority, which oversees Uruguay’s state-run gaming network. The ministry has not yet outlined its strategic plans for the venue, including whether operational adjustments or structural reforms could follow the transfer.
Approximately 50 municipal employees currently assigned to the casino will remain on the city payroll and be reassigned internally, according to IM officials. A technical working group is reportedly defining the roles they will occupy within other municipal departments.
Despite the planned handover, the municipality included operational funding for the casino through 2027 in its five-year budget as a contingency measure in case negotiations were delayed.
The venue continues operating normally. Earlier this year, after two public tenders for slot leasing and gaming system management received no bids, the IM directly awarded both contracts to long-time supplier ICM S.A., ensuring continuity of gaming operations during the transition period.
Uruguay operates a mixed casino model in which some venues are managed directly by the National Government while others have historically been run by municipal authorities or under private concession agreements
