Buenos Aires Province extends Boldt's contracts, again

Buenos Aires Province's gaming regulator, the Instituto Provincial de Lotería y Casinos (IPLyC), has extended the operating contracts of Boldt for six casino venues through December 31, 2026. The resolution also retroactively covers the period since December 31, 2025, when the previous extension expired.

The affected venues are the casinos in Tandil, Miramar, Mar de Ajó and Sierra de la Ventana, along with two annexes in Mar del Plata operating within the Hotel Hermitage and Hotel Sasso properties.

The decision continues a pattern that dates back to 2019, when a public tender was declared unsuccessful after authorities determined that the bids received were not in the province's fiscal interest. 

Instead of relaunching the process, IPLyC has repeatedly extended Boldt's contracts on a year-by-year basis, citing the need to protect employment and avoid disruption to provincial revenues.

The official justification has remained consistent across each renewal: safeguarding jobs for casino workers and preventing fiscal losses for the province. However, the repeated use of the same argument over several years has drawn scrutiny within the provincial administration.

The Asesoría General de Gobierno, the Contaduría General de la Provincia and the Fiscalía de Estado said: "It is imperative that the process aimed at awarding the contracts for the Casinos that have received bids in the ongoing Public Tender be pursued with the utmost urgency."

The statement, included in the resolution's administrative record, indicates that a tender process remains formally underway, meaning the latest extension is being granted while that procedure has yet to be concluded.

Boldt has maintained these concessions through successive contract renewals since at least 2019. The original agreement was set to expire in June of that year, with further extensions approved in January 2021, March 2022 and again in 2024 and 2025 before the latest renewal.