Workers at the Casino de Necochea are demanding urgent action from the Buenos Aires province's Instituto Provincial de Lotería y Casinos (IPLyC) after the initial tender for slot machine operations received no bids.
After that, the facility’s future was left unresolved and dozens of workers were left without clarity on their employment.
Fernando Hansen, Representative of the Asociación del Personal de Maestranza y Servicios (AMS) union, said: "Now it depends exclusively on Lotería whether it calls or not for a second tender."
Hansen noted that, despite the outcome, the failed process has cleared a procedural obstacle: "The best thing that could have happened was for the tender to be left empty, because while that process wasn't over, you couldn't move forward with a second call."
The union is now coordinating a joint approach involving local government and elected officials to present a unified demand to provincial authorities. Hansen added: "We all have to go together, unions, council members and the municipal executive, to urgently request a second tender."
Beyond the licensing issue, the facility itself is in a critical state. Located on the seafront, the building has suffered recurring damage from storms, including flooding and electrical failures.
Hansen warned that some sections are no longer safe for workers to access and that basic equipment dates back more than five decades. According to him, “there are places where workers cannot safely access because it would be risking their lives.”
He emphasized: "We are not just discussing the building. We are talking about sustaining a source of employment and an activity that still generates work in Necochea."
A redevelopment proposal included an initiative to convert the complex into a provincial maritime university
