Chile’s Court for the Defense of Free Competition (TDLC) has rejected further attempts to suspend the country’s tender processes for casino operating permits in Iquique, Coquimbo, Viña del Mar and Pucón.
The July 28 ruling dismissed appeals filed by Marina del Sol and Corporación Meier against an earlier decision allowing the Viña del Mar process to continue. It also rejected a request from Corporación Meier and Dreams to halt all four municipal tenders.
The decision leaves the August 11 hearing for the presentation of technical and economic bids unchanged, according to the Superintendencia de Casinos de Juego (SCJ). The hearing is scheduled for 10am at the regulator’s offices in Santiago.
The legal challenges concern conditions included in the tender rules following the early surrender of permits previously held by Enjoy.
Marina del Sol has questioned whether requirements covering minimum economic offers, investment deadlines and employment continuity place unnecessary restrictions on potential bidders.
The disputed conditions also include the use of designated municipal sites, the development or expansion of tourism infrastructure and rules governing the transfer of assets at the end of a concession. The Viña del Mar tender requires the successful applicant to retain the existing casino workforce.
Chile’s National Economic Prosecutor’s Office previously told the TDLC that the requirements were permitted under the Casino Law, applied equally to prospective bidders and did not alter their relative positions during the process.
The SCJ amended the tender documentation during April, changing areas including bidder qualification criteria, ownership disclosures, investment thresholds and guarantees. The original July 24 bid deadline was subsequently moved to August 11.
Under Chile’s permit system, applicants are assessed on the origin and sufficiency of their funds, the quality of the proposed development and their operating plan.
Projects must obtain at least 60% of the available technical score before their economic offers can be opened. Annual economic payments are made to the municipality where the casino operates.
The four tenders form part of the transition following the surrender of municipal casino permits, with the regulator seeking to avoid prolonged interruptions to operations, public revenue and employment.
In July, the SCJ defended the Viña del Mar tender after Marina del Sol and Dreams argued that its terms restricted competition. The regulator estimated that a one-year interruption could cost the municipality, regional government and national treasury CLP46.8bn ($53.8m) in combined revenue.
Casino de Viña del Mar opened in 1930 and is Chile’s oldest operating casino
