Viña del Mar faces concerns over municipal finances after no company submitted an offer to operate the city's casino, which contributes more than CLP30bn ($32.6m) a year to the local budget.
The outcome prompted Mayor Macarena Ripamonti to call for calm, even though the casino contributions are equivalent to close to 20% of the communal budget. The Superintendencia de Casinos y Juegos (SCJ) prepares a new tender for the venue.
The SCJ had previously warned of the financial impact of a prolonged vacancy. In July, the regulator estimated that one year without a valid operating contract for the Viña del Mar casino could generate an economic impact of around CLP46.8bn, affecting the municipality, the regional government and the national Treasury.
Ripamonti said the casino will continue operating during the transition period and that the new tender provides an opportunity to establish conditions that could attract new operators and benefit the community.
The SCJ had authorized Enjoy's early relinquishment of its operating permit in August 2025, allowing the casino to continue operating while a new tender was prepared.
The casino's current operation is therefore expected to continue through 2028, while the new licensing process is completed.
The situation follows a broader dispute over the conditions of the tender. Grupo Meier had asked Chile's Tribunal de Defensa de la Libre Competencia (TDLC) to suspend the process covering four casinos, including Viña del Mar, arguing that the conditions did not provide sufficient guarantees and certainty for potential operators.
Dreams and Marina del Sol had also challenged aspects of the tender before the TDLC.
The SCJ had modified the technical bases for the Viña del Mar tender in April and scheduled the presentation of technical and economic offers for August 11. The process was part of a wider tender covering the municipalities of Viña del Mar, Iquique, Coquimbo and Pucón.
The regulator must now determine the conditions for a new process. The original framework included requirements related to the minimum guaranteed economic offer, tourism infrastructure and the continuity of casino employees.
The result leaves Viña del Mar without a confirmed long-term operator beyond the current transition period, while the SCJ prepares a new set of conditions for the casino's next operating permit.
Of the four casino tenders held in August, Iquique and Viña del Mar received no bids, while Coquimbo and Pucón each received one offer
