The Uruguayan Chamber of Casino and Entertainment Venue Operators and Lessors (CUOASEC) has drafted a bill to regulate online gambling.
Local media outlet La Escucha spoke with the Chamber's Executive Secretary, Luis Gama.
Gama stated: "When we talk about regulating, we are not talking about promoting or encouraging gambling; we are talking about organizing an activity. There is a collective silence in not putting the issues on the table."
He further noted that local citizens already engage in gambling and that the state has to have control over it. The official might be nodding to illegal gambling with his comment.
In this regard, in July, Uruguay's lottery agency, Dirección Nacional de Loterías y Quinielas, stepped up its action against the black market by expanding its use of artificial intelligence to detect unauthorised activity.
Meanwhile, the land-based casino market is also far from perfect. Last month, Uruguay’s President Yamandú Orsi met again with Maldonado Mayor Miguel Abella and Italian businessman Giuseppe Cipriani, developer of the Cipriani Ocean Resort Club Residences & Casino, at the Torre Ejecutiva.
The site, built on the grounds of the former Hotel Casino San Rafael, had been paralyzed by a contractual dispute between Grupo Cipriani and Criba SA, the lead construction contractor.
The dispute left more than 600 workers on unemployment benefits. However, the project appears to be getting back on track.
At the same time, since 2020, Uruguay's Hotel Casino Carmelo has sat closed, vandalized and stuck in legal and political limbo. After four failed attempts at revival, it still sits unused, while there are rumours that Uruguay's Ministry of Tourism is evaluating a fifth proposal.
Delays are affecting Uruguay’s land-based casino sector, with Chile facing similar difficulties in its casino tender process
