Buenos Aires Province has closed the award process for its casino tender without receiving bids for Necochea, leaving the provincial gaming regulator to assess whether to launch a new process for the venue.
Provincial authorities said that the Instituto Provincial de Lotería y Casinos (IPLyC) must now evaluate whether to call another tender for the casinos that received no offers.
“This first award process has only just closed. Now it will have to be determined whether a new tender is called for the casinos that were left empty,” they added.
No date has been set for a new process because the initial award stage had only recently concluded.
Public Tender No. 2/2025 covered the provision and maintenance of electronic gaming machines, online control systems, infrastructure upgrades and related services at seven provincial casinos. The contracts were designed to run for 20 years, with an option to extend them by one year.
When bids were opened in July 2025, Necochea, Mar de Ajó and Sierra de la Ventana received no offers. Proposals were submitted for the other four venues: the Hotel Hermitage in Mar del Plata, Miramar, Tandil and the Hotel Sasso in Mar del Plata.
In May 2026, the province awarded Boldt a 20-year contract covering gaming machines, control systems and modernization work at the Hermitage, Miramar and Tandil casinos. The award includes a projected investment of ARS 47bn ($30.9 m).
The province subsequently awarded the Sasso contract to a joint venture formed by the hotel workers’ union UTHGRA and Yukon Technology. The agreement covers the supply and maintenance of gaming machines, control systems, remodeling and related services.
The provincial tender is separate from the municipality’s sale of the Necochea casino property. On June 10, 2026, A Toda Vela Mar, represented by businessman Oscar Merlo, acquired the complex at a public auction for ARS 4.878bn.
The company was the only bidder, and the municipality formally approved the sale later that month.
The Teatro Auditórium was excluded from that transaction and is being auctioned separately. The municipality has scheduled the auction for October 23, with a starting price of ARS 383.8m for the approximately 2,910-square-meter parcel.
The municipality of Necochea has scheduled a separate auction for the Teatro Auditórium parcel on October 23, with a starting price of ARS 383.8m
