The Talca Court of Appeals in Chile has dismissed a legal challenge against the building permit for Dreams’ new casino. The appeal, which raised environmental concerns, aimed to halt the $21m project.
The environmental group Corporación Bioecoterra filed the appeal, targeting the Municipality of Talca and its Municipal Works Directorate (DOM), which had issued the building permit to the casino operator.
The casino project is in its final inspection phase, and Dreams intends to open it soon.
Bioecoterra argued that the casino site overlaps with, or lies adjacent to, the protected urban wetland system comprising Cajón del Río Claro and Estero Piduco.
The organization claimed that the municipality had acted illegally and arbitrarily by authorizing a project it considered to have a significant environmental impact without requiring a prior assessment under Chile’s Environmental Impact Assessment System (SEIA).
It argued that the decision violated the constitutional right to live in an environment free from pollution.
The group requested that the court nullify the permit until the project underwent Chile's SEIA and to order an immediate halt to construction while the case was under review.
The municipality informed the court that the Maule office of the Environmental Assessment Service (SEA) had determined the project did not need to undergo the SEIA. It also stated that the Hydraulic Works Directorate (DOH) had reviewed and approved the project's hydraulic study.
Furthermore, the court found that the SEA Maule resolution established three points: the project does not meet any criteria requiring an environmental assessment, will not impact the wetland and fully complies with planning and environmental regulations.
The court ruled that issuing the permit was within the municipality's authority and was not unlawful.
At the same time, Chile continues to grapple with illegal gambling venues. In Curicó, in the Maule region, local authorities recently said they would continue closing illegal casinos in the city center as many times as necessary after three venues reopened days after being shut down.
Last month, a gambling venue in Rancagua was found operating despite a closure order in place since 2023. The case follows several other shutdowns in the city center this year, including eight illegal casinos in July and a venue housing 92 gambling machines on September 24.
Last month, Chile’s Finance Ministry opened applications for a new superintendent of the regulator Casinos de Juego, seven months after Vivien Villagrán left the role
