Lotería del Chubut, through Argentina’s provincial Instituto de Asistencia Social (IAS), has called a public tender for the management and operation of a casino and an adjoining gaming room in Esquel, Chubut.
The process follows the closure of the previous concessionaire’s venue seven months ago.
Bids will be opened at the IAS headquarters in Rawson, with the tender covering the operation of both facilities.
The tender documents cost ARS5m and can be bought until the opening date at the IAS head office and its delegations in Esquel, Comodoro Rivadavia, Puerto Madryn and Trelew.
In a clarification dated October 26, IAS President Ramiro Sebastián Ibarra corrected article 14 bis of the general conditions and article 6 bis of the particular conditions, raising the share of the canon due when a concessionaire absorbs at least 25% of the staff from 30% to 75%.
The tender also requires the winner to rehire gradually the workers affected by the previous operator’s exit.
Trewelyn shut the Esquel casino on March 25 for an indefinite period, and about 50 employees were later dismissed after a mandatory conciliation period lapsed. The company cited force majeure under Article 247 of Argentina’s labor contract law and offered 50% of severance, which workers rejected.
Trewelyn attributed the closure to the loss of its concession, a version Lotería denied. Ibarra said the main license remains valid until 2031 and that Trewelyn had paid the canon for its Puerto Madryn casino but not for Esquel.
On October 6, a court ordered Trewelyn to pay March wages with interest to 36 former employees represented by the Sindicato de Empleados de Comercio, and a second ruling ordered payment of the 50% severance the company had offered.
Reopening faces another obstacle, since the former casino building is under an embargo filed by workers over their claims.
Sebastián Pérez Rienzi, a former employee and spokesperson for the group, said: “Thinking about building a structure to house a casino means talking about a year or more.”
Trewelyn also closed its casino in neighboring Trevelin in 2020 without authorization, according to Lotería del Chubut
