Zona de Azar Chile – Chilean Senate Passes New Laws to Crack Down on Illegal Slots

Chile.- June 23th 2021 www.zonadeazar.com The Chilean Senate has voted by 29 votes to seven to approve new laws to crack down on illegal slot operation outside of casinos, ruling out any concept that skill-based elements makes the slot machines legal.

Juan Carlos Manríquez, a lawyer representing the Chilean Association of Gaming Casinos (ACCJ), said: “This law reaffirms the illegality of the exploitation of slot machines outside of casinos, including programmed prize devices or other computer terminals that supposedly would privilege the skill. In this case, all of this has been completely ruled out as justification for this illegal activity. This has been an arduous and extensive journey from late 2013 to date, in which the Chilean Association of Casinos has sustained some actions for illegal gambling crimes and others in various areas of the country.”

“The Supreme Court, the Constitutional Court, the appeals courts and the Comptroller’s Office have established a true legislative, technical and regulatory corpus, by which no one can doubt that slot machines outside of legal casinos are illegal and that being protected by a municipal patent on electronic entertainment is an evasion of the law .”

Senator Manuel José Ossandón, added: “We do have a responsibility towards the most humble people, because I have not seen any of these machines in the affluent neighborhoods. They are a real ordeal for people, because they are deceptive: they are not machines of skill, but of chance and that is what casinos are for. This is a tremendous way to launder drug money. This law is lacking, it should be much harsher. It is a real scourge in the populations. This is a cancer in the populations and we have to control it.”

During April, only four casinos were able to operate in Chile. Dreams Coyhaique was open for 28 of the 30 days in April; Dreams Punta Arenas was open for 14 days; Enjoy Santiago was operational for seven days whilst Dreams Puerto Varas, the only municipal casino to be open at all managed to be open for 2just two days.

They generated GGR of of $1,706m Chilean pesos (US$2.3m), just 23.3 per cent of what was earned in April 2019 with just 16,249 people entering them.

Edited by: @MaiaDigital  www.zonadeazar.com