Zona de Azar Uruguay – Uruguay: They Refuse to Close the Municipal Casino

Uruguay.- August 7, 2024 www.zonadeazar.com The Association of Professional Casino Officials (ADEP) and the Association of Administrative Officials of Municipal Casinos rejected the proposal of deputy Martín Lema, who had suggested ending the management of the Casino Municipal.

The president of the association, Fernando Arrospide, told Subrayado this Sunday that they reject “any demonstration of closure” and that they understand that “it may be that the Casino Parque Hotel is poorly managed.”

And he added: “No casino in the world, not this one or any casino, makes a loss. There is no deficit. What there is is bad management and what we are trying to demonstrate is that with good management this could give productivity, income to Montevideo, now whether for works, services or to lower the taxes of Montevideo residents.

Arrospide assured that what is noticeable in recent years is “an indifference, a neglect of the Parque Hotel Casino and the advancement of many private ones.” “If we close this, what we are doing is giving a part of the market, again, to private capital, when it would be income that could be used for Montevideo,” he said.

Furthermore, the association assures that there is a personnel problem, since new employees have not joined for 30 years. “Since the inauguration of this government of Carolina Cosse there has been a promise to hire personnel, which is what is necessary to be able to provide a good service, that promise has not yet been made effective and we are waiting for what we understand could achieve better management” said Arrospide.

The latest balance sheet of the Municipality of Montevideo (IMM) on the casino business it manages was the subject of controversy in recent weeks after the numbers were presented to the Departmental Board and showed that the Casino Parque Hotel had a deficit of $87 million in 2023.

With this panorama on the table, Lema presented a written presentation before the House of Representatives in order to ask the IMM to “end the management of the Municipal Casino and redistribute its resources in other truly priority areas.”

He edited: @_fonta www.zonadeazar.com