Upon news that the legal eagles at the Direccion General de Casinos (DGC) in Uruguay have started to set the legal parametres for the tender process for thirteen new casinos throughout the country, starting next month, its media coordinator Luis Gama explained that all properties would fall under legislation called Mixed Exploitation System of Tourist and/or Commercial Complexes (?). The Government operating company Casinos del Estado would enter into contracts with tender winners.

According to Gama, the Uruguay government enables the investor to set up a turn key casino property and hand it over to Casinos del Estado to run the casino operation. Under the system, the investor rents the fully equipped casino property to the DGC but as part of the contract the investor may able to provide services to the casino for security, surveillance, maintenance, etc., subject to DGC controls and directives.

Gama says: "The DGC has a solid business infrastructure running thirty-seven gaming operations in all but two of the nineteen provinces in the country. As part of the contract the investor takes care of promotion and marketing of the casino to enhance the property as a tourist attraction, generating public attendance. For this, the State pays the investor a fee based on the casino operating indicators, taking registered data for the previous two years.

The indicators determine the nature of the results achieved by the operator and also determines the fee that the DGC gets for its efforts. The mixed system has two complementary parts as set up in the tender contract, with each part maintaining total independence in their own work. The mixed system affords between 30-35% of the profits to the investor and, according to Gama, the percentage 'depends on each venture'. In 2008, Casinos del Estado posted revenue at US$150 million, with slots taking 91.34%. (E-01.23.09)

© Copyright 2009 CasinoCompendium



>>> return to archives
>>> return to frontpage