Two weeks ago the Mayor of Guayaquil announced the results of a public opinion poll on the construction of a casino on the city’s famous promenade Malecón Simon Bolívar. Local residents came out strongly against the idea of casinos in any of the regeneration zones of Guayaquil, including Malecón Simon Bolívar, Malecón 2000 and the major avenues.

The Municipality of Guayquil has now stopped the construction of a casino in Malecón 2000, where building works had already commenced but had created a great deal of local opposition. The company involved must now cease construction unless given permission to continue from the Ministry of Tourism. Yesterday an operation to close casinos was initiated by the government of Ecuador and Guayaquil was the first city to be affected.

A ministerial decree will see almost 300 slot machine businesses closed down around the country. According to the law gaming operations can only function in 5-star hotels and those outside such premises are illegal. Local operators in Guayaquil tried to prevent the closure of their businesses by seeking court injunctions but were unable to prevent 42 operations being shut down.
(E-05.23.08)

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