Both casino companies are based in some of the world’s best wine producing regions, France and South Africa, and they are now involved in a third up and coming wine region in Chile. Sun International has announced an agreement with International Group of Gaming & Resorts (IGGR) to acquire, subject to regulatory approval, a 40% equity interest in San Francisco Investment SA, the company that last November was granted a 15-year casino licence in Chile’s Region VI. The Novomatic Group, the Austrian-based gaming manufacturer/operator, is also part of the Chilean company.

The Paihuén Casino & Resort will be located in San Francisco de Mostazal in the central region of Chile some 35 miles from the capital city Santiago. The Santiago region, where casinos remain prohibited, accounts for 45% of the country’s GDP. Being the casino project closest to the capital, Sun International considers that the licence is for the prime location in Chile. The company will derive long-term management and consultancy agreements for a casino with a market of over 6 million people in Santiago and the Region VI capital Rancagua.

The casino resort in Mostazal will have 80 gaming tables, 1,500 slot machines and 300-seat bingo. The project beat competition in Region VI from Spanish company Cirsa and Chile’s leading operator Enjoy, both bidding for licences in Rancagua, although a second Region VI licence has been granted to a group that includes Enjoy in Santa Cruz. Paihuén Resort will have a hotel, restaurants, disco, convention centre, commercial centre and theme parks and sports amenities to attract family visitors. The complex is scheduled to open in 2008 at a cost of US$60.7 million.

For some time Sun International has been looking to expand internationally. Projects in the UK have been delayed and another in the Moscow region of Russia now looks unlikely to materialise. IGGR has casinos in France and is the third largest gaming group in Argentina, where the company has bingos and slot machines. It also has three casinos in Egypt and other operations in Curaçao and Ecuador. The Novomatic Group includes Austrian Gaming Industries (AGI) and Swiss company Admiral Casinos & Entertainment (ACE), and operates over 30 casinos and gaming venues around the world as well as being a leading gaming equipment manufacturer.
(E-03.19.07)

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