Chile: Marina del Sol warns that low turnout in casino tenders confirms its alerts

The Superintendence of Gaming Casinos received the bids for the tenders for the markets of Pucón, Coquimbo, Viña del Mar and Iquique, in a process whose result, according to Marina del Sol, confirms the risks that the company opportunely exposed before the Court for the Defense of Free Competition (TDLC).

The results show extremely limited participation. In Pucón, according to public information, the only offer submitted corresponded to a company linked to the former operators of Enjoy, while in Coquimbo only a company related to creditors of that same company was presented. In both cases, it was a single bidder, without the concurrence of a new operator outside the previous position in the industry. The tenders of Viña del Mar and Iquique, on the other hand, received no offers and were deserted. Marina del Sol maintains that, despite her interest and ability to compete, she was prevented from doing so by the conditions she had raised before the TDLC.

For the company, this result is not an isolated event, but new evidence that the bidding model in force since 2015 has structural design flaws. The case of the Casino de Viña del Mar is especially illustrative: the process awarded in 2016 ended up being unviable, forcing the awarded operator to renounce its license, and now the new call concludes without bidders, which confirms that the conditions defined did not manage to generate real interest in the market.

Marina del Sol contrasts this scenario with the model applied in 2005, under which more than 60 projects participated—including more than eight foreign bidders—and an investment of approximately US$1.5 billion in the industry materialized. On the other hand, neither in the tender under the 2015 model nor in the process repeated now was any foreign chain presented nor was new relevant investment generated, which for the company reflects a substantial loss of competitive attractiveness for the sector.

The company points out that this background validates the concerns it expressed regarding the regulatory and economic conditions of the process, arguing that the Bidding Bases and the established requirements could generate significant disincentives for potential investors and operators, reducing competition, limiting competition and putting at risk the development of strategic assets for different cities and regions of the country. particularly in the case of Viña del Mar.

For Marina del Sol, the result of this stage demonstrates the urgent need to review the regulatory framework and award mechanisms, with the aim of reestablishing truly competitive processes, ensuring adequate collection for municipalities, promoting effective investment and safeguarding the sustainable development of the gaming industry in Chile.

"The facts known today confirm that the warnings made before the TDLC were not hypothetical. They were real risks that finally materialized in a process that ended with two deserted tenders and without effective competition in the other two places, thus fulfilling what we anticipated with technical arguments before the authority," the company said.

Marina del Sol reiterates that Chile requires a modern, competitive bidding model capable of attracting national and international investment, especially in the case of long-term permits that involve relevant assets for the tourism, economic and municipal development of the cities where the casinos operate.