CHILE'S CASINOS DENOUNCE A 30% DROP IN EMPLOYMENT AND CALL FOR CHANGES IN ONLINE REGULATION
The president of Marina del Sol warns of the deterioration of the face-to-face business and demands that casinos participate in the legislative reform of internet betting.
The president of the board of directors of Marina del Sol, Paula Rojas Puga, has warned of the difficulties that the land-based casino sector in Chile is going through and has revealed that direct employment in the Talcahuano establishment has been reduced by 30%.
In an interview with BioBioChile, published on November 1, the directive relates the deterioration of activity to the expansion of online betting platforms and the lack of a regulatory response that takes into account the situation of authorized establishments.
Marina del Sol operates casinos in Talcahuano, Calama, Chillán and Osorno.
The fall in employment is one of the most worrying consequences for the company. According to Rojas, the Talcahuano casino, the first and largest of the group, has had to make operational adjustments in the face of market developments.
The president also points out that the company's contributions to municipalities and regional governments have decreased by 14.3% since 2022, while the reduction recorded for the industry as a whole reaches 18.9%.
This income comes from the specific taxation of casinos and is used to finance projects and investments in the territories where the establishments are located.
The situation is also conditioning Marina del Sol's investment decisions. Rojas acknowledges that the evolution of the business has slowed down the possibility of developing new projects in other locations.
The directive questions whether the legislative debate on online gambling is moving forward without sufficiently incorporating the perspective of land-based casinos, which are already subject to a system of licensing, taxation and supervision.
The Chilean sector is facing this situation while Congress continues to process the bill to regulate online betting platforms.
Among the outstanding issues are the conditions of access to the market, the taxation of future operators and advertising restrictions.
Marina del Sol calls for a broader review of the regulatory framework, which takes into account both the new digital activity and the economic viability of physical establishments.
