Ripples across Chile’s casino sector were felt last week as a trio of the country’s key operators were accused by The National Economic Prosecutor’s Office (FNE) of coordinating bids when it came to the securing of permit tenders.
The developing story from one of the most ‘prolific’ casino markets in Latin America, was explored by Fernando Noodt and Lucia Gando on the iGamingDaily, as they revealed the investigation was ignited by a report from the superintendency of gambling casinos, which is Chile’s regulator.
Gando identified that the FNE has specifically accused five senior executives from the three operators of collaborating to solely pursue the renewal of their existing permits and refrain from expanding their permits.
National economic prosecutor Jorge Grunberg, stated: “This collusion allowed Dreams, Enjoy and Marina del Sol to renew for 15 years the permits they had to operate gambling casinos in the country, with economic offers that were far below those that would have been guaranteed by a competitive process.
“That is why we ask the TDLC to order the termination of said permits so that the damages of this cartel do not last for all the years that the licences that were obtained incorrectly by the operators last.”
Eyeing significant action off the back of the accusations, the FNE is looking to terminate the contracts in a bid to minimise damage to the sector, as well as imposing fines of $151.9m to those guilty.
Investigations from the FNE sought to fully establish the impact of the move by the operators, as it examined operations at the key firms.
According to the podcast, Dream, which is facing one of the most severe sanctions, has denied any wrongdoing and vowed to fully defend their name against the accusations, likewise Marina del Sol, who are also facing allegations of benefiting significantly from the tender process.
Noodt also revealed that officials in the region have warned that the case is ‘extremely serious’, as the investigation continues.