"We are very pleased to feel that the developments have complied with the original plans for our new casinos"

Which is the sensation of the Casino Superintendence, when you almost concluded the first stage of the casino opening, after the first tender process?

In 2005, the Chilean market was opened and 15 operation licenses were granted, in the process. Of those 15, including Punta Arenas, we already have 12 casinos operating. From this date to next August, we will complete the three pending casinos. And in August 2010, the other three should be built, which were granted in August 2008.

We are very satisfied feeling that it is a process that started from zero, in terms to create a new institutional order as the Superintendence, and, at the same time, to start the tender process of regulated opening in the market. This process, that had much competence, and was complex at that moment, has been overcome. And not only casinos have been built, but also each one have been completing its integral project. The casino inaugurated was the complete project of Punta Arenas: it means the casino, hotel and convention center, which are all inaugurated and open to the public.

Besides, we are very satisfied to feel that these developments have already been complied with what was planned at that opportunity. It has a great impact at a regional level, in several areas: in infrastructure, because there are casinos, convention centers, hotels, theaters, malls, that will have a great impact in the region. A second area is the creation of employment. These 18 new projects mean around 9,400 direct jobs and around 17,000 indirect jobs, and most of the casinos have hired local youngsters.

So it has had a great impact in the employment in different councils and cities. It also has a tax impact: these new casinos are taxed with a 20% of the winnings and this tax does not go to Santiago; it remains in the local council and in the region. Half of the tax is administrated by the council and the other half by the regional government to redistribute it, so all the regional councils can win and not only the council in which the casino is located. The second restriction is that the money cannot be allocated to salaries, but to investment developments for the population. So, all these expectations or aims of the law had been complied and we have already started to see the result. For example, since last year, the different regional councils started receiving the resources from these taxes towards casinos.

The public was a factor that could not be measured, for not having the casinos opened…Which has been the repercussion of the opening of these new casinos in the Chilean society?

We do not have a statistic on the operation of the casinos. Last December, just three months ago, just eight casinos had been inaugurated, so, all of them have been inaugurated recently, especially in the last two months of 2008. However, we can bring global numbers. In 2008, there have been 544,000 visits in the new casinos, which meant a gross income or win of around us$ 23 million, which means that the average expense per visit was around us$ 45. And there is a growing trend. They are starting to consolidate, they are in the process to locate in cities with no history or casino experience, and they have a hard task to educate visitors in the gaming experience. That is the current situation. We have to be aware of the fact that there is an international economic crisis, so that should also be considered, and we will have a more solid opinion in a few months.

The Polla Chilena and lotteries with a long experience, have had changes in its operation from the opening of a gaming alternative as casinos in different jurisdictions?

No, I think there are different markets. In the case of the two companies, Lottery and Polla Chilena, it has not been an impact. On the contrary, and for our surprise, the horse-racing industry is the one that has reacted, saying that it should improve its conditions, that it feels that they can be affected by casinos, but not la Polla or the Lottery. I think there are other markets, because the products offered are attractive for other public profile. So, there has not been a reaction from them. They are in a competitive situation and always releasing new products to the market, but for a different segment. However, horse-racing has reacted saying that the casino opening could affect the activity and they have demanded the government to propose solutions to offset the fact of an increment in the number of casinos.

In what situation are the three projects to be opened in the rest of the year?

The sequence is: by mid May, Calama Casino, which belongs to Latin Gaming; and then, by the end of August, San Antonio casino, belonging to Ivisa, and Rinconada Los Andes, owned by Salguero. These are the schedules, which today are in an advanced stage. We have a monthly control plan to see the advance of the construction and all of them are in the construction stage to comply with the legal deadlines I mentioned.