Chile: President Michelle Bachelet asked to modify the casino law

The initiative, signed by representatives of the seven councils in which there are casino tenders, and under interim articles 2º and 3º of the law 19.995, will be expropriated in January 2016, aims the President to "incorporate this indication to the message that is being processed in the House of Representatives to be treated urgently, in order to avoid the conclusion of what has been a good source of income for the development of these local councils,” explained Chahuán.
 
The legislator of RN added that "this absolutely discriminatory situation has to be repaired, which passed unnoticed in the creation of the casino law –from 2005- and  says that the current local casino tenders will just last until December 31st, 2015, which is also applied to the councils of Arica, Iquique, Coquimbo, Pucón, Puerto Varas and Puerto Natales". He then pointed that, if a modification is produced, a call to a tender would have to be made in order to determine a new license.

He sustained that “the application of this norm as it is will mean a strong reduction of the budget income and will not permit the development of different social projects, which for Viña del Mar is especially complicated considering that there has been a casino license operating for more than 70 years, which contributes considerably to the local coffers".