Chile plans a 60% growth in the gaming industry

People are not only betting more, but also the number of bettors in search of their “lucky day” has increased. By the third quarter of 2010, regulated casinos received 3,280,525 players, while the number in the same period this year reaches 4,865,166.

Casinos such as Monticello increased their individual average bet from us$ 39 of the January-September 2010 period, until us$ 117 of the same period this year.

According to the Superintendent of the sector, Francisco Javier Leiva, the number accumulated this year by the sector are record. “(The sector) last year grew 44% and, for this year, we plan a growth of near 60%, which obviously are not cutoff rates (...) This year it has set a record. 2010 concluded with a gross income of us$ 317 million and almost 4.8 million visits and for this year, we are planning gross incomes for us$ 520 million, an additional 64% and 6.5 million visits, it means, a 35% more”, Leiva pointed.

The superintendent thinks that factors such as being a new industry 
-still in the consolidation process, compared to others- favours that it is a sector which grows at different rates compared to the global economy. However, Leiva plans that the growth rates of the industry should tend to stabilize from the following year.

Sofía Moreno, Chief of Corporate Issues of Enjoy (controllers of casinos of Rinconada, Antofagasta, Coquimbo, Colchagua, Viña del Mar and Pucón), agrees with the analysis pointing that this is a new industry which is changing the entertainment habits, incorporating new concepts, too. It explains the expansion levels.

“This industry still has time to keep on growing. Most of casinos were opened in 2008 y and, in three years, an industry still does not reach its maturity. If we also consider the exparience we have with older casinos, which were not under the superintendence system, it maintains growth rates mainly because there is a change of habits among Chilean citizens”, explained Moreno.

In general terms, according to Enjoy executive, the fact that those centers offer each time a more varied offer such as restaurants, parks, musical shows, shops, etc, has influence in the considerable increment of all their growing rates.

Casinos have had an increment in gross income, and so taxes have increased in the 15 betting centers controlled by SCJ, for the regional and local governments in which they are located.

Precisely, according to the data from the entity of control, between January and September 2010, the 15 corporations and the 10 regional governments received us$ 36,783, approximately, in specific gaming taxes, while in the same period this year, they have received us$ 55,193, approximately.

With regards to the income tax received by the state, this year they have brought more than us$ 26,249, exceeding, due to a lack of numbers for October, November and December, the us$ 25,088 of the whole 2010.