Frequent Questions

The process of granting operating permits for Casinos in Chile is regulated by the requirements of Law 19.995 and subject to a series of reviews and technical evaluations in each of its milestones.

It is possible to bid for a casino operating permit in all regions of the country except for: the Metropolitan Region, due to legal restrictions; and the Region of Valparaíso, as it currently has the maximum of three casinos with operating permit, as permitted by Law N°19.995, or Chilean Casinos Law.

For more information, the current distribution of land-based casinos in the national territory is available at www.scj.gob.cl/betchile

Up to 12 operating permits can be granted.

The permit are valid for 15 years, since the casino operation begins.

  • Establish a closely held corporation [1] in Chile with a maximum of 10 shareholders and with a share capital of at least 10,000 Unidades Tributarias Mensuales [2] (UTM), approximately 500 million Chilean pesos (CLP). The corporate purpose must be to operate a casino.
  • Obtain at least 60% of the score in the technical evaluation as presented in chapter 2.8 of the Terms of Tendering and detailed in Annex 5 of the Evaluation Methodology.
  • The project must be located at least 70 road networks kilometers from a casino that will continue to operate (see industry map).
  • The submitted project must offer the five mandatory gaming categories (slot machines, cards, craps, roulette and bingo).
  • Prove the origin and  sufficiency of the funds to develop the proposed investment project.

[1] According to Chilean Law N° 18.046.
[2]UTMs a inflation adjusted unit of measure denominated in pesos, used as a taxation measure.

Current casino operators will not have priority in the evaluation of the bids, rather a preferential right to obtain the permit when having matched the economic bid of another applicant, should they receive a higher weighted score in the technical evaluation stage. However, as businesses already operating casinos and having SCJ authorization, there are some differences in the background review and evaluation mechanism
requirements, among others, that will evaluate their 15 years of operation.

In Chile, there are currently 26 casinos, of which 19 operate under permits awarded under the Chilean Casinos Law and seven municipal casinos that are in transition. These 26 casinos are controlled by different business groups dedicated to the gaming and entertainment industry.

The following table presents the current casinos and their controlling groups.

Region District Commercial name Casino Operator Business Group
Arica y Parinacota Arica Casino Luckia Arica Casino Luckia Arica S.A. Luckia
Antofagasta Calama Marina del Sol Calama Latin Gaming Calama S.A. Marina del Sol
Antofagasta Antofagasta Enjoy Antofagasta Operaciones El Escorial S.A. Enjoy
Atacama Copiapó Antay Casino & Hotel Gran Casino de Copiapó S.A. Luckia
Coquimbo Ovalle Ovalle Casino & Resort Ovalle Casino Resort S.A. Boldt – Invergaming
Valparaíso San Antonio Casino de Juegos del Pacífico  Casino de Juegos del Pacífico S.A. Enjoy
Valparaíso Rinconada Enjoy Santiago Casino Rinconada S.A. Enjoy
O’Higgins San Francisco de Mostazal Sun Monticello San Francisco Investment S.A. Sun Dreams
O’Higgins Santa Cruz Casino de Colchagua Casino de Colchagua S.A.
Maule Talca Gran Casino de Talca Casino de Juegos de Talca S.A. Corporación Meier
Ñuble Chillán Marina del Sol Chillán Marina del Sol Chillán S.A. Marina del Sol
Biobío Talcahuano Marina del Sol Talcahuano Marina del Sol S.A. Marina del Sol
Biobío Los Ángeles Casino Gran Los Ángeles Gran Casino Los Ángeles S.A. Enjoy
Araucanía Temuco Casino Dreams Temuco Casino de Juegos de Temuco S.A. Sun Dreams
Los Ríos Valdivia Casino Dreams Valdivia Casino de Juegos de Valdivia S.A.  Sun Dreams
Los Lagos Osorno Marina del Sol Osorno Latin Gaming Osorno S.A. Marina del Sol
Los Lagos Castro Enjoy Chiloé Rantrur S.A. Enjoy
Aysén Coyhaique Casino Dreams Coyhaique Casino de Juegos de Coyhaique S.A. Sun Dreams
Magallanes Punta Arenas Casino Dreams Punta Arenas Casino de Juegos de Punta Arenas S.A. Sun Dreams
Arica y Parinacota Arica Casino Arica Casino Puerta Norte S.A. Latin Gaming
Tarapacá Iquique Casino Dreams Iquique Casino de Juegos de Iquique S.A. Sun Dreams
Coquimbo Coquimbo Enjoy Coquimbo Campos del Norte S.A. Enjoy
Valparaíso Viña del Mar Enjoy Viña del Mar Antonio Martínez y Cia. Enjoy
Araucanía Pucón Enjoy Pucón Kuden S.A. Enjoy
Los Lagos Puerto Varas Casino Dreams Puerto Varas Plaza Casino S.A. Sun Dreams
Magallanes Natales Casino de Puerto Natales Inversiones del Sur S.A.
  • The rules of the process will be made public and known to all interested parties during the process without any charge. In addition, after the awarding of the permits, all the files of the technical evaluation will be publicly disclosed, with the exception of classified information, pursuant to Law N°20.285.
  • There will be two public hearings — one for the presentation of technical and financial bids and another for the opening of the financial bid.
  • There is a formal stage of public consultation that will be answer during the application stage. All interaction between the SCJ and interested parties will be informed to the general public.

Once the process has been opened, bidders will have 120 administrative business days; excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.

The Section 2.6. of the Terms of Tendering outlines all the information that must be submitted and all the documents to be uploaded.

The Superintendence will make available a computer app for the process; the app will be used to store information about the project and bidder, as well as upload required documents.

Once the operating permit has been granted, the operating company has up to two years to install the casino (which can be extended for up to 12 months in the case of gambling casinos and 18 months for complementary works).

The maximum effective date will be adjusted to the process indicated in section 4.4. of the Terms of Tendering and will be consigned in the resolution awarding the license. In this context, to determine the entry into force of the operating permit, the date on which the 12 casinos whose quotas will expire must be taken into account.

As detailed in the Terms of Tendering, and in particular in Annex 5 Evaluation Methodology, an evaluation will be carried out that will consider:

  • Review of compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, to continue with the process
  • Review of the origin and sufficiency of the funds to develop the project
  • Technical evaluation, which considers reports from other public bodies and qualities of the project presented.
  • Economical offer
  • To obtain an operating license, at least 60% of the total sum of the weighted scores must be reached, and then have submitted the highest financial bid.
  • Therefore, in the first evaluation stage, the score is assigned as a weighted sum of the different evaluation criteria, as indicated in section 7 of the Evaluation Methodology as outlined in Annex 5 of the Terms of Tendering. Those renewing licenses can obtain a maximum score of 1,100 points, while new applicants can obtain a score of up to 1,000 points.
  • In the second stage, which can only be accessed by those who achieved the minimum score established in the technical evaluation stage, the highest financial bid that complies with all legal restrictions will be assigned. The legal restrictions can be found in Numeral 4.2. of the Terms of Tendering.
  • During the year 2019 the industry – considering the authorized casinos under the Law of Casinos and municipal casinos – recorded gross revenues from the game for a total of $ 470.159 million, equivalent to US$ 671 million.
  • The three casinos that registered the highest income were Sun Monticello ($87.576 million, equivalent to US$124 million); Viña del Mar Casino ($54.050 million, equivalent to US $77 million; and Casino Rinconada ($39.353 million, equivalent to US $56 million).
  • Casinos and their associated businesses (restaurant hotels, convention centers, among others) have additional income to the game, which represents up to 30% of the total income received.
  • The Labor Code must be complied with. There is no particular labor regulations for gambling casinos. The Labor Directorate has assimilated casinos to commerce industries.
  • Circular N°99, dated December 29, 2018, of this Superintendency, which regulates the tip system inside each casino
  • Circular N°22 of October 24, 2011, of this Superintendency, which regulates the background required to know the casino gambling staff

As indicated in the Evaluation Methodology, it is coordinated by the Superintendence of Casinos. The following organizations also participate in the evaluation process:

  • Under Secretary of the Interior, in relation to the security conditions of the proposed location
  • The National Tourism Service, regarding the tourist qualities of the proposed location
  • The municipality corresponding to the location, in relation to the agreement with the regulatory level, the logistics viability of the project and the economic and social effects that the gaming casino will generate.
  • The respective regional Intendance, in relation to the merit of the commune to host a gambling casino, the impact on the regional development strategy and the economic and social effects that the gambling casino would generate,
  • Resolutive Council is the Superintendency of Casinos, which must ensure the legality of the process and is finally the one which grants each operation permit to the applicants who, after the technical evaluation, and complying with the legal restrictions of the site, submit the Highest economic bid.

Yes, it must be a closed corporation, incorporated in Chile with a maximum of 10 shareholders, with a minimum share capital of 10.000 UTM (approximately $500 million) and for the purpose of operating a gaming casino. The company must have as domicile the one that is proposed as the location of the gaming casino that it applies.

The Casino Law establishes specific taxes on casino activity, these are:

  • 0.07 UTM (equivalent to $3.500 CLP or approximately US$5.00) entrance fee per person entering the casino gaming floor
    (Article 58 of Law N°19.995))
  • 20% on the gross gaming revenue of the casino  (article 59 of the law N°19.995)
  • Gambling casinos must pay VAT for their activities, including revenue from the game.
  • Gambling casinos are subject to the general income tax rules, being able to choose, as long as their corporate structure allows, any of the tax regimes established by the Income Tax Law, that is, Income regime Attributed (article 14A) or semi-integrated regime (article 14B).