New Firms Poised to Join Chilean Casino Concession Bids

(AsiaGameHub) –   This development coincides with a report indicating a decrease in land-based gaming revenue across Chile.

Chile.- As the tender process for new casino operating licenses commences in the municipalities of Iquique, Coquimbo, Viña del Mar, and Pucón, recently established firms appear poised to join the contest in Coquimbo and Pucón.

According to Diario Financiero, a private investment fund overseen by Alza is anticipated to bid for the concession to manage the Hotel & Casino in Coquimbo, which Enjoy vacated last August. This month, the Octium fund formed the new entity Casino de Juegos de Coquimbo via two subsidiary firms.

The Gaming Control Board initiated the tender in February and is evaluating proposals to award a 15-year operating license for the venue. The deadline for bid submissions is set for August 11, 2026, at 10am.

Regarding Pucón, another site formerly run by Enjoy, Diario Financiero disclosed the formation of a private corporation named Casino Volcán Pucón SA. The corporation’s founders include Andrés Raggio Guerrero, previously Treasury Manager at Enjoy and currently Finance Manager at Clínica Las Condes, along with Inversiones Gran Pucón SpA (with Raggio as its primary representative).

Land-based gaming in Chile

The latest annual report from the Asociación Chilena de Casinos y Juegos (ACCJ) indicates that gross gaming revenue from land-based operations in Chile decreased by 4.5 percent year-on-year, reaching CLP509.8bn (€514m) in 2025, with tax revenues simultaneously declining by 4.7 percent to CLP214m.

In 2025, Chile had 25 operational casinos: 22 sanctioned by Law 19.995 and three municipal sites undergoing transition. Despite this consistent presence, casino attendance saw a 7.2 percent drop, totaling 926,873 visits. Concurrently, the ACCJ’s report estimates the unregulated online gambling market generated $3.1bn.

Online gambling lawsuit

The 16th Civil Court of Santiago is presiding over a lawsuit initiated by Latamwin, which claims unfair competition against La Polla Chilena de Beneficencia. The Curaçao-licensed operator lodged the complaint in April 2024, challenging the legal and administrative actions advanced by Polla Chilena to restrict access to online betting platforms within Chile.

In his testimony, Carlos Baeza, spokesperson for the Chilean Association of Online Betting Platforms (aPAL), contended that the state-owned company’s actions harmed operators‘ reputations and aimed to eliminate market competition.

“Polla Chilena does not oppose online betting; rather, it opposes competition within online betting,” Baeza declared in court.

He asserted that “no law in our legal framework forbids all forms of gambling,” and noted that the Public Prosecutor’s Office opted not to proceed with several lawsuits concerning alleged illegal gambling.

For the defence, former president of Polla Chilena de Beneficencia, Macarena Carvallo, maintained that she never issued remarks specifically targeting the operator, clarifying that her public statements consistently addressed online platforms broadly.

The former executive also defended La Polla Chilena’s advisories regarding gambling addiction and problem gambling, asserting these were grounded in research financed by the Responsible Gambling Corporation. Moreover, she admitted that a campaign was initiated during her leadership, portraying Polla as “the sole legal Chilean betting company,” though she attributed this choice to the sales and marketing division.