운영자 뉴스

Ecuador – New project would bring casinos back to Ecuador

A new project has been put forward that would allow for the reopening of all the casinos in Ecuador.

The project was put forward by Mauricio Villacís, President of the Association of Ex-Workers for the casino sector. According to Villacís the country is losing out on millions in tax revenue and “more than 20,000 jobs directly and indirectly linked to this activity, with an approximate investment of about $400m.”

The project is already in the hands of the Ministries of Labour, Tourism and Economy, as well as the Internal Revenue Service (SRI). It is hoped that through them that the project will ultimately be put forward to President Lenín Moreno, who became Ecuador’s president in 2017 and is far more centrist than his left wing predecessor Rafael Correa.

The supporter of the new bill argues that between its neighbouring countries‎ ‎Peru and Colombia “we have data that they (casinos) report profits of about US$300m.” Of that amount they say as much as 15 per cent is generated by Ecuadorian players.

Villacís said that this means that “some 45 million dollars go to Colombia and Peru for gambling, not to mention online gambling, in which Ecuador has no regulations,” meaning that millions more is probably being gambled via offshore gambling sites.

One of the lawmakers to publicly make a stand on the issue is the Mayor of Quito, Jorge Yunda, who said that the reopening of casinos should be part of a referendum when talking about extending the opening hours of nightclubs.
The bill includes the repeal of Article 236 of the Comprehensive Criminal Code (COIP), which prohibits gambling for profit. Villacís said that casinos could be allowed again either via a referendum or via the Constitutional Court. Among the proposed changes is the creation of a new gaming regulatory body.

2010년 XNUMX월 당시 에콰도르 대통령 라파엘 코레아(Rafael Correa)는 정부가 카지노 금지를 모색하고 있다고 발표했습니다. 코레아는 에콰도르의 카지노가 부패와 돈세탁의 온상이 되었다고 주장하면서 그의 정부가 국민투표의 일환으로 에콰도르 국민에게 이 문제를 제기할 것이라고 현지 언론에 말했습니다. 에콰도르 국민들이 이 문제에 대한 대통령의 견해에 동의한다면 에콰도르의 XNUMX개 카지노와 빙고 홀은 모두 즉시 폐쇄될 것입니다.

거의 47.7만 명의 에콰도르인(유권자의 15%)이 그러한 움직임에 찬성한다고 투표했습니다. 즉, 거의 XNUMX년 동안 업계에서 일해 온 많은 숙련되고 경험이 풍부한 카지노 근로자가 실업자가 되었습니다.

Caption: The old Casino Sol in Ecudaor