According to what was published today in the province’s Official Gazette, the authorities of the Institute of Games and Casino of Mendoza (IPJyC for its initials in Spanish) extended for 60 days the opening of the Public Bidding No. 50603-0020-LPU22, for the contracting of “licenses for the organization, development, exploitation, betting and commercialization of the online gaming activity, in its different modalities, through electronic, computer, telematic or any other interactive means”.
In the text published today and signed by the president of the IPJyC of Mendoza, Dr. Ida López, the opening date of the bidding is set for January 17, 2023, at 12:00 noon.
It is worth remembering that the bidding process for online gaming in the province foresees the granting of a minimum of two and up to five licenses, for a term of 10 years from the date of signature of the contract.
In an exclusive dialogue with Yogonet, the president of the Institute explained that “the decision responds to the fact that more than two companies have requested the extension, and since it was foreseen in the bidding terms that in case two or more companies requested the modification of the terms, the Institute had the possibility of granting it, so we decided to implement this measure”.
“When analyzing these requests for extension, we understood that the requests were well-founded, aditionally, we have technical reports that support that it is better for the bidding process to grant a longer term that allows companies to submit their bids, and also favors the concurrence of more companies interested in this market, receiving more bids and having the best possible bidding process”, López added.
When asked about the preference that the bidding process contemplates, in relation to the gaming operators that already have a physical presence in the province, and how this factor played in the participation of a greater number of competitors for one of the five online gaming licenses at stake, Ida Lopez pointed out: “We have not seen a negative influence in this aspect.”
“We received inquiries from both national and international companies, and we will now wait to see the offers that will come out of this process,” López noted. “We can say that the interest has been great, that we have received many inquiries and we have noticed that the regulation has been well prepared in order to carry out a good bidding process”.
Finally, regarding the deadlines for the delivery of the first operating permits, López considered that “the granting of licenses may vary over time, due to different consultations and challenges” that may be part of the process.
“It is very difficult to foresee the exact time. But it is important to bear in mind that when analyzing the proposals, one of the criteria taken into account in the programming grid is the execution time of each bidder, so it will be up to the companies to evaluate these times, and the chances of each company to be one of those chosen in the bidding process,” López added. “Let’s say that time is a factor to be valued, and we are confident that the implementation will be carried out in the best possible time”.
