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ccording to the information provided by the Chilean regulator, having complied with the 36-month deadline that the law mandates, and after the approval of the technical bases through Exempt Resolution No. 482, of August 25, 2021, “the Superintendency of Gaming Casinos began the process of granting or renewing operational permits, through Resolution No. 491, published on Friday in the Official Gazette”.
This is the first step of the contest, through which the SCJ may authorize the operation of up to a maximum of two casinos, corresponding to the quotas that will be available on August 28 and 30, 2024, respectively.
According to the information provided by the SCJ, the casinos set to renew their licenses in this process are Enjoy San Antonio gaming room, currently operated by Casino de Juegos del Pacífico S.A. and whose concession ends on August 27, 2024, and Enjoy Santiago, operated by Casino Rinconada S.A. and whose concession ends on August 29, 2024.
“The foregoing, and in consideration of the fact that according to what is established in Law No. 19,995 of Casinos, the SCJ, with an advance notice that may not exceed 48 months or be below 36 months from the expiration date of the licenses in current exploitation, must issue a resolution formally declaring open the process of granting or renewing operating permits, as appropriate,” they explained from the entity.
Bidders interested in applying for an operating permit or in renewing their current permit may download the technical bases in full, as well as access the application system and its user manual, through the institutional website’s following link https://www.scj.gob.cl/procesos-de-la-industria/otorgamiento-de-permiso-de-operacion/2021.
Likewise, these can be picked up at the offices of the Superintendency, located in Morandé 360, 11th floor, commune of Santiago, Metropolitan Region.
The download or pick-up of the technical bases and the Gambling Casino Operation Application System (SOPO for its initials in Spanish) may be carried out from September 2, 2021, and until February 22, 2022. For this, the interested parties, whether companies or individuals, must register their basic identification details on the same website of the Superintendency.
In this way the phase of the preparation of the Technical and Economic Offers by the interested parties begins, following what is established in the bases for which the interested parties have a period of 120 working days until they are delivered at the Hearing of Presentation of Technical and Economic Offers, which is scheduled for February 23, 2022, at 10:00 am, at the Hotel Gran Palace, Calle Huérfanos No. 1178, commune of Santiago.
As of Friday and within a period of ten business days, the period for inquiries and requests for clarifications by the bidders will be taking place, which may be made through the web form available in the management of inquiries and requests for clarifications section (https://www.scj.gob.cl/procesos-de-la-industria/otorgamiento-de-permiso-de-operacion/2021) the Superintendency has a period of fifteen days to respond.
It should be noted that, according to current regulations, “applications for a gambling casino operation permit in all regions of the country are allowed, with the exception of the Metropolitan Region. Likewise, the current gambling casino operating companies may choose to participate in this process, applying for the renewal of their permits”.
To ensure that this process is fair and transparent to both, those potentially renewing casino permits as well as potential casino operators, the rules of the process are publicly accessible and known to all stakeholders.
In the same way, the files of the technical evaluation will be public once the process has concluded, except for information of a confidential nature in accordance with Law No. 20,285, regarding access to public information.
All of the bidding process information is available on the website www.scj.gob.cl.
