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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.”

Il-proġett diġà jinsab f’idejn il-Ministeri tax-Xogħol, it-Turiżmu u l-Ekonomija, kif ukoll l-Internal Revenue Service (SRI). Huwa ttamat li permezz tagħhom li l-proġett fl-aħħar mill-aħħar jitressaq lill-President Lenín Moreno, li sar il-president tal-Ekwador fl-2017 u huwa ferm aktar ċentrist mill-predeċessur tax-xellug tiegħu 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.

F'Settembru 2010 dak iż-żmien il-President tal-Ekwador Rafael Correa ħabbar li l-gvern tiegħu kien qed ifittex li jipprojbixxi l-casinos. Filwaqt li sostna li l-casinos fl-Ekwador saru foqra ta’ korruzzjoni u ħasil tal-flus, Correa qal lill-istampa lokali li l-amministrazzjoni tiegħu se tpoġġi l-mistoqsija quddiem il-poplu Ekwadorjan bħala parti minn referendum. Jekk il-poplu Ekwadorjan jaqbel mal-fehmiet tal-President dwar il-kwistjoni allura l-ħamsa u ħamsin każinò u swali tat-tombla fl-Ekwador jingħalqu minnufih.

Kważi erba’ miljun Ekwadorjan (47.7 fil-mija tal-votanti) ivvutaw li huma favur tali mossa li jfisser li ħafna ħaddiema tas-sengħa u esperjenza tal-casinos, li ħafna minnhom kienu ilhom jaħdmu fl-industrija għal kważi 15-il sena tħallew bla xogħol.

Caption: The old Casino Sol in Ecudaor