Chile Casino Licensing Round Attracts Bids for Only Two of Five Concessions

Chile’s Superintendencia de Casinos de Juego (SCJ) concluded its latest licensing round with qualifying bids for just two of five casino concessions up for renewal. The concessions in Pucón, Coquimbo, Iquique, Viña del Mar and Puerto Varas produced a lopsided result, according to reporting by G3 Newswire. Iquique and Viña del Mar drew no offers, while Puerto Varas saw two bids disqualified on technical grounds, forcing the process to restart.

Pucón Bid Centers on Continuity with Former Enjoy Executives

Casino Volcán Pucón S.A. submitted the sole bid for the Pucón concession. Andrés Raggio, formerly Enjoy’s treasury manager, holds the controlling stake. Gonzalo Grob, who served as general manager of Enjoy Pucón from 2018 to April 2025, will lead operations as general manager. The group also includes former Enjoy operations director Pier Paolo Zacarelli, former corporate projects manager Oscar Mayorga and former legal manager Daniela Bawlitza.

The proposal retains the full existing workforce, operates from the current Miguel Ansorena address after a bank-financed purchase and includes renovation of an events venue for conventions and performances in slower seasons. The approach treats Pucón’s established tourism draw as sufficient without major disruption.

Puerto Varas Disqualifications Highlight Compliance and Process Disputes

Puerto Varas drew bids from Corporación Meier through Sociedad Quiquilhue S.A. and from Dreams through Inversiones y Turismo Puerto Varas S.A., linked to businessman Claudio Fischer. The SCJ disqualified both. Corporación Meier submitted incomplete information, missed deadlines and maintained shareholder links to entities with unpaid tax debts from other concessions in Maule, Antofagasta and Patagonia. The firm had faced similar disqualifications earlier this year for Coyhaique and Ancud.

Dreams lacked a complete corporate filing, failed to register with the CMF’s Registro Especial de Entidades Informantes and held outstanding tax debts with sixteen missing compliance certificates. Both operators objected, noting that economic bids were not opened in some cases and that past tenders allowed consultation on formalities. They observed that five of seven licensing processes resolved in 2026 ended without an awarded operator, pointing to design flaws rather than isolated errors. Corporación Meier cited shifting criteria as a deterrent for foreign investors alongside ongoing collusion probes.

These outcomes expose friction in Chile’s land-based casino licensing at a time when parallel efforts aim to update rules for both physical venues and pending online betting legislation. The SCJ must now redefine technical conditions before relaunching the stalled processes for Puerto Varas, Iquique and Viña del Mar.

Reporting: G3 Newswire

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