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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 17 November 2021
This article provides an account of the development of the casino industry in Chile. For most of the 1930s up to the 1980s the industry remained stagnant and restricted to a few locations. From 1990 the industry grew, but in particular after 2005 following a new law that permitted the creation of new casinos in all regions, with the main aim of promoting tourism. The new casinos had to operate as part of an “integral project,” which included sizable investments in the tourism sector. This was a novel business development strategy. The new industry attracted old and new investors, including foreign operators, who often associated with Chilean business groups, providing the resources needed to finance these developments and enjoying healthy profits for most of the period.
We are grateful to Rodrigo Ajenjo, Renata Romero, Katharine Wilson, and Javier Rivas.
1 There is a large historical literature on casinos, including Cohen, Jonathan and Schwartz, David G., eds., All In: The Spread of Gambling in Twentieth-Century United States (New York, 2018)Google Scholar; Schwartz, David G., Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling (New York, 2013)Google Scholar; Von Herrmann, Denise, ed., Resorting to Casinos: The Mississippi Gambling Industry (Jackson, MS, 2006)Google Scholar; Taft, Chloe E., From Steel to Slots: Casino Capitalism in the Postindustrial City (Cambridge, MA, 2016)CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Munting, Roger, An Economic and Social History of Gambling in Britain and the USA (Manchester, 1996)Google Scholar; Thompson, William N., Gambling in America: An Encyclopedia of History, Issues, and Society, 2nd ed. (Santa Barbara, CA, 2015)Google Scholar; Thompson, “Cuba: Casinos Past, Casinos Future,” American Gaming Lawyer 13, no. 1 (2017): 40–45; Morse, Edward and Goss, Ernest, Governing Fortune: Casino Gambling in America (New York, 2007)CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Fisher, Susan, Gambling and Problem Gambling among Casino Patrons (Plymouth, UK, 1996)Google Scholar; and Moruzzi, Peter, Havana before Castro: When Cuba Was a Tropical Playground (New York, 2008)Google Scholar. These works deal with the emergence and development of the casino industry in the United States, Britain, continental Europe, and Cuba, paying special attention to the economic, cultural, religious, and political conditions that have conditioned its development over the last two centuries. The variables analyzed include crime and other social problems, advertising, politics, religion, identity, ethnicity, regulation, taxation, employment, heritage, social attitudes, and industrial organization, usually cultivating a multidisciplinary approach. Some also offer comparative studies between countries such as Britain and the United States, or in-depth case studies, for prime locations such Atlantic City or Las Vegas.
2 Chile, History of the Law 19.995 (Santiago, Chile, 2005).
3 Austin, Gareth, Dávila, Carlos, and Jones, Geoffrey, “The Alternative Business History: Business in Emerging Markets,” Business History Review 91, no. 3 (2017): 537–69CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
4 Carolyn Downs, “Mecca and the Birth of Commercial Bingo, 1958–70,” Business History 52, no. 7 (2010): 1086–106. This fits with John K. Walton's idea that business history does not engage much with popular culture. Walton, “New Directions in Business History,” Business History 52, no. 7 (2010): 1–16.
5 Morse and Goss, Governing Fortune, 2–12.
6 Fisher, Gambling; William Evans and Julie Topoleski, “The Social and Economic Impact of Native American Casinos” (NBER Working Paper No. 9198, Sept. 2002).
7 Eduardo Sáenz, The Cuban Connection (Chapel Hill, 2008); Cohen and Schwartz, All In, 3–5.
8 Morse and Goss, Governing Fortune, 1–2.
9 Downs, “Mecca.”
10 Morse and Goss, Governing Fortune, 2–12.
11 Chile, History of the Law, 20–23.
12 In 1931 Nevada legalized casino gambling, and New Jersey did so in 1976. Many other states followed, and in particular those with tribal casinos. Cohen and Schwartz, All In; Morse and Goss, Governing Fortune; Munting, Economic and Social History; Jorge Godinho, “Casino Gaming in Macau,” UNLV Gaming Law Journal 5, no. 1 (2014): 1–26; Thompson, Gambling in America; Schwartz, Roll the Bones.
13 Lawrence D. Taylor, “The Wild Frontier Moves South,” Journal of San Diego History 48, no. 3 (2002): 204–29.
14 Rose Nelson, “Cuba Will Have Casinos, Again,” Gaming Law Review and Economics 14, no. 4 (2010): 229–30; Moruzzi, Havana before Castro, 30–35; Thompson, “Cuba”; Sáenz, Cuban Connection, 72–74.
15 Thompson, Gambling in America; Ramon Romero, “La regulación del Juego,” in Régimen del juego en España, ed. Alberto Palomar (Madrid, 2006), 131–68.
16 Romero, “La regulación.”
17 José Ossandón, “Sowing Consumers in the Garden of Mass Retailing in Chile,” Consumption Markets & Culture, 17, no. 5 (2014): 429–47. For example, of a population of 17 million, the number of credit cards owned increased from 1.7 million in 1993 to almost 24 million in 2007.
18 Chile, Law no. 18.936 (Santiago, 1990).
19 Downs, “Mecca.”
20 Chile, History of the Law, 48.
21 Superintendencia de Casinos de Juego (hereafter, SCJ), Informe de Precalificación de Latin Gaming Calama SA, 2000, Archivo Superintendencia de Casinos de Juego, SCJ, Santiago, Chile (hereafter, ASCJ).
22 SCJ, Contrato de Concesión Casino de Juegos de Arica, 2000, ASCJ.
23 Jaime Wilhelm (CEO of Sun Dream SA), interview by Ricardo Nazer, 2019.
24 Family business groups, often founded by immigrants and frequently diversified across several economic activities, have characterized business structures in Chile and most other South American countries. Austin, Dávila, and Jones, “Alternative Business History”; Rory Miller, “The History of Business in Latin America,” in The Routledge Companion to Business History, ed. John F. Wilson, Steven Toms, Abe de Jong, and Emily Buchnea (London, 2017), 187–201.
25 SCJ, Modificación de sociedad Guillermo Campos Fauze y Cía., 1994, ASCJ.
26 Paola Álvarez, Casino Dreams Puerto Varas: 45 años (Puerto Varas, Chile, 2015).
27 Enjoy SA, Annual Report (Santiago, Chile, 2008).
28 Chile, History of the Law, 75.
29 Chile, 124.
30 Chile, 191.
31 Manuel Rojas (general manager, Casino Sun Monticello), interview by Ricardo Nazer, November 2019.
32 Chile, History of the Law, 132.
33 Chile, 25.
34 Since the SCJ's employees had no previous experience in the industry, they were trained by US personnel of the GLI and hired the services of consultants. Interview with Cecilia Estatópulos (Inspection Unit, SCJ), interview by Ricardo Nazer, November 2019; interview with Isabel Troncoso (Process Unit, SCJ), interview by Ricardo Nazer, November 2019.
35 SCJ, press release, 6 July 2005, ASCJ.
36 SCJ, press releases, 7 May 2006 and 2 Apr. 2006, ASCJ.
37 Chile, History of the Law, 245.
38 El Mercurio, 22 Jan. 2007; Diario Estrategia, 15 May 2007; Diario Financiero, 9 Aug. 2007.
39 Chile, History of the Law.
40 SCJ, press releases, 18 Jan. 2007 and 11 Aug. 2008, ASCJ.
41 Troncoso interview.
42 The Valmar group is linked to the Imschenetzky family (of Russian background), which started business in the real estate sector in the Concepcion area.
43 SCJ, press releases, 3 Dec. 2007, 15 Sep. 2008, and 8 Mar. 2010, ASCJ.
44 The Fischer group is a family business led by the brothers Humberto and Claudio Fischer, from Coyhaique. There, they started a business with videogame playing venues, followed by investment in the salmon, cattle, real estate, and airline industries. Wilhelm interview.
45 SCJ, press release, 13 Dec. 2007, ASCJ.
46 SCJ, press release, 30 Dec. 2009, ASCJ.
47 SCJ, press release, 4 June 2008, ASCJ.
48 SCJ, press release, 23 Apr. 2010, ASCJ.
49 SCJ, press release, 17 Aug. 2011, ASCJ.
50 SCJ, press release, 29 July 2009, ASCJ. Egasa owns casinos and/or slot machines in Spain, Croatia, Peru, Panama, and Colombia.
51 Casinos Austria International Holding, owned by Casinos Austria, is a leading player in the global gaming industry. SCJ, press release, 28 Mar. 2008, ASCJ.
52 SCJ, press release, 8 Mar. 2012, ASCJ.
53 SCJ, Report on the New Casinos Industry, 2010, ASCJ.
54 The SCJ issued a new bidding process, attracting the interest of three bidders. Eventually, Invergaming and Bold was awarded the concession for the casino and a four-star hotel. SCJ, press release, 29 Aug. 2013, ASCJ; SCJ, Report on the New Casinos Industry, 2008–18, ASCJ.
55 In 2016, 2017, and 2018, the visitors to these municipal casinos were 3.3 million, 3.0 million, and 2.7 million, respectively, taking the total of the industry above 8 million per year.
56 For example, the largest casino in the country has 40 percent of its slot machines in terraces where smoking is allowed. SCJ, Report on the New Casino Industry, 2013, ASCJ.
57 Rojas interview.
58 On this issue in particular, see Dreams, Annual Report (Santiago, 2013).
59 SCJ, Report on the New Casino Industry, 2018, ASCJ.
60 SCJ, Boletín Estadístico Industria de Casinos (Santiago, 2008–18).
61 SCJ, Report on the New Casino, 2010.
62 SCJ, Boletín Estadístico.
63 One of the main duties of the SJC is to ensure that all visitors are registered. Estatópulos interview.
64 SCJ, Report of the New Casino Industry, 2011, ASCJ.
65 Dreams, Annual Report (Santiago, 2013).
66 SCJ, Report of the new Casino Industry, 2013–18, ASCJ.
67 PUC, “Catastro máquinas de juego electrónicas” (Santiago, 2016).
68 FIDEN, “Historia,” accessed 16 July 2020, https://www.fiden.cl/historia. These figures need to be taken with caution since they are self-reported and have not been audited.
69 SCJ, Memo 78, 2016; Memo 83, 2017, ASCJ.
70 Enjoy, Annual Report (Santiago, 2010).
71 SCJ, Boletín Estadístico.
72 SCJ, Boletín Estadístico.
73 SCJ, press release, 22 Aug. 2016, ASCJ.
74 Diario Financiero, 1 Apr. 2013.
75 SCJ, press release, 20 Feb. 2019, ASCJ.
76 SCJ, press release, 24 Sep. 2014, ASCJ; SCJ, Boletín Estadístico.
77 Enjoy, Annual Reports (Santiago, 2016–18); Dreams, Annual Reports (Santiago, 2016–18).
78 María Inés Barbero, “The Chilean Multinationals: Contexts, Paths, Strategies,” in Capitalists, Business and State-Building in Chile, ed. Manuel Llorca-Jaña, Rory Miller, and Diego Barría (London, 2019), 283–326.
79 La Tercera, 1 July 2007.
80 Enjoy, Annual Reports; Dreams, Annual Reports.
81 Rojas interview.
82 Rojas interview; Wilhelm interview; Claudia Valladares (head of Communications and Institutional Affairs, Enjoy group), interview by Ricardo Nazer, November 2019.
83 Enjoy, Annual Reports.
84 Enjoy, Annual Reports.
85 Enjoy, Annual Reports.
86 Legally, casino operators cannot offer direct loans to clients, yet they used related companies to offer soft credits. No interest is charged, but borrowers must provide signed checks as collateral for the loans, for thirty, sixty, or ninety days. Alberto Arellano, “La fórmula ludópata de Casinos Enjoy,” Ciper, 13 Mar. 2019, https://ciperchile.cl/2019/03/13/la-formula-ludopata-de-casinos-enjoy-burla-la-ley-con-millonarios-prestamos-a-clientes-vip/.
87 Wilhelm interview.
88 Dreams, Annual Reports.
89 Barbero, “Chilean Multinationals.”
90 Sun Dreams, Annual Reports.
91 Sun Dreams, Annual Reports.
92 Wilhelm interview.
93 Rojas interview.
94 Wilhelm interview.
