Interview with Rodrigo Guíñez Saavedra, general manager at the Chilean Casino Association

"In Chile, we went from an industry in crisis, to an industry at risk"

"About 11,000 jobs are at risk, we have an industry in crisis and that is going to affect municipalities and city councils. There was an investment of over USD 2,000 million,” he said.
2021-02-08
Reading time 1:16 min
In an exclusive interview with Yogonet, the general manager of the Chilean Casino Association (ACCJ, per Spanish acronym), Rodrigo Guíñez Saavedra, shared details about the meeting held with Finance Under-secretariat officials and complained over the fact that they were called to hear about a government decision and not to discuss a proposal. "When they tell you that, there isn’t much you can do."

The head of the association that represents 16 privately-owned gaming venues in Chile said that after a 12-month wait, they were called to a formal meeting. "We arrive with the belief that our industry’s problems had been understood and that we would be offered a solution. But they say there is no answer and that we should continue with our pending lawsuits."

"Public policy is not adapting to current circumstances: 11,000 jobs are at risk, we have an industry in crisis and that is going to affect municipalities and city councils. There was an investment of over USD 2,000 million," he added.

"We were told of an upcoming Casino Modernization Bill for March. We are speaking about a sector in crisis which needs to be rescued. We find it very inappropriate to be called to speak about modernization in these circumstances. We went from an industry in crisis to an industry at risk," he continued.

"We believe that Latin America is a bit behind in terms of online gaming. Before the COVID-19 hit, we held several meetings with the authorities to discuss this. It is something that bears major importance in these difficult times," Guíñez Saavedra added after saying that they were also informed of an online gaming bill that is likely to be submitted in this quarter.

"We are going to work this month to prepare a presentation. We want to be in line with the rest of the world in terms of online gaming,” he added.

See the full interview in Spanish on our YouTube channel.

Leave your comment
Subscribe to our newsletter
Enter your email to receive the latest news
By entering your email address, you agree to Yogonet's Condiciones de uso and Privacy Policies. You understand Yogonet may use your address to send updates and marketing emails. Use the Unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.
Unsubscribe
EVENTS CALENDAR