The FNE detailed that the casinos colluded not to compete in the permit renewal tender and in the process obtain payment for a lower economic offer than in the framework of free competition.
The National Economic Prosecutor’s Office (FNE) presented a request to the Court for the Defense of Free Competition (TDLC) against Dreams, Enjoy, Marina del Sol and five senior managers of these companies for having colluded in the casino permit tenders in 2020 and 2021.
In her complaint, the FNE requested fines for a total of 171,354 Annual Tax Units (UTA), equivalent to USD 151.9 million and also terminate the permits renewed by Dreams, Enjoy and Marina del Sol.
The largest fines were requested for Dreams, with 126,806 UTA (USD 112.4 million); and for Enjoy, with 41,498 UTA (about USD 36.8 million), while for Marina del Sol it was asked to access the benefit of compensated delinquency.
FNE’s accusation against casinos
The FNE detailed that the casinos colluded not to compete in the permit renewal tender and in the process obtain payment for a lower economic offer than in the framework of free competition.
“For example, in the case of San Francisco de Mostazal, Rinconada de los Andes and Talcahuano (main casinos of those required) their economic offers were less than 1% of their average gross gaming revenues from 2018-2019, which contrasts with the previous bidding process called by the SCJ in 2018, where, although other places were tendered, the offers were equivalent on average to percentages much higher than 20% of the companies’ average annual gross gaming revenues,” the organization detailed.
Along these lines, the Prosecutor’s Office highlighted that between 2017 and 2023 Dreams, Enjoy and Marina del Sol concentrated 90% of the income of the casino industry in Chile (which on average reached $400 billion gross annually) and that together they hold 70% of the permits to operate this type of establishments in the country.