Brazil
Mafia Investing in Casinos to Launder Money, Police Say
According to Brazilian newspaper Globo, local police forces are investigating the links between criminal gangs based in Brazil, and their connection to casinos in Argentina, Ecuador and Uruguay. As part of a two-year-long operation, Brazilian police forces have targeted the runners of the so called “Animal Game,” an illegal street lottery.
Estimated to be worth billions of dollars a year, the Animal Game (where numbers are replaced by symbols) has been present in Brazil for more than 100 years and is deeply entrenched in Brazilian culture. While there have been calls in the past to legalize the game in order to put an end to organized crime, these calls were abandoned in 2004 when then-head of the State Lottery of Rio de Janeiro, Waldomiro Diniz, was caught on tape soliciting a bribe from well-known numbers runner Carlos Ramos.
Local police sources state that criminal gangs that run the Animal Game have now formed alliances with other criminal groups based in Israel and Russia that specialize in money laundering and tax evasion. The gangs are targeting countries in Latin America where casinos are legal.
According to the ongoing investigation, money obtained illegally via number running is being deposited in bank accounts mainly in Panama and Uruguay, which are associated with a number of hotels and casinos in Latin America.
The investigation into money laundering has so far led police to seize around $270 million worth of real estate, yachts, cars and other luxury goods. These latest developments will no doubt further hinder any future attempts to green light casinos, which are currently illegal in Brazil. 
Chile
Casinos See 25% Increase in Visitor Numbers between 2010 and 2011
According to an investigation carried out by the Federation of Tourism Businesses in Chile (FEDETUR), visitor numbers to casinos continue to increase at a fast rate in Chile. The study examined the impact of Chile’s casino industry on local tourism since 2005, when the Chilean government first allowed for the construction of 18 additional casinos to the seven casinos already in operation. Licenses in Chile run for 15 years, and during the bidding process, operators had to prove that their project would significantly improve the tourism industry in the areas in which their casino was to be constructed.
The study found that casinos are quickly becoming one of the most popular destinations for Chileans to meet up in their free time, and that casinos are becoming one of the major driving forces in the growth of the entertainment business sector. Chileans meet at casinos not only to gamble, but to take advantage of other facilities available on the premises such as restaurants, cinemas and theaters. According to the study, there were more than 2,000 live shows held at casinos throughout Chile in 2011.
The study comes at a time when tourist numbers to Chile are also on the rise. While lagging behind Latin American hotspots such as Peru and Colombia, 2.2 million tourists arrived in Chile in the first nine months of 2011, an increase of 12 percent. According to Claudia Salcedo, head of research at FEDETUR, the casino in Copiapó, a city in the north of Chile, is a good example of how casinos have improved tourist resources in the area.
“Since the casino opened,” Salcedo told local news portal La Tercera, “it has brought a hotel to the city along with an entertainment and conference center that before, did not exist. In this case, as with many other cases, the casino has opened up a new business opportunity and has helped generate tourism.”
Peru
Sharp Increase in Tax Revenue Predicted for 2012
As previously reported, the gaming industry is becoming increasingly regulated in Peru, with the passing of a new act in late 2011 that allows the government to monitor all gambling transactions by a central government-controlled server. According to law N° 27796, all gambling operations carried out nationwide are now monitored online and in real time.
In late December, the government released its estimates on how the new system will affect gambling tax revenue. In statements made to local press by José Luis Silva, minister for the Department of Foreign Trade and Tourism (the body that oversees the gambling industry in Peru), tax revenue could double by the end of 2013.
“We estimate that with the implementation of a central government-controlled server, the government will collect around 300 million soles ($11.123 million) in gaming tax in 2012 and 400 million soles ($14.84 million) in 2013.”
The new act stipulates that all gambling operations have six months in which to comply with the new law, and gambling operators must assume the cost of ensuring that their slot machines and other gambling devices are compatible with the new online system. Meanwhile, the Department of Foreign Trade and Tourism will be responsible for developing and implementing the infrastructure necessary for monitoring the industry 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
At present, there are almost 70,000 slot machines in 688 slot parlors and 12 casinos that operate in Peru. This number looks likely to increase as the government continues to more fully regulate the industry. 
Nicaragua
New Gaming Law Goes into Effect
As previously reported in 2011, the Nicaraguan Parliament, after an almost 10-year delay, finally addressed the issue of gambling. The bill, which passed with remarkable little fanfare or opposition in May, puts gambling under the supervision of a new gambling control board, allows for stand-alone casinos and slot parlors, and divides gambling establishments into four different categories depending on the size of the operation. The law, known as “The Special Law for the Regulation and Control of Casinos and Slot Parlors 766” (“El Ley Especial para el Control y
Regulación de Casinos y Salas de Juegos, 766”), went into effect in December 2011, and outlaws slot machines outside of specially licensed premises. And, for the first time in the country’s history, puts the entire gambling industry under the control of the Ministry of Tourism.
In its finally approved form, the new act stipulates that operators will now have to apply for two separate licenses in order to open up a gaming establishment. The first license is valid for 20 years and costs $200,000. The second license consists of a monthly fee, payable to the Ministry of Tourism, of $100 per gaming table and $20 per slot machine on the premises. According to other details now emerging regarding the new act, slot machines must be programmed to return at least 85 percent of the stake back to the player and the act also creates a so-called “Destruction Commision,” which is responsible for destroying all slot machines found to be operating illegally.
Government inspectors began training in November and in 2012, will begin to carry out a number of onsite inspections on the estimated 120 slot parlors currently in operation in Nicaragua. There will also be a crackdown on slot machines in small businesses, which are now illegal. It is estimated that the new act will see gambling revenues more than double over the next two to three years.
James Marrison has been covering the casino industry in Latin America for more than seven years and has written in-depth features on every country in the region. Marrison has worked as a research contributor for Global Betting and Gaming Consultants and serves as a consultant for industry professionals for the Gerson Lehrman Group. Marrison is also a researcher into the online gaming markets in Europe.
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