The Lottery of Córdoba will carry out the process in stages. In January, the first envelopes with proposals will begin to be opened.
Argentina.- With two years left until the concession period expires, the Lotería de Córdoba began the contract renewal process so that the current operator, or another new company, can take over the operation of casinos and slots in the provincial territory.
In total, Concesionaria de Entretenimientos y Turismo (CET) manages venues in 18 cities in the interior. The process began last Monday with three locations in which the province, through the Lottery, seeks to open the game by tendering the concession of hotels, casinos, and slot machines: Alta Gracia, Río Ceballos, and Cruz del Eje.
"After the call for tenders for hotels, casinos, and slots in Alta Gracia, Cruz del Eje, and Río Ceballos, the tender process is now completed in all the 'Rings' of the cities with entertainment venues," explained the entity to the local media La Voz.
"The Tourist Ring, which includes the vacation areas where all the characteristics of the cities that receive visitors massively will be considered, and the Federal Ring, where the seasonality and the development of the commercial activity of the area will complete the renewal of the concessions," added the source that spoke with La Voz about how this process will be carried out.
Officially, the process will seek to "further boost and enhance the tourist, economic, and recreational activities of the provincial interior, giving greater strength to the developments and activities in the municipalities," reported the institution.
Sources linked to the legislative environment said that the reason for advancing with the first three locations is related to the alleged non-compliance by CET in the three cities in question. According to the Lottery, separate tenders will be made by Rings because the venues have different profiles, some tourist and others commercial.
See also: Hipódromo de Córdoba: they assure that there would be up to five interested parties in acquiring the operations
The slot machines were authorized by law just over two decades ago, during the first government of José Manuel de la Sota. Since then, this game has been exclusively concessioned to CET, which has authorization to operate up to 5,400 machines, until 2027.
In this context of renewal of the competition for the concession, the first envelopes will be opened in January. It is a process that includes the concession of hotels, casinos, and slots in Alta Gracia, Río Ceballos, and Cruz del Eje. The last enabled venue was that of Almafuerte, totaling 18 in the interior.
The authorities commented that the tender is reached because 90 percent of the stipulated time of the current concession has already been executed. "These actions will serve to promote local development, investments in tourist infrastructure and recreation in Alta Gracia, Río Ceballos, and Cruz del Eje," they said.
