Today, Friday, January 10, the deadline set by the Ministry of Tourism of Uruguay expired, with no proposals submitted by the groups that had expressed interest.
Uruguay.- Bad news for the Ministry of Tourism of Uruguay after the deadline to submit offers in the context of the tender call to operate the Hotel Casino Carmelo expired, as none of the proposals from the nine private groups that had shown interest materialized.
It is worth remembering that in November the deadline for receiving projects was extended again until January 10, 2025, however, with the deadline met, it is unknown what will happen with the complex.
In a conversation with El Observador, the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Remo Monzeglio, said: "We will not extend the tender deadline any further. New authorities are coming in and at this point, it makes no sense to leave them something that is not concluded. The idea is to leave it without effect so that, once the next government is in place, it can evaluate with total tranquility what destination it wants to give to that place."
In a letter written by the official and published this week by the local media Carmelo Portal, Monzeglio detailed some of the points that may have caused the process, which has been under his wing for years, to fail.
There, after explaining the back and forth that led the Ministry of Tourism to opt to sell the Hotel Casino Carmelo subject to the construction of a hotel tourism project, with a casino, Monzeglio said that one of the keys that may have sunk the interest of investors was the lack of legislation to add an online gaming license to physical gaming.
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Regarding the exponential growth of online gaming, the official said: "This phenomenon has made physical casinos see their attendance decline (except in exceptional cases) and consequently their earnings and profitability have decreased," he wrote, adding that without a law in Uruguay that regulates online gaming, the country is "at a disadvantage compared to others that already apply it and bring in millions of dollars in revenue from royalties, taxes, etc." The bill to regulate online gaming in Uruguay is under consideration in Parliament.
"During all this time, the nine companies interested in purchasing, remodeling, and operating the Hotel Casino Carmelo (mostly Argentine), have been closely following the legislative treatment of the issue. At this point, it can be affirmed that none of them will make such an investment if the online gaming law is not approved in our country," Monzeglio assured.
He also added that of the nine interested companies, one purchased the tender documents, but so far, has not presented the project with which it would take charge of the investment. In the letter, Monzeglio indicated that the paradox is that if the law is approved, only those casinos that are installed will be able to access online gaming. "Therefore, the attractiveness of investing in the Hotel Casino Carmelo was so important and if the law is approved none of the nine interested companies will be able to access online gaming, missing out on very significant sums," he stated.
Furthermore, the official emphasized the relevance that the presidential elections had in the process, since on March 1st a new government that was previously in opposition will take office. "This, at least, has generated caution among potential investors. It remains to be seen how the online gaming project will continue in the deputies and the opinion of the new government on the matter. Time will tell," he wrote.
