In November Vidaplan, which since 2009 has rented the location of the Nogaró casino in Punta del Este, announced that if the General Directorate of Casinos – to which it leases the space – does not terminate the contract, it would close the casino in late April. A court in Maldonado put an embargo on Vidaplan’s assets due to the non-payment of the rent for the property that houses the casino located at the entrance of Gorlero Avenue.
The DGC runs the casino with Vidaplan. The original plan was to close the Punta Shopping centre gaming room operated by the DGC. However, the room was not closed and was instead enlarged.
Vidaplan SA has long expressed its intention to leave the business, which it considers “unfeasible” due to changes in gambling regulation. Company sources told local daily El País last year that the state has hindered development and now even competes with the company having placed a number of state run last generation slots in the Punta Shopping centre.
In common with many other casinos in Uruguay both the casino in the hotel and the casino Nogaró come under the mixed system, under which private investors can set up a casino but it is the state that manages and runs the casino for which it receives in return between 35% and 45% of the profit.
Source: GMB / G3 Newswire
