The operation surprised the industry last week, as Sun Dreams is the largest casino operator in Latin America, with a presence in Chile, Peru, Panama, Argentina and Colombia. At the local level, they are the second most important operator, with a presence in Iquique, Mostazal -where they have their flagship Sun Monticello-, Temuco, Valdivia, Puerto Varas, Coyhaique and Punta Arenas.
But the controversial new casino tender, where the company argues that the established rules were changed, motivated Sun International to leave the country. The South African firm considered that the law that in 2005 allowed private companies to invest close to US$ 2 billion was not respected. Sun understood that those licenses that would be valid for 15 years would be renewed for another 15 years in the new process.
Leeming explains to La Tercera the reasons that led Sun to accept at this moment the proposal of the Fischer brothers, head of IPS: “The world has changed in relation to the challenges of this moment in South Africa and Latin America. There is a lot going on there and there is also the way Chilean regulators are dealing with the renewal of casino licenses. We believe that they broke the spirit of the law with which we invested. So this is an opportunity for locals to handle this, because we have our own challenges. The agreement is beneficial for both parties: it is a good opportunity for them and a good opportunity for us to get out. It's a good deal."
“We invested with certain rules and we saw that those rules were changed. It was a relevant factor, even though we believe there is a good chance that Sun Dreams could renew their licenses. But those conditions to renew now are different from what they should have been. We do not support that, we believe that it is not correct to happen and that it is not good for foreign investment,” explained Leeming.
Finally, to express the feeling of the company when leaving the country, Leeming stated: “We leave Chile a little disappointed and a little sad. We bought Monticello and we believed that we bought something really good for Chile, and we really invested in the industry. We believe that the casino sector will be primarily a local industry. Given the legal uncertainty, it is difficult for there to be foreign investors willing to take this risk.”
Source: GMB / La Tercera (Chile)
