President Daniel Noboa is once again proposing the return of casinos to Ecuador through a popular consultation scheduled for the end of the year. Noboa has included the legalisation of casinos as part of the preliminary questions for the popular consultation. Casinos would only be permitted in five-star hotels, which would be required to pay the state 25% of their profits.
The question reads:
“Do you agree to allow the operation of gaming and casino rooms dedicated to gambling in hotels rated five stars, which will pay the state a tax of twenty-five percent (25%) of their sales from this activity, for funding programs to fight chronic child malnutrition and school meals, as regulated by the National Assembly through law?”
Through the social network X, the Ecuadorian president stated that a “popular consultation will be held asking the people about issues that have been of popular interest and urgency for change for years.” Before the question reaches the ballot, it may undergo changes and must also pass through the Constitutional Court for it to be finalized.
This is not the first time the president has made this proposal. The return of gambling was one of 11 questions that President Daniel Noboa wanted Ecuadorians to answer in a referendum on key issues in 2024. In the request sent to the court the authorization of casinos was initially presented as a solution that, “as long as it is carefully regulated, will contribute to strengthen economic stability and consequently mitigate insecurity in dangerous areas.”
However, later on, the president withdrew the question regarding casinos and informed the Constitutional Court that it was not timely given the country’s security concerns. Ecuador has suffered a substantial increase in violent crime over the last several years which is largely driven by criminal gangs battling it out over territory and drug trafficking.
Ecuador banned all types of gambling after a referendum was held under the administration of left wing populist Rafael Correa in 2010. Casinos had been present for over fifty years before then and were quite large scale and were present mostly in Quito and the Port of Guayaquil. Under previous legislation, casinos operating in Ecuador had to offer—in addition to slots—at least four different types of table gaming in five-star hotels and two to three types of table gaming in three and four-star hotels, respectively. The ban was approved by 52.34% of the population, and about 160 establishments closed a year later. Nearly 25,000 jobs were lost, according to figures released at the time.
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President Daniel Noboa is once again proposing the return of casinos to Ecuador through a popular consultation scheduled for the end of the year. Noboa has included the legalisation of casinos as part of the preliminary questions for the popular consultation. Casinos would only be permitted in five-star hotels, which would be required to pay…
The post Casinos could be given the go ahead in Ecuador appeared first on G3 Newswire.