Major casinos given six months instead of 1-2 years as previously thought.

The president of Ecuador has issued a decree that all gaming in the nation is to cease within six months.

Executive Order 873 from President Rafael Correa ordered the immediate closure of all local casinos, sports betting shops and slot arcades. The 32 up-scale casinos located in five star hotels, along with legalized bingo halls, have been given six months to cease activities, reports the Ecuador daily La Hora.

The move comes four months after voters chose to eliminate gambling of any sort in a national referendum. Operators originally thought they would have at least one or two years to prepare for the event, and the major casino operators had lobbied for a five year grace period in order to recoup investments.

The wording of the May referendum was clear, according to trade journal Casinos de Latinoamerica. “Do you agree that establishments given over to games of chance, such as casinos and gaming halls, should be prohibited in the country?”

The results were a win for the anti-gaming crowd but far from a mandate: 3,951,783 votes in favor of the ban and 3,599,091 against. Percentage-wise, that was 45.75 percent versus 41.68. The remaining 12.57 percent of votes were either blank on the question or disqualified for one reason or another.

The closure will mean the elimination of some 250,000 jobs, according to Casinos de Latinoamerica, with about 3,200 of those coming from the 32 casinos.

President Correa said at the time of the referendum, “Gambling addiction is harder to get over than alcohol addiction.”

Tourism Minister Freddy Ehlers agreed with the gaming ban, noting that several other countries and many U.S. states have a similar ban. He said that, according to official figures, almost 13 percent of Ecuadorians are problem gamblers.

“I am fully in favor of Ecuador being a casino-free country,” Elhers said.

Jaime Roura, representing the Ecuadorian Casinos and Bingos Association—ASCABI—believes the government was wrong to lump all gaming establishments together. He said that the casinos in 5-star hotels cater for up-market clients, primarily tourists, as opposed to what he referred to as underground gaming venues, which he thinks should be the subject of attention.

“They mixed us all together, in spite of the fact that we comply with all requirements established for the operation of casinos and gaming rooms,” Roura told Casinos de Latinoamerica.

Maria Augusta Diaz, head of the National Association of Owners and Managers of Gaming Rooms, said that her organization had taken steps to prevent money.

“If the problem is in the deposits made by gaming establishments, the Internal Revenue Service is setting up an online system to check deposits against production,” Diaz told El Comercio. “We have participated in workshops with the Financial Intelligence Unit and we immediately report any movements of around $10,000.”

Ecuador joins Brazil and Cuba as nations that have banned all forms of gaming, reports GamblingCompliance. Venezuela is said to be considering similar action. But while some see a socialist agenda, GamblingCompliance points out that left-leaning Nicaragua and Bolivia recently enacted legislation that creates government agencies to regulate gaming, while Chile and Peru passed similar laws in the past five or six years.

The government of Ecuador says it will provide funding and retraining programs for workers in the gaming industry who have lost their source of income.

Fausto Flores, speaking for the casinos of ASCABI, said, “Our investments will now go to countries like Costa Rica, Puerto Rica or Colombia, where they consider gaming as complimentary to tourism development.”

Total investment in Ecuador’s 32 main casinos is estimated at $180 million.

By Staff