Helen Popper looks ate the growing interest in the casino markets of Uruguay and Paraguay.
High-profile casino projects and growing interest from foreign investors are putting the small South American countries of Uruguay and Paraguay on the gaming industry’s radar. The smallest members of the regional trade bloc Mercosur have long been overshadowed by their giant neighbours, but a worsening economic outlook in Argentina coupled with an enduring ban on casinos in Brazil are giving them an edge when it comes to new investment. An international consortium led by Spain’s Grupo Codere invested $75m to re-open the 116-room Carrasco hotel, casino and spa in Uruguay’s capital Montevideo in March, the country’s largest new casino project in years. In the swanky beach resort of Punta del Este, Chile’s Enjoy recently bought a controlling stake in the Conrad Casino and Resort, one of Latin America’s best-known casinos, underscoring foreign interest in the nation of about 3.4 million people. Revenue at Uruguay’s mainly state-run casinos - the Carrasco and the Conrad are in private hands - reached a record of $240m in 2012, up about 10 per cent from a year earlier, according to government data. Uruguay is considered one of the region’s most stable countries and the current leftist President has broadly maintained market-friendly economic policies, leading it to be awarded the coveted investment grade by all three major credit ratings agencies.
Read the full article in the July issue of InterGaming.
