With an economy that's on the up and a strong appetite for gambling, Simon Liddle considers Argentina's prospects as a modern gaming market
Latin America has for some time now been considered one of the largest and most lucrative gaming markets in the world. Each country that permits some form of gaming naturally has its own regulatory idiosyncrasies, making it impossible to speak about the continent’s gaming sector as a single entity.
According to the latest figures from Research and Markets, Costa Rica, for example, generates around $14.5bn a year from gaming largely due to its favourable online gambling policies. Brazil, on the other hand, generates $4.1bn through lotteries and a further $3bn through illegal slots and bingo activities.
Perhaps the most recognisable as a casino market, Argentina generates approximately $4.5bn a year through gaming, making it the third largest gambling market in Latin America.
Having endured several financial crises over the years, the most recent of which was in 2001-02 when the country defaulted on its foreign debts, Argentina has made a steady recovery and in September announced its highest rate of year-on-year growth in more than 15 years.
Government projections indicate that the country’s economy will grow nine per cent this year and will enjoy further growth of 4.3 per cent in 2011, although inflation is expected to remain high for the foreseeable future. Such is the economy’s resurgence in recent years that the government is considering returning to global credit markets for the first time since the collapse eight years ago.
The country boasts a variety of gaming properties, from land-based casinos and bingo venues to slot halls and floating casinos. Among these is the largest casino in Latin America, City Center Rosario in Santa Fe. Opening in October 2009 at a cost of $270m, the property received 1.5 million visitors in its first two and a half months of operation.
Speaking at the inauguration of the new casino, Miguel Lifschitz of the city council, said the project provided a welcome boost to the local economy.
"It is a great investment, which generated many jobs in its construction and now in its operation, in a difficult moment for the country and in a zone of the city that needed a project of this kind," he said.
Designed to offer a complete entertainment experience under one roof, City Center comprises - among other things - a state-of-the-art casino, a five-star hotel, several restaurants, swimming pools, tennis courts, a spa, retail outlets and a children’s activity centre. Guests can enjoy live games of roulette, blackjack, poker, craps and baccarat, or choose from more than 2,000 of the latest slot machines.
The casino also boasts a 300-seat bingo area. As a mark of its standing within South American gaming, City Center Rosario was chosen to host the grand final of the Latin American Poker Tour at the end of September, attracting the biggest names on the tour to what is considered the most important tournament in the region.
The complex, described by one poker pro as "quite a setting", is the product of a partnership between Argentine company Casino Club, which operates casinos and slots halls throughout the country, and Spanish operator Cirsa.
The latter is one of several Spanish companies to operate gaming properties in Argentina, with Malaga’s Grupo Vid the latest to get in on the action by announcing plans to build a new casino that will open to the public in 2011.
Just like elsewhere in South America, however, bingo is a popular pastime in Argentina and accounts for a significant portion of total gaming revenues. Another Spanish company, Codere, has been managing bingo halls and slot machines in Argentina since the early 1990s, and the company’s Carmen Ferrero Perdiguero believes such properties are more than just somewhere for people to gamble.
"Bingo halls are a point of meeting and entertainment for all kinds of people and ages," she told InterGaming. "They have replaced social clubs in the suburbs. They are also used as places where people congregate to celebrate anniversaries and many other different events."
Online gaming is a hot topic in Argentina at the moment and a roundtable discussion about future regulation was scheduled to coincide with the recent SAGSE Buenos Aires show. Many regional markets within South America have yet to formulate specific regulation for online gaming and Codere’s Perdiguero suggests that this, along with illegal gambling activities, ought to be addressed soon.
"In Argentina, as in the whole world, the industry is facing a challenge against illegal business and the industry has to open a discussion based on regulation about business online."
Given the strength of the existing gaming market, Argentina does, however, represent one of the best markets for future growth, she said.
"It will depend on the regulatory environment and the political evolution of the market, but we believe Argentina is a great market for potential investment."
