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Argentina – Officials inspect Buenos Aires slots for first time in ten years
By Phil - 9 May 2016
Inspectors from the Argentine National Lottery (Lotería Nacional) have closed down 94 slot machines at the racino in Palermo and 88 slot machines in the casinos tied permanently to the city harbour for failure to meet safety requirements as set down by local gaming laws.
Controls began a week ago when 15 inspectors began inspecting slot machines located beneath the racetrack where there are around 4500 slot machines currently in operation and in the so called floating casinos moored to the city harbour where there are around 1200 slot machines. According to local press reports, inspectors discovered that a number of slot machines were missing certificates issued to them by the manufacturer as well as certificates issued by a game testing laboratory – both of which are legal requirements as set down by local gaming laws. After giving operators time to respond, and once operators acknowledged that certification stickers were missing inspectors shut down the machines which were then sealed off.
It is the first time in over ten years that inspectors have set foot in the gaming halls. While on site they also found that several slot machines had no UPS emergency power system in place which is also a legal requirement as the system ensures that slot machines remain on for at least 15 minutes in case of a power cut.
In a statement released to local press, officials said that an audit like this had never been carried out before. “In fact, we still have not defined which sanctions will be applied because formally they (the casinos) have no history of violations,” officials said.
In March Inspectors from the Argentine tax office La Administración de Ingresos Públicos (AFIP) carried out a surprise on site inspection of the casinos in the floating casinos in Puerto Madero. Around 80 inspectors checked staff records and requested information regarding checks issued for more than 100 thousand pesos. According to sources from the company the inspection at the floating casino sought to verify the registration status of employees and the contributions of social security.
