Operator News
Uruguay – Betting in Uruguay’s state-owned casinos up by over six per cent
By Phil - 13 February 2017
Betting in state owned casinos grew by 6.5 per cent according to The Head of the Uruguayan Casino Control Board (DGC) Javier Chá.
Mr Chá said that around $6.150bn (around US$212m) was gambled in state casinos which is a 6.5 per cent increase compared to 2015. The figure does not, however, include the larger casinos in Uruguay such as the Conrad in Punta del Este, the Casino Parque Hotel nor the Hotel Casino Carrasco which are both located in Montevideo.
Javier Chá said that the fact that the casinos had reported growth close to the level of inflation was an “achievement” due to the slowing down of the local economy. Growth stood at around 0.5 per cent in 2006, and will stand at an estimated 1 per cent this year according to Uruguayan Economy Minister Danilo Astori. The Uruguayan economy has been adversely affected by the difficult economic situation in Brazil and Argentina.
In 2016 a total of $10.849bn was bet via Quinela (pools betting) the Lottery, Tómbola, Supermatch, 5 de Oro and instant Quinela – a $281m increase compared to 2015. Quiniela was the most popular game with sales standing at $4.446bn, followed by Tómbola $2.366bn and lottery game 5 de Oro with sales standing at $2.301bn. Meanwhile betting via instant Quinela stood at $871m, stood at $639m for the lottery and $226m for sports betting game Super Match.
In January 2015 it was revealed that Quinela and lottery betting increased by as much as 15 per cent in 2015 compared to 2014 reaching US$387.3m. However 2015 was an especially good year as the annual increase in lotteries and football pools betting normally stands at between seven per cent and nine per cent per year.
Meanwhile in January 2015 the Uruguayan Casino Control Board showed improving figures when compared to 2014 recording gross gaming revenues of around US$212.7m, a seven per cent increase compared to 2014 which is similar to this year’s figures. Mr Chá said at the time that increased revenue had met with expectations and were part of the board’s strategy to match gaming revenue to inflation.
