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Ecuador – New project would bring casinos back to Ecuador

A new project has been put forward that would allow for the reopening of all the casinos in Ecuador.

The project was put forward by Mauricio Villacís, President of the Association of Ex-Workers for the casino sector. According to Villacís the country is losing out on millions in tax revenue and “more than 20,000 jobs directly and indirectly linked to this activity, with an approximate investment of about $400m.”

该项目已由劳工部、旅游部和经济部以及国税局（SRI）负责。希望通过他们，该项目最终能够提交给2017年就任厄瓜多尔总统的莱宁·莫雷诺总统，他比他的左翼前任拉斐尔·科雷亚更加中间派。

The supporter of the new bill argues that between its neighbouring countries‎ ‎Peru and Colombia “we have data that they (casinos) report profits of about US$300m.” Of that amount they say as much as 15 per cent is generated by Ecuadorian players.

Villacís said that this means that “some 45 million dollars go to Colombia and Peru for gambling, not to mention online gambling, in which Ecuador has no regulations,” meaning that millions more is probably being gambled via offshore gambling sites.

One of the lawmakers to publicly make a stand on the issue is the Mayor of Quito, Jorge Yunda, who said that the reopening of casinos should be part of a referendum when talking about extending the opening hours of nightclubs.
The bill includes the repeal of Article 236 of the Comprehensive Criminal Code (COIP), which prohibits gambling for profit. Villacís said that casinos could be allowed again either via a referendum or via the Constitutional Court. Among the proposed changes is the creation of a new gaming regulatory body.

2010 年 XNUMX 月，时任厄瓜多尔总统拉斐尔·科雷亚宣布，他的政府正在寻求取缔赌场。声称厄瓜多尔的赌场已成为腐败和洗钱温床的科雷亚告诉当地媒体，他的政府将在全民公投中向厄瓜多尔人民提出这个问题。如果厄瓜多尔人民同意总统在这个问题上的观点，那么厄瓜多尔所有的XNUMX家赌场和宾果游戏厅将立即关闭。

近 47.7 万厄瓜多尔人（占选民的 15％）投票支持这一举措，这意味着许多熟练且经验丰富的赌场工人（其中许多人已在该行业工作了近 XNUMX 年）将失业。

Caption: The old Casino Sol in Ecudaor