Grupo Meier again asks Chile's TDLC to halt municipal casino tender
2026-08-07
Source: Global Gaming Insider
Grupo Meier has renewed its request for Chile's competition tribunal to suspend the four-casino tender, citing unresolved legal questions over technical requirements. Bids remain due August 11, with a hearing scheduled for September 9.
Chile's licensing contest for four municipal casinos is facing renewed legal pressure, as Peruvian operator Grupo Meier has once more asked the Tribunal de Defensa de la Libre Competencia (TDLC) to suspend the process. The tender covers Iquique, Coquimbo, Viña del Mar and Pucón, with the Viña del Mar concession back on the market after Enjoy's early exit.
The company wants the procedure frozen at least until a hearing set for September 9, a date that would fall after the current August 11 deadline for bid submissions. Grupo Meier argues that the tender cannot advance with adequate legal certainty while the tribunal has not yet ruled on objections to the technical specifications.
The latest request builds on earlier legal activity from other operators. Dreams submitted a motion for reconsideration after the TDLC rejected a previous suspension bid tied to a consultation by Marina del Sol. Both challenges center on tender rules that the companies believe could limit competition.
Patricia Leal Barros, a law academic at Universidad Central, said the operators are targeting the technical conditions rather than the tender structure itself. In her view, the challenges signal concerns that certain requirements may raise barriers to entry for would-be bidders.
The September hearing is expected to involve the Municipality of Viña del Mar, Marina del Sol and Chile's Fiscalía Nacional Económica. Grupo Meier says the hearing should occur before bids are opened, while the casino regulator has warned that postponing the process could disrupt the licensing timetable and reduce public revenues.
Diego Valerio, president of the union representing workers at casinos formerly run by Enjoy, also stressed that a new operator should not put employees' job continuity in danger.
For now, technical and financial offers for all four licenses remain due on August 11 at the offices of the Superintendencia de Casinos de Juego in Santiago.