The sweetener of the chance to operate online casinos has not been enough to placate casino operators in Chile, who are up in arms about new proposals from the Chilean Undersecretary of Finance was expressed, who wants to extend the current licenses of 14 casinos for another year with a raft of new operating instructions, including a five per cent tax increase.

The Undersecretary of Finance, Francisco Moreno wants to postpone the new bidding process for operating permits for the 14 casinos, awarded in 2006 for a year.

He said: “With this initiative we seek to protect the income of the municipalities and the regions in which the casinos are located. We are taking on the aspiration of all mayors, in order to guarantee truly competitive and beneficial processes with attractive economic offers for local governments. We do not want the processes for the renewal of operating permits to be carried out in adverse conditions that will end up affecting municipal revenues for the next 15 years.”