Anyone would believe that in an economy with an inflation rate of 1,946% per year and which is under a blockade by the United States, there would be no room for recreation in a country with these indicators. To date there are more than 30 casinos, which are the only ones authorized to operate and are distributed in different parts of the country.
We wanted to share with you what a casino in Venezuela is like, and we were invited last week to experience the opening of the Bellagio.
A Little bit of History
The first legal casino to operate in the country was the one located in the Humblot Hotel. But in 2008, during the mandate of Hugo Chavez, casinos suffered a hard setback in the Venezuelan territory. The National Commission from the Ministry of Tourism was ordered to suspend the issuance of permits for casinos and bingos in the country.
This decree was published in March of that year and took shape a few months later in November mainly due to the specifications that were incorporated in the requirements to be met by casinos and bingos for the renewal of the license to operate in the country. Una co
However, this decision caused many bingo halls and/or casinos to be clandestinely located in houses, restaurants, and even veterinary clinics.
In fact, the authorities discovered that former casino and bingo workers who were previously operating legally were in charge of these clandestine sites.
In our visit to Venezuela, we had to pass through a disinfection chamber as it was done in the first months of the pandemic in China, to be able to enter a large airport with an infrastructure that denotes the recent construction, the International Airport of Maiquetia.
The Venezuelan guard did not allow us to take pictures of the place; our hosts escorted us from there to the center of the city, as the insecurity is no different from that of any country comparable to Brazil or Central America.
We found after 15 years of not returning, a Caracas that surprises with modern and well maintained buildings that rub shoulders with very old buildings (most of them); with a population that feels more than ever their city, transmitting to its visitors their immense desire to move forward again.
Today they only use the dollar for most of their purchases, something to highlight is that the gas stations maintain lines of up to 2 km, because you can fill the fuel once a week according to the plate number. Currently gas stations operate in two ways, one with prices regulated by the government and the other with international market prices.
To the point
Returning to our invitation to visit a casino in Venezuela, the establishment located in Ceproaragua, Avenida Las Delicias, Maracay 2102, Aragua, was intervened for many months due to an enormous delay caused by the lack of primary construction elements, something that is also experienced in Colombia, a worldwide problem due to the price increases and that in Venezuela is accentuated by the blockade of the United States.
The construction of the Bellagio casino took more than 10 months, a work that was planned for a term of 2 months, as a result it was delivered a year later.
Last weekend was its inauguration, with the artist Luis Silva as guest, a Venezuelan singer of llanera music, who was in charge of making the atmosphere more pleasant for the entertainment of the players who attended the opening full of applause, smiles and a lot of gambling.
The Bellagio Casino has the latest technology machines and international vanguard, of course MULTIGAME could not be missing in several of the casinos in the Maracay region that allow the player to live a very interesting gambling experience making them stay longer on site.
How the Bellagio Casino is like?
Like other casinos in Venezuela, the Bellagio has a very high level and well prepared staff to meet the needs of the players with adequate biosafety equipment.
The place had a large number of players who did not hesitate to try all the gambling elements of the site and have a pleasant time from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., the time the casino serves its visitors.
Gambling in Venezuela has astronomically better figures compared to Colombia, the net income per Casino is around one million dollars.
How to get a license
In Venezuela for the opening and operation of Casinos and Bingo Halls, a license issued by the National Commission of Casinos, Bingo Halls and Slot Machines is an indispensable requirement.
The company, whose object is the operation of a Casino in a five star hotel, must prove an investment of not less than three hundred thousand Tax Units (300,000 T.U.) and an operating capital of two hundred thousand Tax Units (200,000 T.U.) fully subscribed and paid in cash. This capital may not decrease during the existence of the company.
When the object is the operation of a Bingo Hall, the minimum amount of the company's capital shall be one hundred thousand Tax Units (100,000 T.U.). One U.T. has a value of Bs. 20,000.00 (17,237,497 COP, 4535.23 USD) and this is the equivalent to the UVT in our country.
The licenses granted pursuant to this Law and its Regulations are non-transferable and must be operated by the licensees; they will have a term of ten (10) years, and may be renewed for equal periods, upon request of the licensee, ninety (90) days prior to the expiration date.
One aspect to be highlighted is that the licensee must put the Casino or Bingo Hall into operation within a term not exceeding six (6) months when it is evidenced that the construction or conditioning works of the premises have been started.
If after the terms granted in each case, the licensee does not put in operation the Casino or the Bingo Hall, its right will expire.
The facilities where Casinos, Bingo Halls and Slot Machines operate must be located in geographical zones previously declared as tourist zones and apt for the operation of these establishments, approved by the President of Venezuela in Council of Ministers, at the request of the Tourism governing body.
For the corresponding authorization the National Executive will request to the Supreme Electoral Council the realization of a consultative referendum, by means of which its inhabitants will pronounce themselves on whether they agree or not with the location of such facilities in their territorial area.
The premises destined to the operation of Casinos must be located in hotel buildings, classified by the competent authority as five (5) stars, and have at least two hundred (200) rooms. Casinos are taxed with a tax of ten percent (10%) of the gross profits obtained.
The gross profit is the balance resulting from the difference between the amount played through any legal tender payment instrument, either by means of cash, credit cards, checks or other credit documents and the amount paid as a prize. In addition, a monthly royalty of forty Tribunal Units (40 T.U.) is established for the exploitation of each Casino gambling table. Each Slot Machine will pay ten Tax Units (10 T.U.).
Taxes are not paid directly in Bolivars, they are paid through the national cryptocurrency, the Petro.
Some of the comments of the attendees to the inauguration have been published on the internet, which shows the confidence that the casino gives to its players to offer them a space for entertainment.
Here it is a video inside the casino moments before they opened the doors and theirs first guests ever entered. Casino spokesman giving a speech to the employs to stop being scared to attend the public that will come in once they opened the door: “when something starts good it should never end. Don’t be afraid! Give yourselves an applause, the bed is yet to come. In Spain we have a tradition to wish good luck to a close person project we broke some cups and say money and happiness. Let’s succeed! “
We leave Venezuela, from this whirlwind trip, with an immense satisfaction of finding a gambling industry that lives ... thank you for reading us!
