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Employees at Casino Dreams Puerto Varas have reacted with utmost seriousness after the Chilean Superintendence of Gaming Casinos (SCJ) once again decided to delay, once again, the deadline for submitting technical and financial bids to run the gaming house. The new deadline is now set at January 19, 2026, yet another delay in a process already bogged down by numerous delays over the past decade.
Union Officials Protest Against Repeated Delays
The union representatives of the casino’s workers’ union, Víctor Guinao Muñoz, Jasna Bassaletti, and Adrián González, among others, averred that repeated delays directly impacted the employees negatively. To be specific, they argued the delays robbed long-time employees of severance pay that is guaranteed by law.
“Most of the employees have been at the casino for more than 20 years and were eligible for their first payment of compensation in 2015. But the repeated delays have made us lose that right, which is enshrined in law“, Guinao told Patagonia Radio in an interview.
He explained that, as early as 2015, employees had achieved the maximum legal count of years of service award. Nevertheless, the original licensing process, intended to renew operating permits, was delayed several times: first to 2018, later to 2021, and now extended once again until 2026.
This, according to Guinao, is not the doing of the casino’s management company but a result of loopholes in regulations that have been taken advantage of by the authorities to keep on delaying the process.
Impact on Workers and the Local Economy
Beyond labor impacts, union leaders pointed out that the delays are hurting the economy of Puerto Varas, a city located in Chile’s Los Lagos region. The casino, they explained, is one of the main economic vehicles of the city, generating tourism and employment for more than 200 families.
“These decisions are not only an economic loss for Puerto Varas but also emotional and financial harm to the families who have spent decades working in the sector“, added Guinao.
Union representatives are now calling on local and national governments to intervene and weigh the social consequences of these administrative decisions. They are calling for the end of what they claim is a “chain of extensions” that has left workers and the city in limbo.
SCJ’s Resolution and the Future of the Casino
The most recent extension was signed into force in Exempt Resolution No. 913, which suspends the process of the casino operating license for 90 days. The SCJ rationalized the action as a procedural modification, pushing back the deadline for the submission of bids to January 19, 2026, at 10:30 a.m. at its headquarters in Santiago, Chile.
However, this justification has served to do nothing to calm the fury of the workers. The union accuses the SCJ’s repeated extensions of being transparent and short-sighted, and discouraging the stability of one of the region’s biggest employers.
In the meantime, Casino Dreams continues to be operational under the current regime, but its future is unclear. For the workers, the consistent delays not only delay cash refunds but also erode confidence in the institutions that are supposed to control Chile’s gaming industry.
With the subsequent deadline looming, stakeholders are optimistic that liaison between authorities, operators, and employees will bring an end to the circle of delays, restoring transparency, fairness, and stability to the future business of the casino in Puerto Varas.
Source: YogoNet
