Enjoy Group, a South American casino and hospitality company, has contacted the Chilean Commission of Financial Markets (Commission for the Mercado Financiero/CMF) about a potential sale of casino properties in Chile and Uruguay. The decision comes in the wake of a failed merger with DREAMS SA.
Enjoy was supposed to merge with the aforementioned company but the deal was abandoned in April. Since then, Enjoy Group has been seeking other long-term strategic plans to boost its profitability.
The announcement follows a publication by the Diario Financiero on July 30, which claimed that Enjoy’s operations in Chile and Uruguay are up for sale.
A sale of its operations in Chile and Uruguay could lead to a favorable transaction that may benefit the company. The move has been coordinated with ASSET Chile, a financial advisor that Enjoy Group hired to explore potential business deals.
ASSET Chile is tasked with seeking interest from potential investors and finding a deal that would benefit the company.
Enjoy promised to keep the CMF informed about any relevant developments in relation to the potential sale.
Chile Seeks to Launch iGaming, Joining the LATAM Revolution
In the meantime, Chile continues to consider the legalization of online gambling, as attested by the recent advancement of an online gambling bill. The measure was first introduced in March and gained traction in June after being stuck in limbo for a while.
For reference, the only legal gaming companies in the country currently are Lotería de Concepción, Polla Chilena de Beneficencia and Teletrak.
The bill still needs additional approvals but its advancement was hailed by the gambling industry. More recently, the country approved changes to the bill, further highlighting the interest in exploring the online vertical.
In other LATAM-related news, Galera.bet, a Brazilian sports betting brand, just joined the International Betting Integrity Association as its latest member. This highlighted the company’s desire to protect the integrity of professional sporting events in the region and oppose sports and betting-related corruption.
The move comes as Brazil prepares to regulate sports betting, paving the way to a revolution in the local gambling market. However, the Brazilian Institute of Responsible Gaming, a newly-founded industry body, expressed its disapproval of changes to the envisioned taxation rules, believing them to be harsh and unsustainable.