business

Hotel casino may not be legal

The Four Points Sheraton may be denied the casino approved by the gaming control board.

LA PRENSA

gaming: Panama already has 15 casinos under tight regulations.1018769

The national gaming association, La Asociación de Administradores de Juegos de Azar (Asaja), announced yesterday that it would demand to have the authorization to open a new casino in the Sheraton Four Points Hotel declared illegal. The opening of the casino was authorized by the gaming control board, the Junta de Control de Juego (JCJ).

"This hotel has 126 rooms, not the 300 required. Neither does it have a five-star international rating, as required by law," Asaja pointed out.

"The approval of this license could affect Panama's image at an international level, since we're seen as the Latin American country with the best and most serious gaming laws in the region," said Antonio Alfaro, president of the gaming association.

Raúl Cortizo, secretary of the JCJ, took issue with Asaja and explained that the Four Points was one of the few hotels exempted from the law regulating casinos. He said the legislation made an exception for hotels that were under construction between July 1996 and February 1977.

"This exception applied only to the Four Points and the Miramar Intercontinental. We have the documents to prove it," said Cortizo.

La Prensa asked the company that owns the Four Points, Hotelera Marbella, for a statement, but was not given one.

If the hotel is allowed to have a casino, that will bring the total number of gambling establishments in the country to 16.