In the Chilean region of Bio Bio, Nuble is one of four provinces that has been proposed as the site for a casino by the Argentine-Spanish Boldt-Peralada group. The group has tried three times to have their casino gaming proposal approved and have been shot down a third time by the Regional Council of Bio Bio earlier last week.

A court invalidated the previous two ballots which forced the council to vote again. The company has the option to appeal the decision, after their lawyer, Ricardo Abdala did not rule out going back to contest the ruling with the Court of Appeals of Concepcion. If accepted, the process could move on to a fourth ballot.

The project received 19 votes against, with these council members showing support for the rival project, the Marina del Sol, an operator based in Chile and Canada. The 28 directors voted with 19 against the Spanish-Argentine project, 6 in favor of the project and three abstentions.

The Spanish-Argentine project lawyer, Abdala stated that he believes lawmakers once again have moved forward beyond their powers as they are stipulated within the gaming law of Chile. Back in 2014, during the month of July, a court put the tender process on hold after the Boldt-Peralada filed an appeal with local court. The filing claimed that the Regional Government had gone beyond their remit when they awarded 0 points to their project and gave 300 points to Marina del Sol.

The lawyers for Boldt-Peralada were success during this filing, being able to prove that the councilors should have focused their voting on specific points concerning the destination of the project and how it would fit in the regional strategy rather than focusing on specific technical points of the project.

With the latest vote, Abdala stated that they had hoped after all the records that were put forth that the Regional Government would understand how the vote should take place. However, after the vote, Abdala stated he has concluded that there are no guarantees for impartiality.

In response, Nicolas Imschenetzky, the President of Marina del Sol, stated that the Regional Council voted in compliance with the law and voted in a way that remains consistent with the Chilean Gaming Control Board guidelines. The Regional Council results will now be sent to Mayor Rodrigo Diaz and the SJC. The findings of the SJC will be presented to the Resolution Council for consideration.