Last week, the office of the comptroller general in Chile released a statement in which the clarification of gambling machines was provided to be used by municipal governments in regards to defining when the machines should be classified as gambling in neighborhood casinos.

Within the guidelines, it says that municipalities should ask interested parties in gaining permission to operate electronic gaming machines to speak with the Gambling Control Board and obtain a report. This report states the prizes will not be handed out at random via the electronic gaming machines.

The Gambling Control Board now has the right to determine what is considered random and what is entertainment machines via the new rules. Only certifications provide by gaming laboratories that have been approved by the Board will be able to verify if a machine is a gambling one or has an element of skill. The Board actually requested that the Comptroller General issue the new ruling.

If the Board has established that that machine is one of chance, then the municipality will not allowed to give the operator permission to run the machine. The municipal governments of Chile must now follow these new guidelines as the only way in which to define gambling as well as non-gambling machines in their jurisdictions.

The new guidelines were created and released just after the Board conducted a survey for the very first time into gaming machines and how they operate outside of casinos. The study had a wide range and revealed that over 33,000 machines operate in an illegal manner in Chile. The study results were provided to 88 municipalities where the machines were in operation so that measures could be taken to prevent illegal gambling.

Researchers who conducted the study would visit over 3,000 businesses that had been given a municipal license to be allowed to run the gaming machines via arcades. Of this number just over 1,300 were offering machines that produced a cash prize for a win. This was a violation of gaming laws. Slot machines are only allowed in casino venues.

The gaming law of Chile from 1995 states that any slot machines located outside of casinos are prohibited. Slot machines are only to be offered in the seven municipal casinos that are located in the country, plus any privately-run casinos.