Argentinian Casino Activity Increases in 2023
Argentina recently celebrated the opening of its summer season at the start of the new year with celebrations at various casinos around Buenos Aires and more. Now, it can celebrate good news from Mar Del Plata, where the Central Casino has apparently boomed with visitors and betting activity in recent weeks.
Mar del Plata’s famous Central Casino has seen a substantial increase in visitors since the start of its summer 2023 season. ©Fermin Rodriguez Penelas/Unsplash
Industry booming since Covid restrictions lift
Those in the casino industry of Argentina are breathing a collective sigh of relief this year as its 2023 summer season kicked off to a tremendous start. The main reason for this is simply that issues related to Covid-19 are not as present for the industry anymore.
Rather than having to implement strict attendance restrictions, Argentina’s casinos are fully reopened and seeing the benefits. As people travel to enjoy summer weather, casinos in the country’s biggest tourist cities have attracted more visitors than in the past few years — and more bets.
One person confirming this fact is Omar Galdurralde. The Provincial Institute of Lottery and Casinos president spoke to Mar del Plata’s newspaper, La Capital, to share results about the area’s top casino, the Central Casino, which sits on the city’s coastline.
According to Galdurralde, the casino has had up to 10,000 visitors per weekday and even more during weekends. Great skill in mathematics is not needed to confirm that these visitors bring in much money to the casino on a daily basis.
The casino actually has a minimum bet amount, no matter the game you are playing, of 100 pesos, or 52 cents USD. Based on its returns for table games like roulette and poker, the casino receives around 60 million AR$ or $313,011.71 USD. That is without counting slot machine revenue.
Galdurralde seemed extremely pleased with the results of the Central Casino so far, exclaiming that it is one of the biggest attractions in Mar del Plata, a popular tourist destination. The casino’s revenue, along with attendance of other cultural, entertainment and gastronomic spaces the city has to offer, have greatly increased its tourism since Covid-19.
Roberto “Chucho” Páez, who works for the Association of Casino Administration, also spoke to La Capital. Páez calculated that the casino is seeing an activity increase of 30 to 40% compared to the same time last year. Though both men acknowledge that a lot of work has been put into improving gaming infrastructure, the biggest improvement was likely restriction changes around the pandemic.
About Mar del Plata’s iconic casino
Casino Central — or the Central Casino — in Mar del Plata is arguably one of Argentina’s most iconic buildings and the largest of its gaming houses. It was opened in 1939 thanks to a design by Alejandro Bustillo, inspired by Hôtel du Palais, another sea-facing property in the resort town Biarritz.
Its interior decor was dreamed up by the French designer Jean-Michel Frank and Casa Comte. It is part of a twin building construction in a neoclassical style, with brick facades. The casino shares the building with a prominent hotel and other entertainment facilities.
Still, the casino’s gaming floor is immense, covering 7,000 square meters of space. The casino was recently renovated in 2007 and remains a popular tourist destination. Mar del Plata is one of Buenos Aires’s most beautiful coastal cities.
