In Uruguay and the coalition government of President Luis Lacalle Pou has reportedly floated new legislation that would see the South American nation become the latest to legalize online casino gambling.
According to a report from a source, the proposed measure would allow the county’s Direccion General de Casinos regulator to issue fixed-term online gambling licenses tied to land-based casinos operated by a range of state and private enterprises. The text of the proposition introduced by Ministry of Economy and Finance Azucena Arbeleche purportedly lays out the expressed aim of addressing the ‘recent increase in the importance of iGaming’ as this significance ‘is sure to increase further in the future.’
Big-name benefactor:
Should the projected Uruguayan legislation be passed and the source detailed that even the under-construction Cipriani Ocean Resort, Club Residences and Casino development from luxury hospitality firm Cipriani SA would be allowed to apply for an iGaming license. This $450 million venue is purportedly being built in the seaside resort city of Punta del Este and will eventually feature a 70-room hotel designed by New York-headquartered architect Rafael Vinoly as well as 75 private apartments and a large casino.
Earlier elucidation:
The boss for Venice-headquartered Ciprinani SA, Giuseppe Cipriani, reportedly held discussions with former Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez last year in which he voiced his support for any scheme that would allow his company’s coming five-star Cipriani Ocean Resort, Club Residences and Casino to offer online casino gambling.
Significant scheme:
The source explained that the Cipriani Ocean Resort, Club 
Residences and Casino project is to eventually see Punta del Este’s historic San Rafael Hotel, which was closed in 2011, transformed into a two-tower development moreover offering a convention center, gym, theater, spa, hair salon, restaurants, further residences and a pair of underground parking garages. This impressive development was purportedly granted planning permission in December of 2020 after its site had been purchased by Cipriani SA for around $40 million some two years earlier.
Crowded circle:
Located at the extreme southern tip of Uruguay overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, Punta del Este is already home to a trio of gambling-friendly facilities in the Nogaro Casino, Enjoy Punta del Este and Conrad Casino. For its part and Cipriani SA is already responsible for multiple luxury properties in the United States, Hong Kong, Spain, Mexico, Monaco and Saudi Arabia and purportedly used a 2019 press release to pronounce that its coming Cipriani Ocean Resort, Club Residences and Casino will encompass a ‘faithful reconstruction’ of the San Rafael Hotel while complementing the 73-year-old venue’s existing grandeur ‘with beautiful residences, restaurants, spa, pools, boutiques and a casino.’
