www.CostaRicaTicas.com

An article in today's Inside Costa Rica says that the government is going to allow casinos to operate, at least for the time being, 24 hours a day.

Casinos Can Now Operate 24 Hours

The Arias government has issued a "decreto" (executive order) that allows casinos to operate on a 24 hour basis, at least until May 1, to avoid the possible layoff of some 2.000 or more casino employees.

The decreto overrides an order issued last June that would have limited casino operating to only 8 hours daily, between 6pm and 2am, which should have been in effect last December 27.

The shortened hours never went into effect after representatives of the Asociación de Casinos objected to the short hours, asking that casinos be allowed to operate at least 16 hours daily or some 2.000 employees would have to be cut.

The government agreed to the extended hours, for now.

Minister of Tourism, Carlos Ricardo Benavides, who has carried the baton on the issue of decrees related to casinos, said the final hours of operation will be determined by a study of the ministry of labour.

Benavides denied that the work day will be 24 hours, but rather range between 8 and 16 hours.

There are 408 registered casinos in Costa Rica, most working 16 hours, while several like the Horseshoe in San José operates on a 24 hour basis.

Benavides pointed out that, other than the hours of operation, the regulations emitted in the June 2008 decreto are still in place, like the regulation that casinos operating in a hotel must be belong to the same corporation that owns the hotel property and that gaming addiction is an public health problem.

Hotels that operate casinos that do not comply with the June 2008 decreto can lose their "tourism" declaration, said Benavides.

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Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

Of course, why didn’t anyone think about this before? The Ministry of Labor is a natural to regulate gaming hours. They correlate so well.

Think I will write my Congressman in Nevada and seek to have the Silver State get rid of the Gaming Commission and Gaming Control Board in order to put all of the gaming regulations under the Department of Labor.

We kind of already have that.With the police issuing sheriff's cards required for every worthwhile job in Nevada, and the unions controlling where you work, that is our department of Labor.Mas e menos.

Maybe if the Department of Labor in the U.S. had some input into some of the policies that directly effect employment the unemployment rate might not be 8.1% and rising.

_________________
Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

Costa Rica certainly has a corner on the market when it comes to idiocy in making,breaking,and changing laws. Next they will be enacting an environmental study as to how it affects the rest room fcilities in the Casinos. PURA VIDA.

By the way...the "word on the street" is that the 'Government" is leaning towards Casino hours of 2pm to 6am once it is enacted the beginning of May. Did they happen to mention May of what year?

Good point ID. Some would argue that the DoL under Elain Chao did have input and that is why unemployment is so high.

Here's an update:

Government Reviews Casino Opening Rules
Inside Costa Rica

The Costa Rican government has suspended the implementation of new regulations to limit casino opening hours to just 12 hours per day pending a full review of the policy’s wider economic implications currently being undertaken by Costa Rica’s ministry of work. Confirmation that the Costa Rican government will allow casinos to remain open on a 24-hour basis until at least May 1 represents a victory for the lobbying efforts of Costa Rica’s casino operators since a decree issued in June of last year signaled the government’s intention to dramatically curb casino opening hours in the Central American country.

That June decree was to formally limit casino opening hours to between 6pm at night and 6am as of December 2008, but was predictably met with stiff resistance from local casino operators. Operators grouped together in the Costa Rican Casino Association (Asociación Costaricense de Casinos) and met with the government in the aftermath of the decree’s enactment to argue that up to a third of the 6,000 Costa Ricans currently employed in the sector could lose their jobs were the opening restrictions to take effect as planned. In July, the association’s president Rafael Vargas told local media that operators had decided not to shed the jobs immediately as they “had faith” they would reach an understanding with the government’s tourism and work ministries.

The Costa Rican government agreed to suspend implementation of the restrictions one week before they were due to take effect on December 27 of last year. An executive decree signed by President Oscar Arias acknowledged that the 6pm-6am limit could directly lead to around 2,000 job losses in the “labour intensive” casino sector, with “indirect consequences for thousands of Costa Rican families”. The decree states: “Faced with this problematic situation and the risk of provoking a larger level of unemployment in the tourism sector, the Costa Rican Casino Association asked the Government to provide an evaluation of what effects the entry into force of the new regulation’s provisions on the permitted opening times of [casino] venues would have in order to reduce future negative impact on employment rates.

“The [Government] is aware of the current threats to productive sectors [of the economy] and services [industries], and affirms this compromise to adopt the necessary, legitimate measures to protect the integrity and security of Costa Rican workers and to guarantee their rights to obtain dignified, paid employment.” The decree authorizes casinos to remain open round-the-clock until May 1, 2009, pending completion of a study to be conducted by the ministry of work. That study should assess the full impact casino opening restrictions would have on the Costa Rican economy and suggest an alternative proposal as appropriate, the decree says.

According to comments made to the local press by the casino association’s Vargas, operators are willing to accept some mandatory restrictions on opening hours but they are hoping to see last June’s decree amended to permit them to open for at least 16 hours per day. Further casino regulations passed last June remain unaffected by last December’s decree, however. Among other measures imposing limits on slot machine and table numbers, the legislation from last year ensures that casinos can only be built in minimum three-star, 60-room hotels.

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You ALWAYS have an option ....... "NEXT" !!!