Argentina – The government of Argentina has filed an appeal against the compensation paid to Casino Austria.

The Argentine government has appealed the November 2021 compensation award to Casinos Austria International (CAI).

The Treasury Attorney filed an appeal with the World Bank against the decision of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

The announcement was published by the ICSID General Secretariat, which stated that the judgement had been temporarily suspended due to an appeal filed on March 9.

After a five-year legal struggle, the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) awarded Casinos Austria International about US$36 million in its action against the government of Argentina in November. The original claim filed by Casinos Austria against the province of Salta was for US$150 million.

The removal of the CAI subsidiary Enjasa’s license by the province of Salta’s gambling authority in August 2013, which was opposed by CAI from the start, was the catalyst for the long-running legal conflict. The removal of licenses was regarded as “arbitrary and abusive” in the arbitration court’s verdict.

Casinos Austria International has had a presence in Salta since December 2006, when it purchased a majority stake in Leisure & Entertainment (L&E), a firm that held 90% of gaming company Enjasa. Following the privatization of gaming in Salta in 1998, Enjasa was given exclusive rights to operate gambling in the province.

Casinos Austria agreed to hold 100 percent of Leisure and Entertainment SA, Enjasa’s parent company, as part of a deal struck in October 2013. After meeting with the municipal administration of Salta and agreeing to develop tourism and the entertainment sector in the province, Casinos Austria agreed to the contract. However, in August 2013, then-Minister of Economy Carlos Parodi said that the company’s license will be canceled due to alleged violations in the company’s operations.