Venezuela has approved a land-based casino that will run exclusively on the state-supported petro cryptocurrency.
Last Friday, Venezuela’s embattled President Nicolás Maduro informed the nation that he had approved the launch of “an international casino” in the Humbolt hotel in Caracas. Maduro said proceeds from the casino will be used to fund the financially flailing nation’s health and education programs.
Maduro specified that “everyone who wants to bet will bet on petro” in order to raise hard currency to shore up the financially flailing country’s economy. Maduro said gamblers could bring fiat currency “or any other cryptocurrency” to “buy your petros and make your licit bets allowed by the state as contemplated by national laws.”
Casinos and sports betting operations are permitted in Venezuela under a 1997 law but Maduro’s predecessor Hugo Chavez ordered the closure of all casinos and bingo halls in 2011 as part of his efforts to introduce “21st century socialism” to the country. In an already struggling economy, Chavez’s decision threw thousands of local residents out of work.
Despite the ban, underground casinos continue to thrive, even in plain sight. Last October, Venezuelan authorities disrupted an illegal casino operation at the Selva Negra Hotel in the state of Aragua and illegal slot machine business was rumbled just this past weekend.
Maduro offered no timeline for when the new casino might launch, nor any specifics on how would-be gamblers will convert their fiat or crypto currency into petros at the new casino or convert any winnings back to fiat or other crypto at the end of their casino visit. It’s equally unclear whether the ‘international’ designation means that the casino will be off-limits to local residents.
Venezuela launched its proprietary petro project in 2018, primarily with the goal of evading financial sanctions imposed on government officials and certain domestic companies by the United States and the European Union. While the petro is ostensibly supported by Venezuela’s vast oil reserves, the US government has labeled the petro a ‘scam’ and prohibited US citizens from acquiring petro tokens.
Adoption of the petro has been slow, both at home and abroad, leading the government to announce last week that all airlines flying out of Caracas must now pay their fuel charges in petros. Conversely, other cryptocurrencies have proven popular with Venezuelans — including for online gambling purposes — as faith in both the the local peso and Maduro’s administration continues to plummet.
