Casino until 2011 (Caracas Hilton, casino in Maracaibo) - Venezuela

Full article

1) The regulatory scene before the ban: the 1997 law and the "tourist" tie-in

The modern offline frame was laid "Ley para el Control de los Casinos, Salas de Bingo y Máquinas Traganíqueles" (23. 07. 1997, GO NO. 36. 254) and its 1998 Regulations. The Act defined the Casino Commission as a licensing authority, described permit procedures and financial controls; the 1998 resolution specified the requirements for launch and reporting. The key feature of the practice is the placement of casinos in officially declared tourist areas, which institutionally "tied" the objects to the hotel and resort infrastructure.

2) Caracas to 2011: From Caracas Hilton symbol to Tamanaco "casino anchor"

Caracas Hilton → Alba Caracas. The legendary five-star Caracas Hilton opened in 1969; in 2007, the state ceased operating Hilton and later relaunched the asset as Hotel Alba Caracas (Venetur). It was a "city symbol" and a platform for state events; Hilton/Alba itself is primarily the flagship of hospitality, and not the "main casino hub."

InterContinental Tamanaco (Las Mercedes) is the de facto centre of the capital's gambling scene. The hotel was traditionally associated with a full-fledged Tamanaco casino (tables, machines, entertainment) - it was this object in the 2000s that was considered "the best land casino in Caracas." Sources and catalogs of hotel services directly indicated the presence of casinos as part of Tamanaco.

Plans for "the only legal casino" at Hotel Humboldt. In 2001, a project was reported to revive the mountain Hotel Humboldt with the "only legal casino in Caracas" associated with the new cable car. The project emphasized how the authorities saw the casino as a tourist "showcase."

💡 Conclusion in the capital: until 2011, the "game card" of Caracas was tied to large hotels, where the casino acted either as an acting anchor (Tamanaco) or as a declared tourist project (Humboldt), and Caracas Hilton/Alba remained primarily a political-symbolic and congress hotel.

3) Maracaibo: Maruma Hotel & Casino as a "showcase" of the western oil capital

The second half of the 2000s is the heyday of regional "casino hotels." In Marecaibo, the main brand was the Crowne Plaza Maruma Hotel & Casino (Maruma) - a large complex with a gaming hall, which consistently appeared in hotel catalogs and specialized publications; after the "closure of the era," the object was long listed as "hotel & casino," and later in the descriptions noted the permanent closure of the casino. The list of "permitted" 2021 (after a ten-year break) separately mentioned the halls in the state of Sulia, including Maruma, which indirectly confirms the pre-war significance of the site.

4) Economy and everyday life of the industry until 2011

Hotel bundle. Casinos worked as traffic anchors for luxury hotels and shopping malls, increasing room capacity, F&B turnover and events - a logic characteristic of the Venezuelan framework of 1997.

Regional mosaic. In addition to Caracas and Maracaibo, "game rooms" and bingo halls were present in Valencia, Barquisimeto, Puerto la Cruz - but the premium segment was concentrated precisely at vintage hotels. (Publications and industry lists of the period confirm geography.)

5) 2011: "switch down" - total closure

At the end of 2011, President Hugo Chavez ordered the closure of all casinos and bingo, calling them "places of vice." Media and industry sources record the scale of the consequences - tens of thousands of jobs and the "shutdown" of the entire network of halls; the following years became a period of "freezing."

6) What remains in the chronicle - key objects and milestones (before the ban)

Caracas Hilton (1969) → Alba Caracas (since 2007): change of management/brand; the hotel is an important landmark of the capital, but not the main "gaming" center.

InterContinental Tamanaco (Caracas): Tamanaco's full-size casino with live tables and slot room is a 2000s Caracas gambling business card.

Maruma Hotel & Casino (Maracaibo): the largest regional hotel & casino venue in the west of the country; the casino is later designated as closed.

Hotel Humboldt (Caracas, project 2001): announcement of the restoration of the hotel with "the only legal casino" as a tourist flagship.

Before the 2011 chopper, the Venezuelan casino market relied on the 1997 law, tourist accommodation logic and the hotel-casino format. In Caracas, the Caracas Hilton/Alba symbol set the tone for urban luxury, with Tamanaco effectively acting as the capital's main game scene; the west of the country was dominated by Maruma Hotel & Casino in Maracaibo. The 2011 decree cut short this cycle at once: the halls were closed, the staff and investment projects were frozen - and only a decade later a partial "defrosting" began.