Ecuador casinos are a common feature in the Ecuador society. This country is bordered by Colombia and Peru and has long been known to have a progressive gambling industry in all of South America. As of 2010 gambling in Ecuador facilities including Ecuador casinos are estimated to number around 160 and it provides income for over 25,000 people working full time.
Gambling Climate and Ecuador Casinos
The lax gambling environment in the country has allowed just about every type of gambling from Ecuador casinos, bingo halls, lotteries, poker rooms and sports booking, dog and horse racing. Ecuador casinos have been operating across the country since the 1950s allowing people over 18 to place bets on the tables and on slot machines, video poker and other video game terminals. Most of the Ecuador casinos have used the hotel-casino template popular in Las Vegas and Atlanta. These Ecuador casinos are mostly located in the capital of Quito and more of this model is also in Guayaquil, which is the largest city in Ecuador. Some of the hotel resorts in Quito include the Hilton Hotel and Casino and the Best Western Hotel Plaza and Casino.
Sports Betting
Ecuadorians are serious about sports betting and they heavily bet on the outcome of soccer games as this sport is one of the most popular in the country. There are several sports betting operations in the country that are licensed and recognized by the government but there are also as many illegal sports betting operations that is why people are always cautioned to place their bets only on the legally operated sports betting.
Poker Tournaments
Ecuador has hosted high profile poker tournaments such as the Latin American Poker Tour. Different variations of poker are popular among the locals as well. Most casino poker rooms will feature the Caribbean Stud Poker which is the most popular poker variation among the locals. Other poker games played in most poker rooms in Ecuador include the Oasis Stud Poker and the Teas Hold ‘em Poker. Carlos Mortensen, a native of Ecuador is the first player to win the top prize at poker World Championship events such as the World Poker Tour and the World Series of Poker.
Recently, the casino industry experienced an upheaval when a referendum was proposed in 2010 to ban all Ecuador casinos. This was a great blow on the industry especially since many casinos were closed even before the referendum was held in 2011.
Since Ecuadorians were not restricted to play in online casinos, many of the locals started signing up for accounts in the hundreds of online casinos. Players get the same set of casino games on these online sites and they are able to play anytime within the safety of their homes. These online casinos offer free games for new players to give them a taste of the online casino action. They also give generous bonuses for initial deposits, which players can use on the house as well.
Ecuadorians use credit and debit cards to sign up for membership to online casinos and they are able to play by linking their bank accounts with online casino deposit methods such as Ezipay, Moneybookers, UseMyFunds, Ukash, ClickandBuy, Click2Pay, Entropay and EcoCard.