Ecuador Beats Nevada Firm in $214 Million Casino Damages Claim

Posted on: October 1, 2025, 11:20h. 

Last updated on: October 1, 2025, 11:33h.

Philip Conneller @casinoorgphilc Read More
Expertise: Gaming Business, Regulation, Tribal Gaming.
  • Ecuador defeated a $214M casino damages claim in arbitration
  • Tribunal rules Lynton Trading lacked US economic activity
  • Casino referendum could revive gambling industry under strict tax

A Nevada-incorporated company that said it lost out big-time when Ecuador banned gambling nearly 15 years ago has failed to extract $214 million in compensatory damages from the South American nation.

Ecuador casino ban, Lynton Trading, Ecuador gambling referendum, Nevada-incorporated company dispute, $214 million compensation claim
Lynton Trading is controlled by Luis Fuentealba Meier, above, a Chilean casino tycoon who conducts little business in the United States and therefore was found to have ‘lacked economic activity’ there, according to an international tribunal. (Image: Fairfax Media/Getty)

Lynton Trading Ltd. sought the nine-figure sum because it had interests in casinos in the country before voters banned all gambling in a 2011 national referendum. Before that, around 160 gambling halls operated in Ecuador, employing more than 25K people.

After the vote, gambling operators were given just six months to wind down their businesses and vamoose.

No Business in US

Lynton claimed the shutdown wiped out its investments, while its gambling equipment was seized by National Police. In 2022, it filed for international arbitration, arguing the ban violated a US-Ecuador investment treaty.

Last week, an arbitration panel in the Hague, the Netherlands, threw out Lynton’s claim on jurisdictional grounds, determining that the company lacked economic activity in the US, which disqualified it from invoking the treaty.

While Lynton was incorporated in Nevada, the Panama Papers leak showed that it is controlled by Chilean casino owner Luis Fuentealba Meier and a Spanish national based in Ecuador named Roberto Cuadrado Rodríguez.

Together with his brother, Fuentealba owns the Gran Casino de Talca in Chile and operates gaming halls and investments in Peru and Argentina through their company, Meier Corp. They have no major investments in the United States, and Lynton conducted no business there.

As well as denying jurisdiction, the tribunal ordered Lynton to reimburse 80% of Ecuador’s arbitration costs, or about $1.4 million, according to a statement from the country’s attorney general.

Are Casinos Coming Back?

The ruling comes as the current Ecuadorian government debates whether to revisit the ban. In September, Ecuador’s Constitutional Court rejected a proposed referendum on whether to reopen casinos in five-star hotels. Last Friday, the court approved revised language, allowing the vote to go ahead on November 16.

President Daniel Noboa is eager to explore whether land-based casinos, taxed at a rate of 25%, could help finance programs to fund school meals and combat child malnutrition while boosting the economy through increased tourism.