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EL DIPUTADO HONDUREÑO AUGUSTO CRUZ HA presentado una importante propuesta nueva para cambiar la ley del juego en el país. Miembro del Partido Democristiano, Augusto Cruz ha propuesto una ley que supondría un cambio en el tipo fiscal para las máquinas tragaperras y afectaría a las máquinas tanto de los negocios locales como de los casinos.


LA ASOCIACIÓN DE LOTERÍAS DE PARAGUAY JUNTO con la diputada Karina Rodríguez han mantenido encuentros con el Presidente de la Cámara de Diputados, Hugo Velázquez, para debatir cambios importantes en las leyes del juego de Paraguay Las nuevas propuestas le darían en el futuro mucho más peso a la asociación por lo que respecta a los procesos de licitación y dejarían en manos del Estado un mayor control sobre el sector.


UNA NUEVA LEGISLACIÓN SOBRE EL JUEGO PODRÍA aprobarse en México este mismo mes, según indica Fernando Zárate Salgado, Presidente de la Comisión del juego en la Cámara de Diputados La nueva ley tiene como objetivo regular el juego en el país, salvaguardar los derechos de los jugadores y evitar el blanqueo de dinero.


EL SECTOR DE LOS CASINOS EN PANAMÁ SE HA visto sacudido por un escándalo, con quejas relativas a que los casinos no pueden abrir cuentas bancarias debido al hecho de que se les ha empezado a asociar injustamente con activi- dades de blanqueo de dinero. Las reclamaciones se formula- ron durante el XVIII Congreso Hemisférico de Prevención del Lavado de Dinero y el Combate del Financiamiento del Terrorismo, celebrado en la capital panameña.


SVENSKA SPEL, EL MONOPOLIO SUECO DEL JUEGO de propiedad estatal y operador de los cuatro casinos del país, le ha solicitado al Gobierno permiso para operar un casino online en 2015.


PLAYTECH HA SUSCRITO UN ACUERDO CON EL proveedor global de sistemas y contenidos Aristocrat Leisure Limited para adquirir Aristocrat Lotteries por 10,5 millones de euros en efectivo, bajo reserva de ciertos ajustes y a la espera de acordar definitivamente las condiciones del contrato.


SG GAMING HA FINALIZADO EL LANZAMIENTO DE SU nueva consola Clarity en los establecimientos de Ladbrokes. La consola Clarity se instaló en la totalidad de las 2228 oficinas de apuestas con licencia propiedad de Ladbrokes, y se trata de un elemento clave en la estrategia de la empresa para 2014 y sus intenciones de mantener una oferta sólida dentro del sec- tor.


EL OPERADOR DE JUEGO GRIEGO OPAP SE ESTÁ aliando con el gestor de un fondo británico (Global Family Partners) con intención de ganar la licencia griega de apuestas en carreras de caballos. Se está ofreciendo una licencia de 20 años para realizar apuestas en carreras de caballos como parte de un plan de privatización acordado con los acreedores inter- nacionales de Atenas. Las carreras de caballos están siendo operadas actualmente por ODIE, que registró un volumen de pérdidas neto de 23,4 millones de euros en 2012.


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MOVE AFOOT TO CHANGE GAMING LAW


New proposals would give betting union a much stronger voice and the state more control over the gaming industry


Paraguay - Legislation


Members of The Quinella Betting Union of Paraguay along with Deputy Karina Rodríguez have been in talks with the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Hugo Velázquez in order to discuss major changes to Paraguay’s gaming laws. The new proposals would give the union a much stronger voice when it comes to tender processes in the future and would give the state more con- trol over the industry.


Together they have urged for the creation of a new technical committee which would meet in order to discuss the issue and draw up plans which will be then presented before The House of Deputies. Members of The Paraguayan Gaming Commission (CONAJZAR) have also been invited to take part. Under the same raft of proposed changes Rodríguez has also laid down plans to give the state wide sweeping powers when it comes to the industry which could limit the role of private enterprise. Stating that there has been a clear lack of transparency in the past when it came to the gaming industry the legislator said that the gov- ernment has been far too willing to turn a “blind eye” to abuses within the industry in the past.


“The specific request is for the state to take action,” he said, “and not simply to open it up to compa- nies out to make a profit from gambling.” Rodríguez also proposes that quinealla be placed under state control


“We’ve been dealing with this issue for some time. It has to do with successful experiences in other


countries where gambling has become one of the most important sources of revenue for the Treasury,” he said. Secretary General of the union Abraham Diaz echoed Rodríguez’s statement say- ing that workers’ rights must be respected under any law and claimed that there must be far more transparency in bidding processes in the future.


As previously reported, despite some recent posi- tive developments in the casino industry of late, including the announcement of a major new opening in the next months and stricter laws when it comes to tackling illegal gaming, there is growing speculation that the Paraguayan govern- ment is now seeking to place the industry in state hands.


Fears were sparked by Head of The Paraguayan Gaming Commission (CONAJZAR) Javier Balbuena after a meeting with President Horacio Cartes in August. After the meeting Mr Balbuena spoke of


“changing the current model and giving the State major control over gaming income in order to increase profits and increase state investment in social spending.”


While gaming has proliferated rapidly over recent years in Latin America, the local industry in Paraguay remains small scale. Although there have been a number of attempts of recent years to open up the market a number of bidding processes have been cancelled over claims of irregularities and the casino industry remains underdeveloped with little foreign investment in the industry.


Law put forward to change gaming rules gains ground


HONDURAS A major new proposal to change gaming law in Honduras has been put forward by Deputy Augusto Cruz. A member of the Democristiano (Democratic Christian) Party Augusto Cruz has put forward a law which would change the tax rate for slot machines and would affect slot machines in local businesses as well as casinos. In presenting the new proposals the Deputy point- ed out that Honduras’s latest gaming bill changed gaming tax rate to 5,000 lemperes (around U.S$210) to 25,000 lemperes (U.S$210 )which was a reduction of almost 80 per cent compared to the previous rate.


This, according to Cruz and other proponents of a new gaming leg-


islation, is too great. Under the new act Mr. Cruz proposes to establish the previous tax rate which would affect slot machines in casinos, grocery shops, convenience stores, mar- kets, bars, cafes and restaurants as well as other establishment nationwide. The new tax rate, once in place, would be managed by the local mayor’s office.


Calls for a repeal of gaming laws in Honduras have been growing of late amongst claims that the industry is not paying enough tax and is being used for money laundering. Deputies belonging to the Partido Anticorrupción (Anti Corruption) Party allied alongside members of the Libre (Free) Party first called for major reform which would affect both


casinos and slot parlours nation- wide in July. However, the new proposals have caused some con- troversy with local operators arguing that the tax rate will lead to more closures.


Gaming in Honduras remains very small scale and gaming law has remained in many way unchanged since 1977 when Honduras passed its first gaming act. The act was designed specif- ically so that casinos would attract more tourists and improve tourist infrastructure and allows for table for both games as well as slot machines. However, accord- ing to lawmakers who are pro- posing repeal of the old act, casi- nos have failed to attract tourists and instead are attracting only locals especially those who are less well off. Licences are valid for 25 years and are renewable after that period every five years and casinos must be part of a five star hotel or resort.


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