Online Gaming Bill Ready in Colombia
While the details of the online bill remains unknown for now it is likely that the bill will seek to protect the government monopoly over gaming
Colombia prepares to pass its online gaming legislation, opening up its burgeoning gaming sector to igaming operations
COLOMBIA ONLINE GAMING
Te new President of the Colombian Gaming Control Board (Coljuegos) Juan B. Pérez Hidalgo (pictured) has said that new rules governing online gaming could be passed imminently. Although the new rules have not been made public Hidalgo said that new regulation had been drafted in “record time.” Hidalgo laid out a number of priorities for the board including a crackdown on illegal gaming, increased tax collection for the health sector and the regulation of online gaming.
According to Hidalgo the Colombian gaming industry now generates around $13bn pesos a year. Just over half of the market (50.8 per cent) is made up of lottery type games such as Baloto, and Súper Astro while the rest is made up from sports betting, casinos and bingo, he said. He also confirmed that the new tender for Baloto would be underway shortly. Baloto runs twice a week and there are around 10,000 points of sale nationwide in 420 municipalities in Colombia.
Hidalgo also announced the creation of a common front against illegal gaming saying that he would not allow illegal establishments to “rob resources from the Colombian health service.” At the same time the licensing process will in the future, he said, become more
Peru
IGT’s SYSTEM2go solution has been deployed at Gana Gana Casino in Peru, which sets a precedent in the country for utilising the latest casino management systems technology. “SYSTEM2Go supplements Gana Gana’s offer with the most sophisticated technology and extensive features to suit our specific needs. We are very pleased to be the first location in Peru to work with System2Go, state-of-the art technology that provides our customers with a great experience in the national market,” said José Carrión, CEO at Gana Gana Casinos SAC. Jessica Luna, IGT Senior Director Sales Chile, Andean and Central America. “Congratulations to Gana Gana for its leadership in innovation, and for elevating the standard of casino management systems in Peru with IGT.”
streamlined and efficient to provide increased support for the legal sector.
“Internet use has been growing significantly in the country and today online gambling is not regulated in Colombia,” he added, “ butwe are working very urgently to offer more possibilities for responsible and legal gaming for citizens.”
Hidalgo said that new regulation will generate an estimated additional $10bn pesos for the health sector. While the details of the online bill remains unknown for now it is likely that the bill will seek to protect the government monopoly over gaming. Te Gaming Board has presented an increasingly tough public stance on the issue. In the past Coljuegos has been strongly protective of its monopoly over gaming and while illegal gaming has proliferated the board is waging an increasingly visible war on illegal gaming in the media. It is believed that this will soon expand to online gaming and could lead to the implementation of a number of measures which could include the blocking of offshore operators in Colombia and possibly penalties on players found to be breaking the law. Once Coljuegos permits online gaming it could seek to enter into an agreement with an operator to offer online gaming on its behalf.
Judge declares void new rules which would have allowed VLTs
Puerto Rico
A judge has declared void two new rules which would have given the green light to VLTs. Superior Court Judge Gloria Maynard Salgado, rejected a 30 page order in which the Treasury Department requested a summary judgment in their favour and to dismiss a request for declaratory judgment put forward by Te Puerto Rican Association of Hotels and Tourism (PRHTA).
In July 2015 the association challenged regulations which would lead to VLTs being permitted in the country and took their complaint to court. Tis was after it was announced in August that
Puerto Rico’s Treasury Department would begin the tender process for VLT’s in the first quarter of 2016. PRHTA claims that new regulations violate several laws as well as public policy on gaming machines outside casinos including rules that only the legislature may make changes to laws and that the Secretary of the Treasury is limited to regulating the operation of games and is not permitted to authorise new games.
Both regulations were approved by the Treasury in May 2015, using as a basis gaming legislation which dated back to 1989. Te Legislature proposed nullifying a number of regulations contained in the old act via resolution. However the PRHTA claimed successfully that the 1989 law does not in fact authorise the Treasury to give the green light to new games such as VLT’s.
SOUTH AMERICA
CHILE – A number of foreign operators have shown an interest in applying for the new casino licences which will shortly be on offer in Chile. Now that the Chilean Gaming Control Board (SJC) has published the requirements for the upcoming tender process one American, three Latin American and a Chinese company could apply for a licence for just one of the licences on offer: the municipal casino located in Viña del Mar.
Head of the SJC Daniel García told local newspaper El Mercurio de Valparaiso that: “We have some movement from abroad because we have known that this contest has been coming for more or less 10 years. Viña del Mar is undoubtedly the most emblematic of the process. The whole Chilean industry and part of Latin America has is eyes on this process . . . Last year the ex superintendent was in China and Las Vegas spreading word of the process and I know that there is interest from companies in those places as well.”
García said that at least three companies based in Latin America were interested in the Viña del Mar licence. Located on the Pacific coast the The SJC’s Resolution Council confirmed that the casinos in Viña del Mar will continue to be housed in the municipal building which is already built and intended for that purpose but operators will be permitted to renovate and expand upon the property. The minimum financial bid for the casino will be US$22.3m. In addition the operator will also need to guarantee an annual payment for the municipality, will need to do restoration work on a historic monument chosen by the municipality and will also need to complete the transition phase in three months with minimum disruption to the casino already in operation.
“Since the property will be maintained which is something that happens only in Arica and Viña del Mar what needs to be resolved is how the transition from one operator to another is carried out without causing a halt in the casinos (operations) or if it happens it is as for as little as possible and agreed upon with the municipality,” García said.
LATAM– In order to strengthen its rising momentum across Latin America Merkur Gaming has made an internal promotion and appointed Tomas Mieles as Sales Director Latin America.
Mieles (50) has been the country manager for Merkur Gaming Peru since 2013 and now takes on his new role across all Latin American markets at a time when Merkur Gaming is expanding and moving into new markets across the region.
Charles Hiten, Chief Executive of Merkur Gaming Americas, said: “Tomas Mieles has been invested in the Gauselmann Group since 1996 and has the drive and enthusiasm to be a leading figure in the expansion of Merkur Gaming that is now underway. I congratulate him on his new position and wish him every success in the future.”
Tomas Mieles takes up his new responsibilities with immediate effect.
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