In order to address the crisis in June 2016 the American Congress passed the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA) a federal law which allowed for the creation of a Financial Oversight & Management Board (FOMB) with the authority to restructure Puerto Rico’s debt. It will be key in identifying reforms to improve the country’s economic future. However, in January the FOMB said that the island can in all likelihood only pay around 20 per cent of the debt payments it owes over the next three years. And with no end in sight to the current crisis the future for now looks increasingly uncertain.
GAMBLING LAW Te Gaming Division of Te Puerto Rico Tourism
Company (PRTC) regulates all administrative processes regarding licensing, franchise concession, supervision, and management of gaming operations in Puerto Rico. Te PRTC was founded in 1970 and is a public corporation responsible for stimulating, promoting and regulating the development of Puerto Rico’s tourism industry. Te Random Games Law was
passed in 1948 and has been amended a number of times over the years.
In Puerto Rico casino licences are divided into three zones:
Zone One includes the municipality of San Juan (not including the historical zone defined by the Zoning Board). It also includes the municipalities of Carolina, Loíza and Rio Grande. Te casino in these zones must have 300 rooms with an investment of no less than US$30m.
Zone Two covers the entire territory apart from Zone 1 and Zone 3. Minimum investment must start at US$20m and the casino must have a minimum of 200 rooms.
Zone Tree incorporates the historical zone of Viejo San Juan (Old San Juan) as set out by government resolution which was passed in 1951. It is the historic colonial section of the city of San Juan and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the “Zona Histórica de San
Juan.” Zone Tree also includes international airports. Te casino must have a minimum of 125 rooms. Minimum investment must stand at US$10m.
According to the PRTC it costs US$25,000 to apply for a licence plus an additional US$15,000 to cover costs. In addition the licence holder must pay an annual fee in order to operate a casino. Tis amount depends on the total amount bet in the casino per year and these funds go to the treasury.
For casinos where less than US$25m is gambled per year this charge stands at US$50,000. Tis is raised to US$100,000 for casinos where bets stand at between US$25m and US$50m. Meanwhile, operators must pay a fee of US150,000 for casinos where between US$50m and US$100m is gambled annually while casinos where more than US$100m is gambled must pay a yearly charge of US$200,000.
Casinos may be open 24 hours a day 7 days a week except for Good Friday and can offer live
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