247.com Reports
CARIBBEAN MARKET REPORT PUERTO RICO
Te casino industry in Puerto Rico has been in crisis for a number of years due to the negative economic situation and a lack of government oversight when it comes to illegal gaming. While slot machines outside casinos are banned under Puerto Rico’s gaming act they have spread widely and at a fast pace and are now commonplace in bars, shops and in other small businesses.
entertainment. However, there are rules in place meaning that a casino must have at least 3 gaming tables open from 12.01 pm until 3:59 am. Tis naturally increases operating costs.
In addition there are strict rules on advertising in place. While operators may advertise their services via a wide range of media inside and outside Puerto Rico all advertising must be directed at foreign nationals and not specifically at Puerto Ricans and must be approved first by the PRTC. Tis was after Te Supreme Court upheld a Puerto Rico law in 1988 that prohibits casinos from advertising on the island as a way of discouraging residents from spending their money on games of chance.
Casino revenue is a vital source of funding for the PRTC as well as the biggest state university on the island. Under present rules casino revenue is divided equally between the operator and the state. 45.45 per cent of gaming revenue goes the University of Puerto Rico, the largest public university on the island, 15.15 per cent goes the Treasury, 25.8 per cent to the PRTC and 13.6 per cent to the Committee for the Development of the Tourism Industry. As well as taxes on gaming income, the government also
P42 NEWSWIRE / INTERACTIVE /
247.COM P N
taxes an additional 2 per cent on hotel rooms when the hotel is attached to a casino.
CASINOS Te casino industry in Puerto Rico has been in
crisis for a number of years due to the negative economic situation and a lack of government oversight when it comes to illegal gaming. While slot machines outside casinos are banned under Puerto Rico’s gaming act they have spread widely and at a fast pace and are now commonplace in bars, shops and in other small businesses. Some estimates put the number of illegal slot machines as high as 40,000 with the illegal sector worth an estimated US$1.5bn. In addition illegal slot parlours are also commonplace and can in some instances be large scale.
In March 2012 the PRTC began to criticise the government for not doing more to combat illegal gaming as the spread of illegal gambling was putting casinos and hotels at risk. According to the PRTC casinos were losing out by as much as US$200m a year due due to the rise of illegal gaming. Faced with a number of casino closures, including the closure of the landmark El Conquistador casino which left 150 people
jobless in February 2013, the government initiated an urgent investigation into illegal slot machines and slot parlours which were widely held to be the reason behind the spate of closures. Te inquiry was called for by Head of the Tourism Committee in the House of Representatives Ángel Matos García.
Te Congressman argued that slot parlours could either be closed down or be taxed with those slot parlours generating more than US$2,000 per slot machine liable to pay tax. According to slot parlour operators they had been trying for some time to persuade the government to link slot machines to the Treasury Department via a central controlled server. However, the possibility that slot parlours could be legalised was greeted with strong criticism from hotel and casino interest groups which claimed that it would lead to the loss of 70,000 jobs long term.
In July 2014 the government took decisive action on the issue and passed Law No. 77 (Ley Núm.77 2014) which gave the PRTC the authority to monitor and supervise the operation of illegal gaming machines and imposed much stiffer penalties on those found to operating outside of
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107