Reports
CARIBBEAN MARKET REPORT PUERTO RICO
According to a study presented by Te Association of Hotels and Tourism of Puerto Rico (PRHTA), the 18 casinos located in hotels currently operating in Puerto Rico still contribute US$156m to the island’s treasury. Meanwhile revenues for the casinos on the island stand at US$265m per year and they generate 3,000 direct jobs and 5,000 indirect jobs.
have continued to close at an alarming rate with seven closures over the last two years alone leaving hundreds jobless.
In September 2014 it was announced that the casino at the Hilton Hotel and Resorts chain owned Embassy Suites Dorado del Mar Beach Resort would no longer be open for business. Ten in May 2015 the Radisson Ambassador announced that for financial reasons it would be closing. Two months later the casino in the Condado Plaza Hotel in San Juan closed. In January 2016 it was announced that the InterContinental San Juan Resort & Casino would also be closing and in January this year the owners of the Hotel San Juan announced that the casino would not reopen as had previously been planned once remodelling work on the hotel was complete.
Tis has had a huge impact on revenues for the government as resources made from the casino industry have decreased according to some estimates from US$315m in 2008 to US$272m during the last fiscal year. All the same despite falling revenues casinos are still a major
P44 NEWSWIRE / INTERACTIVE /
247.COM
employer and provide a significant amount of income for the government. According to the latest study, which was presented by Te Association of Hotels and Tourism of Puerto Rico (PRHTA) in January this year and compiled by local research company Inteligencia Económica, the 18 casinos located in hotels currently operating in Puerto Rico still contribute US$156m to the island’s treasury. Meanwhile revenues for the casinos on the island stand at US$265m per year and they generate 3,000 direct jobs and 5,000 indirect jobs.
VIDEO LOTTERY TERMINALS While illegal gambling has had a devastating
impact on the industry more bad news for the casino industry came in March 2015 when rumours began to surface that the government had been preparing a measure which would have allowed the government to approve video lottery terminals (VLT’s) by amending Treasury Department rules. According to detractors the deal had been hidden from legislators because a similar bill had already been defeated during the previous legislature.
However, the Treasury estimates that allowing VLT’s would bring in additional US$100m during the first year and reach as much as US$300m annually after three and would also provide player protection measures. Treasury Secretary Juan Zaragoza justified the decision by saying that new rules would legalise between 20 and 25 thousand slot machines in three years. Mr. Zaragoza said that machines now operating in illegal casinos, bars, bakeries and shopping centres, could join the network of legalised VLT’s if changes to gaming legislation were made for machines that met with the correct technical standards.
Te PRHTA immediately announced that it would take the issue to court. Despite these protests in July 2015 the Treasury Department announced that it would begin the tender process for VLT’s in the first quarter of 2016. However, critics of the new bill claimed that the move was unconstitutional as only the Legislature may make changes to gaming laws and gaming legislation should and be cannot be approved by the Ministry of Finance alone. In August 2015 the PRHTA filed a motion with a
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