Insight
LATAM ONLINE Uruguay
Uruguay
According to the most recent studies around 91,000 Uruguayans gamble online. It is believed that offshore operators generate millions a year in Uruguay although the exact amount is unknown. However, according to the Luis Gama the head of Te Uruguayan Board of Lotteries and Pools Betting (DNLQ), Uruguayans gamble between at least US$10m and US$20m a year online
Te government has taken a number of measures of late in order to protect the state-run monopoly over online gambling and bolster revenues. In February 2018 the DNLQ announced that the government agency was working together with a number of different organisations to detect online gambling sites. Regulations in force in the country prohibit any type of betting not specifically authorised by law.
Te working group is made up of members of the Communications Services Regulatory Unit (URSEC), telephone companies, credit card companies and the Central Bank of Uruguay (BCU).
Te DNLQ has compiled a list of sites that will be blocked. Although the prohibition of bets not authorised by the state derives from previous legislation this was reinforced in 2017 via both an executive decree as well two articles included in the new Accountability Law, which was put forward by the Executive branch. Te law is designed to balance the federal budget and support the country’s projected growth, and impacts both individuals and companies. According to the law
In July 2018 it was revealed that The World Cup along with the blocking of offshore betting sites had led to a significant increase in sports betting via the only authorised sports betting site in Uruguay. According to Gama there was an increase in sports betting of over 50 per cent in June compared to May via Supermatch in 2018. In May sports betting stood at $200 million pesos and in June the figure reached $290 million (around US$9.1m).
“the provision of services through the Internet, technological platforms and computer applications, referred to online gambling or betting” is illegal.
Te only online gaming platform currently allowed is via Supermatch. Supermatch, which went live in October 2005, is the first and only officially sanctioned sports betting site in Uruguay.
Te site, which is locally run and was developed locally, allows Uruguayans to bet on a number of sporting events, including football, from a number of leagues around the world. Te Supermatch game achieved the most growth for games run by the DNLQ in 2017: a total of $1,700m (US$59.3m) was bet on the game, tripling the record for previous years.
In July 2018 it was revealed that Te World Cup, along with the blocking of offshore betting sites, had led to a significant increase in sports betting via the only authorised sports betting site in Uruguay. According to Luis Gama there was an increase in sports betting of over 50 per cent in June compared to May via Supermatch in 2018. In May sports betting stood at $200m pesos and in June the figure reached $290m (around US$9.1m).
In February 2018, 17 offshore gaming sites found to be operating illegally in Uruguay were blocked after they had been identified by the DNLQ. 178 sites have been blocked so far and the DNLQ is moving to block 40 more in the near future. Te blocking of sites is
Most of Uruguay's landmass is too far away from cities to have wired Internet access. For customers in these rural and low density suburban areas, fixed wireless ISPs provide a service. Wireless Internet service has also provided city Internet users with some degree of choice in a country where private companies have not been allowed to offer wired alternatives (e.g. cable TV Internet, fiber to the home) to the state-operated ADSL service. Internet access via cell phone networks is probably the most vibrant and competitive Internet marketplace in Uruguay. All the Uruguayan cell phone companies (Antel, Claro, Movistar) offer data plans for their smartphone users as well as USB modems for personal computers.
carried out once the DNLQ publishes a notice in the Official Government Gazette. When no one comes forward and provides credentials when it comes to the company offering its services in Uruguay then the government notifies URSEC, which then blocks access to the site via the three cellular telephone service providers in Uruguay (Antel, Claro and Movistar).
However, the market could open up slightly long term. Mr. Gama said recently that after blocking illegal websites and “cleaning up the offer” of online betting, the government might look into the possibility of a tender process for more online gaming licences.
2019 will see a number of improvements with games being fine tuned and the board is hoping for steady growth for this year. In December 2018, Supermatch and the National Basketball Association (NBA) announced a new multiyear partnership that will make Supermatch the first official gaming partner of the NBA in the country and the league’s first in this category in Latin America.
Te partnership will be promoted in more than 6,000 retail locations in Uruguay, on Supermatch’s and NBA’s online platforms, including
NBA.com, the NBA App and NBA Latin American social media platforms. As part of the partnership, Supermatch will use official NBA data and branding across its land-based and digital sports betting offerings throughout Uruguay.
NEWSWIRE / INTERACTIVE / MARKET DATA P37
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