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Desi Bouterse led Suriname through
the 1980s as head of a military government.
In 1999, Bouterse was convicted by a Dutch court for
cocaine trafficking and sentenced to 11 years in prison. Since then he has avoided countries that have extradition treaties with the Netherlands.
He regained office in 2010 through elections and was re-elected in 2015.
Economic outlook
Suriname’s economy is highly concentrated on oil and mining (gold and bauxite). Right now, Exxon and other companies are seeking billions of US dollars in new oil investments in offshore Suriname. Te newly elected government has embarked on a comprehensive economic reform program and met with many of the stipulations as laid out by the IMF. After two years of sharp contractions in economic activity, a gradual resumption of economic growth is expected between 2022- 24 to nearly three per cent per year. Real GDP growth is projected to reach 1.8 per cent in 2022. Meanwhile inflation is forecast to decline to 26 per cent by the end of this year and to 12 per cent by the end of 2024.
As is the case with Guyana the discovery of oil reserves will play a huge role in the country’s improved economic outlook and Suriname is looking to replicate Guyana’s oil boom through 2030. In December 2021, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a $688m loan programme for Suriname to be disbursed from 2022 to 2024. Other international public finance programmes are on the way which are designed to attract further oil investments.
Gambling in Suriname
Since 1996 the number of casinos in Suriname has increased significantly especially in capital Paramaribo. Traditionally, casinos in Suriname have been seen by the government as a way of promoting tourism in the area and as such they can only operate if they are part of a hotel with a minimum of twenty rooms. However, many casinos opened their doors without complying with the law and did not build the requisite hotels.
Under previous laws Surinamese were not allowed to go to casinos. Te law was largely ignored though. Operators were given a one year extension in 2004 to meet the hotel requirements but by January 2005 many casino operators had still to comply.
2006 saw a renewed impetus from the government to more closely regulate casinos. Preparations for the creation of the Gaming Board began in 2009 but remained stalled for years as the members of the board were not appointed until 2016. Te updated version of the Gaming Act of 1962 was passed that same year and had a special emphasis on player protection measures including restrictions on the number of times residents could visit a casino a month.
Te act also acknowledged that while 30 casinos had been licensed only 17 were operational meaning that non-operational licence holders were given a deadline of around a year (depending on the duration of their licence) to get the casino operational. Failure to comply meant the forfeiture of their licences. Te law also gave the president the option to issue two more permits but only to large hotel chains and the decision would need to be approved by the legislative branch. 31 casino licences had been granted by the end of 2021, four licences were revoked and 18 casinos were up and running.
Gambling regulation is now once again in the spotlight with ministers drafting a new version of the nation’s gambling laws. Te gambling industry is currently under increasing scrutiny due to money laundering fears. In September the National Assembly discussed the amendment of laws relating to money laundering, lotteries and games of chance. According to Justice Minister Kenneth Amoksi new regulations will need to reflect changes in the industry and reflect internationally accepted standards.
Minister Amoksi said: “Developments within the sector are changing very quickly, as are
In 2019, Bouterse was convicted by a Surinamese court of executing 15 political opponents in 1982.
He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
the standards of the technological instruments used. Internationally, regulators use standards from internationally recognised organizations such as Gaming Laboratories International, which are specially developed by this organisation for the supervisory task of the various regulators worldwide."
Online gambling is not covered in current legislation. However, ministers are planning to conduct a study into online gambling with the possibility of giving it the green light in some form. Meanwhile, players are permitted to take part in online sports betting and casinos which are made available on desktop commuters in licensed sports betting shops located throughout Suriname.
WIRE / PULSE / INSIGHT / REPORTS P43
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