Wire SOUTH AMERICA
Te Commissioner of Financial Institutions (OCIF) granted the licences, not the Gaming Commission.
PUERTO RICO LEGISALTION Lawmaker Questions New Casino Licences
Lawmaker Ángel Matos García has called for an investigation into the licences for the three new casinos in the city of Ponce.
Argentina - Match fixing scandal erupts In one of the biggest scandals to ever rock Argentine football a number of players for Division C team El Porvenir have confessed to match fixing.
The team currently plays in Primera C, the regionalised fourth division of the Argentine football league system and is based in the province of Buenos Aires. President of the club, Enrique Merelas, filed a complaint at the local police station.
According to Argentine television sports channel, TYC Sports, after a series of bad results and increasing suspicions over the performance of some players; there were clashes inside the El Porvenir locker room.
One of the players broke down and confessed that he had collected money for bets; then pointed to others who were involved.
It is not yet confirmed if the players threw matches on purpose but eight players have been suspended. According to Enrique Merelas a player was offered “a huge amount of money” to fix three corners and a penalty against his own team.
The team’s player, Luis Parieti, commented: "We did not win any games, the suspicion is that they received money in the seven games, we will have to check it. We still do not want to say the names of the players until the Justice Department has acted accordingly, but they have already been kicked out of the club and the complaint will be made in the Disciplinary Court so that they receive the corresponding sanctions.
“If the Disciplinary Court finds that the players received money, they will not be able to play football anymore, neither in Argentina nor anywhere in the world.”
Porvenir is currently last in the standings with just two points in seven games as a result of two draws and five losses. The scandal broke after goalkeeper Diego Córdoba told Merelas what was happening.
One of the players served as the nexus with the bookmaker or bookmakers and told his teammates about what they should do in exchange for between 100 and 300 dollars.
The club issued a statement confirming the news and has asked that the harshest penalties be applied to those who took part in the betting scam.
According to The International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) there were 17 suspicious betting alerts in South America in 2021 – seven football related occurred in Brazil and one in Colombia.
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Lawmaker Ángel Matos García has called for an investigation into the licences for the three new casinos in the city of Ponce. Te casinos will be located in the hotels of Aloft, Hampton Inn and the Tribute Portfolio by Marriott hotels.
García said that the granting of the new licences was "worrying" due to the high concentration of gambling in the area. “Te southern zone of Puerto Rico has the operation of four game rooms for the enjoyment of citizens and visitors." Tese are located in the Hilton Ponce Golf, Ponce Plaza Hotel, Holiday Inn Ponce and the Costa Bahía Hotel.
“Precisely, the latter operates the casino only 12 hours a day due to the high offer of games in the area. Tese data raise serious questions about the granting of these new licences,” he said, adding that the Gaming Commission had not provided any information regarding their feasibility or the fiscal impact the new casinos would bring.
“Furthermore, we do not know if, in effect, the said government entity carried out any type of study to grant these new permits or if they were granted solely and exclusively through requests from the hotels. Terefore, it is necessary that this legislative body seeks to ensure the economic development in an organised and planned manner, with studies that demonstrate the viability of projects. We cannot take it for
granted that the opening of places leads to economic development,” he said.
Head of the board, Orlando Rivera-Carrión, addressed the accusations in a press release saying that it was not the Gaming Commission that had granted the licences but rather another government body, namely Te Commissioner of Financial Institutions (OCIF). Rivera Carrión added: “Te representative is confusing the endorsement that the Gaming Commission grants when a casino proponent submits his request. In the same way that the Commission endorses a project, so does the Tourism Company, the Municipality, the Permit Management Office and other agencies, as part of the permitting process.”
Rivera Carrión said that the mayor of Ponce, Luis Irizarry Pabón had endorsed the three proposals and supported the Gaming Commission's endorsement of the new casinos When the news was announced at the end of last month Rivera-Carrión said that the Aloft hotel, which opened in April 2021, would invest as much as $42m to develop its casino. Te other two properties, Hampton Inn, and Tribute by Marriott, are under construction. Te official explained that the operation of the new casinos would mean an additional $72m in revenues for in a period of 10 years and the share of winnings will be split with 51 per cent to the government and the remaining 49 per cent for the operator.
Argentina Chubut Province Plans to Expand Online Gambling
Chubut Province could allow for an expansion of its online gambling offer to allow for sports betting. According to the President of the Institute of Social Assistance (IAS) for the Lottery of Chubut, Luis María Aguirre, additional income generated by the industry would help bolster the budget. In March, the province authorised the operation of online casinos. Te sector is operated by the Chubut Lottery.
Statements said: "We are doing very well with this resource (online gaming), it is being marketed in casinos and soon in lottery agencies. It is a resource that is growing, giving back in social action and strengthening
other budgets in the province." Aguirre went onto say that work would be carried out on the "regulation of sports betting" in order to generate "a genuine resource for the State."
Chubut joins a growing number of provinces that have given online gambling the green light where online gambling in Argentina is regulated on a province by province basis. In October 2020 the government of Mendoza approved online gambling bill. Seven licences will be allowed. In August 2021 the government of the Province of Buenos Aires signed four of the seven licences it granted for online gaming in its territory. In January, Córdoba
approved its own online gambling bill. Licences will be valid for 15 years, and the Córdoba Lottery may expand the number of operators, if the market grows.
Te Lottery of Chubut began looking into online gambling in 2019 after sales for its lotteries began to fall while it found that online gambling via offshore sites was on the rise. Online gambling is already permitted in the provinces of Santa Fe, Corrientes, Chaco, Misiones, San Luis, Tucumán, Entre Ríos, La Pampa, Neuquén, Río Negro and Santa Cruz. However, most offer only a limited offer of online casino games and sports betting is often excluded from regulations.
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