Wire SOUTH AMERICA
Te Gaming Commission granted route operators permission to pay $500 per machine every four months, starting on October 1 and ending on April 15, 2022.
PUERTO RICO LAND-BASED CASINOS New Slot Machine Regulations
Brazil - Gambling offsets corporate tax cuts The rapporteur for the Senate Income Tax reform, Senator Angelo Coronel (PSD-BA), said that he is in favour of the legalisation of casinos in Brazil as a way to increase federal tax collection for social welfare schemes. According to the senator, legalising gambling would also be a way to offset cuts in tax rates for companies, from a major tax reform bill now being analysed in Congress. The proposed tax reform would progressively reduce the rates of the Corporate Income Tax, from 15 to eight per cent. In September 2021, the tax was approved by the Chamber of Deputies. However it still depends on the Senate approval and on presidential ratification.
Brazil - GLI expands LatAm team GLI has welcomed Valter Delfraro Júnior to its Latin America & Caribbean team. Mr. Delfraro is GLI’s new Government Relations and Business Development Executive based in Brazil. In his new role, he will be supporting the industry with their certification and consultancy needs. He will also be a valuable resource to government entities in their path to analysing the expansion of gaming verticals and its correspondent regulation.
Chile - No new entrants in casino tender The Chilean Gaming Board (SJC) has received 11 offers for casino licence renewals at the hearing for the presentation of technical and economic offers. The Superintendency of Gambling Casinos stated that only operators already present in the market put forward offers. Applications were received for nine of the 12 spots available as of 2023 (three were off the table due to legal proceedings).
As anticipated, there were no new entrants to the market. Both Dreams (Temuco and Valdivia) and Enjoy (Antofagasta and Los Angeles) chose only to put in offers in locations in which they already have casinos. Meanwhile, Marina (Calama and Osorno) opted to add Talca and Copiapó to their portfolio.
The tender has been made more complex as three licences have now been suspended by the courts. The 22nd Civil Court of Santiago ordered the suspension of the tender for the Monticello casino in San Francisco de Mostazal operated by Dreams. The casino located just south of Santiago, is the largest in terms of revenue and accounts for around 26 per cent of the total turnover of the Chilean casino industry. On October 6, the 25th Civil Court of Santiago suspended the tender for the casino in Talcahuano. The same court also suspended the tender for the Punta Arenas casino on October 12.
Enjoy criticised the SJC for going ahead with the tender. “We are competing in a scenario of uncertainty, both in the country and in the casino industry itself, in which places are suspended from the bidding, by virtue of court decisions,” said Eduardo Sboccia of Enjoy.
P6 WIRE / PULSE / INSIGHT / REPORTS
New slot machine regulations in Puerto Rico could raise US$40m in six months according to new findings by the Gaming Commission.
A court decision has allowed the Gaming Commission to collect over $4m in just one week for the treasury from money generated by slot machines. Tis will increase to as much as $40m once the current payment plan ends.
Te executive director of the Gaming Commission, Orlando A. Rivera, said that 93 of the 100 route operators had paid the first $500 of the payment plan of a total of $1,500 which is now payable per machine.
Due to the pandemic, the Gaming Commission granted route operators permission to pay $500 per machine every four months, starting on October 1 and ending on April 15, 2022.
Tere are 100 route operators with licences approved by the Gaming Commission. In October 2020, the Department for Economic Development and Commerce confirmed that the regulations to regulate route operators had come into effect. Te number of slot machines can range from the minimum of 100 to the maximum of 250 machines per licence and per operator.
“At the moment the operators have not decided how many machines they will operate. We are going to grant them the opportunity to have until the second payment period to decide on the number that they will operate, since Covid- 19 impacted many businesses that are no longer operating and that had these machines,” Rivera said, adding that the high participation rate in the scheme proved that operators wanted the industry to be legalised.
Licences are granted once the operators comply with the acquisition of machines compatible with the new government controlled central connection system, which will be operational soon. Rivera stated that when the licensing stage is finished, that the machines will be connected to the Treasury and Gaming Commission.
Te official estimates that once connected, 33 per cent of profits, about $100m, will be generated for the treasury. Te money will be split between the Puerto Rico police (50 per cent), the health system for the municipalities (45 per cent) and operational costs of the Gaming Commission (five per cent).
Brazil Gambling Bill to be Separated into Tree Sections
Deputy Felipe Carreras, who is serving as rapporteur of the drafting of the new version of gambling legislation in the lower house, could divide the bill into three different sections. Te working group has been given 90 days to update the text of Bill PL 442 /91 which is itself an amalgamation of as many as twenty other gambling related projects all of which have been discussed since 1999.
Carreras is evaluating dividing the bill into three so that it would be more palatable to lawmakers. Te first part would cover the regulation of federal licenses for the creation of resort casinos. Te second part of the text would cover the taxation of online gambling. Te third section would focus on the 11 horse racing tracks in Brazil with a view to allowing them to expand and offer different types of gambling.
Due to opposition amongst the religious caucus as well as other
opponents of the bill, Deputy Carreras also intends to put forward a proposal that would encompass public policies that would combat corruption, stimulate tourism and provide funding for cultural programs. For this purpose funds would be created out of some of the revenues generated by gaming.
Deputy Carrera’s text will also state that the federal government and not state governments will be allowed to grant licenses. In addition the new version of the bill will also create a new regulatory body for the gaming industry.
Currently there are two bills both of which would allow for a major expansion of gambling: one in the Senate and the other in the House of Deputies. Earlier this month members belonging to a number of horse racing organisations appeared before the working group charged with updating Brazil’s gambling laws.
Brazil
Scout Gaming has added Betano Brazil to its roster of operator partners. Under the deal, Scout Gaming will provide its fantasy sports and fantasy player odds product to the operator’s Betano brand across desktop and mobile. Andreas Sundal, CPO at Scout Gaming, said: “We are proud to be able to increase our global reach with our fantasy and sportsbook products by entering the Brazilian market together with our partner Kaizen Gaming. Kaizen’s Sportsbook Product Manager, John Tsakalakis, added: “We want to offer our players the most comprehensive sportsbook experience, and the addition of fantasy sports and fantasy player odds from Scout Gaming allows us to do just that. Betano is led by the spirit of continuous improvement and devotion to partnerships that matter in the long run. We are excited to expand our partnership with Scout Gaming in LATAM, a region that we strengthen our presence day by day.”
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