It’s not only the United States where gambling operators fret about tax rates, the challenges of implementing online and sports betting, and an upcoming election.
Panelists from Latin American countries spelled out those challenges, and others, in the introductory session of Juegos Miami, a conference for gaming leaders in Latin and South America.
The group provided a regulatory update of the past 12 months, covering a diverse group of jurisdictions. But they had plenty in common, including the challenges of moving from a regionally regulated market to a national framework, creating an equilibrium between taxation levels and business interests, suppressing illegal operators, and trying to work in synchronicity with other operators and government regulators.
Karen Sierra, GLI’s director of Latin America and Caribbean Government Relations and Business Development, moderated the session.
Luis Gama, director of national lotteries and raffles for the National Lottery of Uruguay, repeated a phrase that is often used in such conferences in the U.S., namely that the industry itself prospers when regulators and operators work hand-in-hand. He stated that Uruguay has 6,500 legal slots machines, compared to an estimated 120,000 illegal machines.
“This is a mistake we are making as a region in… not pushing to be better regulated,” he said. “We can talk politics for hours and hours, and about those who are not interested in the gaming industry, but this is a problem.
“When it comes to a need for regulation, Uruguay is not the exception in the region.”
Gama noted, though, that like Colombia, Uruguay has been successful in blocking unauthorized gambling web pages, with 40 such sites shut down.
“In Uruguay, if you don’t have a license to operate gaming, you’re illegal. It’s as simple as that,” he said.
His comments drew agreements from Josefina Canale, president of the Mendozan Provincial Institute of Games of Chance and Casinos in Argentina, and Alexandre Manoel, secretary of the Economy, Energy and Lottery Department in the Brazilian Ministry of Finance.
In Colombia, nine authorized online operators have been approved and another four are in the pipeline, said Diana Blanco, vice president of commercial development for Coljuegos, a private company.
“Those on both the operations and regulatory sides all are still learning,” she said.
Jaime Irizarry, director of Games of Chance for the Puerto Rico Tourism Company, spelled out the challenges that have surfaced since Hurricane Maria struck the area last fall, but also floated the idea of a multi-jurisdictional operation.
“As a humanist, we can recognize this is the industry of the future,” he said. “And it’s the fastest growing industry in the world.”
Editor’s note: Most of Juegos Miami is conducted in Spanish. The quotes in this article were provided in real time by an English translator to attendees equipped with headphones.
