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COSTA RICA |
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Government Introduces Plan To Regulate
Casinos And Gambling
The government wants to take advantage of
the potential tax revenue of casinos that
could mean some us$100 million dollars a
year in revenue by proposing a new law to
regulate casino and sports betting
operations.
The plan was first announced last July by
the Ministerio de Hacienda as a measure to
address the deficit in public finances.
The law would impose a 2% tax on the gross
monthly income (after paying the winners) of
casino and sports betting operations and
also includes charging a performance fee to
a maximum of 0.5% of gross revenues per
year.
The control the activity, the law proposes
the creation of a Comisión Nacional
Reguladora de Apuestas y Juegos de Azar
(National Regulatory Commission on Betting
and Gaming), which will have the power to
license casino operators and impose
administrative sanctions.
Once the commission is established, it would
appoint a Superintendent monitor compliance
with the law through its inspectors.
This is the latest, the sixth in fact, in a
series of initiatives proposed by the
government to regulate casinos over the past
two decades.
None of the proposals ever made it to a
vote, which has left the monitoring of
casino operations only by way of regulations
emitted by the government from time to time
and Sala IV (Constitutional Court) rulings.
Roberto Thompson, vice-ministro de la
Presidencia, assures this initiative will be
successful, as it is a "priority" for the
government.
The law would not only regulate brick and
mortar casinos and sports betting
operations, but also those in the "virtual"
world - online gambling websites, which
according to Hacienda reports, there are
more than 100 operations located in Costa
Rica.
The success of this project depends greatly
on the ability of Thompson, whose job is to
promote relations between the Poder
Ejecutivo (the executive branch of power -
the government) and the Legislative
Assembly.
However, legislators likes José Rosales of
the Partido Acción Ciudadana (PAC), assures
that the government is not interested in
passing this law, leaving it to this point
in time, with only months left in the
current administration, and in the midst of
a political campaign.
The law would include, among others, the
following rules:
- All casino and gaming houses would have to
be licensed.
- All slot machines have to be registered,
the operator producing an invoice and the
exact location of its placement.
- Infractions could be penalized with a fine
and loss licenses.
- Only those 18 years of age and over can
bet or play at a casino or gaming house.
- It is prohibited to transact with
customers who do not identify themselves and
winnings of us$10.000 or more must eb
reported.
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