Puerto Rico Moves Forward with Sports Betting Regulations

The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico has initiated a process to establish legal sports wagering. This action comes over a year after the legalization of sports betting. The process involves a 30-day public review of proposed regulations. These regulations were developed in collaboration with Gaming Laboratories International (GLI).

The initial legislation was approved by the then-governor Ricardo Rosselló Nevares. However, he stepped down from office following the revelation of private communications.

The proposed regulatory framework has undergone significant revisions. The director of gaming at the Puerto Rico Tourism Company, Jaime Alex Irizarry, resigned in April. Governor Wanda Vázquez Garced then appointed José Barasqueuid Cordova and Cristobal Mendez to establish a new gaming agency.

Following these changes, GLI was contracted in May to provide guidance on the development of sports betting rules.

The rules established by the GLI mandate a 7% levy on total gaming earnings for brick-and-mortar gambling and a 12% tax rate for internet gambling. Simultaneously, fantasy contest organizers will be subject to a 12% tax on the entry fees for their contests.

Concerning the locations where gambling can be conducted, gambling and fantasy contests are permitted in casinos, non-casino hotels, motels, racetracks, horse betting facilities, shops, and any other location deemed suitable and secure by the Puerto Rico Gaming Commission. Online and mobile gambling seem to have no physical location restrictions.

Besides offering gambling and fantasy contests on any professional or collegiate sports, players will be permitted to wager on esports, encompassing real-time strategy, fighting, first-person shooter, or video games.

Read the complete article on iGB North America.

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