The head of AFAL, Lionel Revelese, expressed his concern due to the government's limited involvement in regulating gaming policies.
Uruguay.- The president of the Association of Lottery and Betting Officials (AFAL), Lionel Revelese, voiced his concern about the rise of problem gambling and the lack of state control over online gaming. Revelese highlighted the need for a more active role of the State in regulating gaming policies, emphasizing the increase in gambling addiction, especially among the youth.
During his appearance on the program "Pasaron Cosas" by Caras y Caretas, Revelese stated: "Gambling addiction is growing strongly in the region, particularly in Argentina, where school kids are constantly betting their cellphones."
In this regard, one of Revelese's most critical points was his analysis of Luis Gama's management, former director of Lotteries and Betting. According to the leader, Gama had a "contradictory" attitude by trying to promote online gaming during his tenure, despite previous conflicts with the unions. "In 2016, Gama organized an event at the Conrad to promote online gaming, which led us to carry out a union mobilization against him," he recalled.
Revelese also mentioned the resistance that the unions opposed in 2013 against a project that sought to create a regulatory entity for gaming with broad powers to grant licenses, which, according to the leader, would have favored private interests to the detriment of state control.
Regarding the current situation, the head of AFAL referred to the efforts of businessman Giuseppe Cipriani, who seeks to establish an online casino in Uruguay. This proposal, which has already been approved in the Senate but is stalled in the Chamber of Deputies, has raised concerns among sector workers. "What Cipriani wants is to have a strong online casino in the region, but we see it as a capital war," explained Revelese, who emphasized the need for the State to maintain control over the exploitation.
The text of the law that seeks to regulate the sector, which was introduced by the Executive at the end of 2021 and approved by the Senate in 2022, states in its article 1 that the Government, through the General Directorate of Casinos of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, may "provide casino gaming activities such as poker, roulette, slots, among others, created or to be created, in the online mode, through the internet, technological platforms, computer applications or similar."
Furthermore, it is indicated that "the Executive Power, in the exercise of its exclusive competence, may authorize in advance, on a provisional and revocable basis, the provision of the referred activity (...) to the casino game concessionaires in a physical presence or to those who possess such enabling title in the future."
In the second article, the text notes that the authorization for operators, both public and private, to exploit online gaming and betting "will be conditioned" on them having "an operational and authorized physical establishment for physical gaming" and that "the requirements established by the regulations and those stipulated in the concession contract are met."
The project also establishes: "Those who in the future acquire the status of casino game concessionaires in the physical mode may access an authorization to exploit such games in the online mode, prior to the investment, although they may not start the online mode until the approved investment is verified and the exploitation of physical gaming begins."
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In that sense, the norm adds: "The exploitation of online casino games without the corresponding authorization will entail the revocation of all authorizations to exploit games of casinos, both physical and online. Furthermore, it is emphasized that "the authorization of the Executive Power will automatically cease if the concessionaire stops exploiting the physical game."
Among the modifications incorporated into the initial version, it appears in the article 8, that the National Directorate of Casinos must finance a fund to treat gambling addiction with 5 percent of its gross earnings and with what is collected by concept of fines.
