The current contract of Daruma SAM expires in 2028, however, under the new law, two new licenses could be incorporated. It was also revealed what will happen with the workers of Conajzar under the recently enacted legislation.
Paraguay.- All eyes in the region are still on Paraguay following the enactment of Law 7.438, which amends several articles of Law 1016/97 that establishes the Legal Regime for the Exploitation of Games of Chance or Gambling, especially due to the market opening, which means that new players can join the lottery and sports betting business.
In this regard, there is growing expectation regarding the possibility that the National Gambling Commission (Conajzar) is evaluating, to open the sports betting tender early to incorporate two new operators into the business.
It is worth remembering that in 2022, the company Daruma Sam, operating under the brand Apostala, renewed the concession to operate sports betting in Paraguay until 2028, winning the competition against companies B-Gaming, Gambling SA, and Play Tech, and keeping the market monopoly as the law marked until the recent modification. However, with the new regulations, there will be up to three operators authorized per game mode.
A new call for tenders represents a legal challenge for Conajzar, so it is already analyzing the mechanisms and alternatives available for a new tender without violating acquired rights.
Regarding this, Carlos Liseras, president of the regulatory body, told the media La Política Online: "Indeed, Daruma SAM has the license until 2028. The technical-legal team is studying the actions to be implemented from this enactment."
"There are several national and foreign companies interested in the exploitation of sports betting. Regarding the lottery, in a few days, we will be publishing the call for tenders to award three licenses," he added.
From the private sector, while they celebrated the eradication of the monopoly and the opening of the market, they emphasized that Apostala won the tender at the time with a cash flow, according to a determined investment, and signed a five-year contract with the State, which "should not be breached."
In this regard, lawyer Carlos Sacco, representative of the firm Apostala explained to the media Ñanduti that there is a lot of pressure, because "everyone wants to tender for sports betting," due to the high volume of money they move. "The contract must be respected (...) This is a company that has exclusive rights for five years but unfortunately it is not so, there are several foreign companies that also exploit, hopefully all that can already be cut," he said.
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The case of the lottery is different, since in 2025 the contract with the current licensing company ends. In this regard, in communication with 780AM, Liseras explained: "The law establishes that it must be by public tender the call for those who want to develop this activity" and added: "The last days of January or the first days of February, we will be calling the tender, in the lottery mode, because the license of the firm that is currently exploiting this game mode expires in November this year." In this sense, he said that they will be publishing the specifications to be able to award the best three offers they receive.
Another key aspect of the new law is the transfer of the National Gambling Commission (Conajzar), which from now on will no longer be under the orbit of the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) and will depend directly on the National Directorate of Tax Revenues (DNIT), which will result in greater controls and aims to increase revenue.
In relation to this change, from the Ministry of Economy and Finance they explained that "Law No. 7438 provides that the officials who are part of the Personnel Annex of the MEF and perform functions in Conajzar, according to the needs and respective selection, will pass to the charge of the DNIT with the same seniority, retirement regime and other rights acquired before the validity of the said law. The same selection will apply to the contracted personnel of the MEF who perform functions in Conajzar, who will continue to provide services under the same terms and contractual conditions in the DNIT."
The statement also indicates that the regulation "determines that the MEF, in accordance with the inventory of movable assets affected to Conajzar, must carry out the corresponding actions so that these assets become part of the patrimony of the DNIT."
