PGS 2024: Top personalities and Peru as a Model in the Formalization of the Betting Market

“When we talk about games of chance, slot machines and now online betting, we are talking about the most formal sector that exists in Peru. These are large companies and 120 thousand formal jobs that this industry generates. In addition, it is fully formalized and pays an additional tax that constitutes support for crafts, for districts, for municipalities and regional governments, for sports, and in this special case, in terms of online betting, for mental health,” Burns said.

She stressed that the sector is an example of formalization. “The Peruvian state does not promote this industry, but rather regulates it completely, and many times they have been declared the best regulators in South America, which means good work from the Ministry of Tourism. What the development of these fairs does is promote our business, exchange and networking space and the seminars, to continue talking about the regulation, the legal part and the complexity of working in the sector and being a company committed to the formalization of the game.”

“I wish you all the success in the world and declare this show open, thank you very much,” Burns concluded.

In this article we summarize the first four conferences held yesterday:

The first conference was: Public policy, the regulation of games of chance in Peru. Lawyer Constante Traverso was the first speaker, who shared some of his experiences within the gaming sector. “When we talk about gambling, we talk about regulation, and when we talk about regulation we talk about the state. And in order to understand the dimension of the Peruvian state, I share ome figures. The Peruvian state has 60 billion dollars in annual income, it has one and a half million workers, it has 100 thousand branches and 32 million clients to whom the state has to provide goods, services and regulations.”

In the first part of his presentation, he made a summary of the gambling regulations performed in the last 30 years, and based on that, his intention is to approve a public policy on gambling. In his speech he was against what he calls an “excessive tax burden” for the sector.

He highlighted some objectives: Greater formal jobs, greater private investment and greater tax revenues, efficient and transparent governance and regulation at the service of development. “But to achieve that we need security and legal stability, and that will only be achieved when the current tax regime regarding the consumption tax is changed,” he added.

At the second conference, called “Current state of the Peruvian market, a mature and fully regulated market”, Yuri Guerra, General Director of Casino Games and Slot Machines at MINCETUR, was in charge. He stressed that his intention is to transmit confidence to the operators, and added that it is the most formalized activity in the country, both traditional and online. He outlined what traditional gambling and online gambling mean to the law and also outlined actions to combat illegal gambling. Finally, he stressed MINCETUR's commitment to expedite the procedures necessary for the development of the activity.

Fernando Calderón, President of SONAJA, was the speaker at the third conference, called “Consequences of the online betting regulation process in Peru.” Calderón was optimistic about the outlook for the sector and said that the words of both the tourism minister and Yuri Guerra are a “good sign.” He also spoke about the formalization processes, the commitments of the Gaming Directorate and the challenges it represents. He also dedicated a paragraph to the problems of gambling addiction and the dangers it poses for minors. He then detailed the issue of tax revenue and how the tax is applied. “We aspire to continue growing and take care of the activity,” he concluded.

The fourth conference, “New challenges of remote games after regulation in Peru”, was led by Gonzalo Rosell, president of APADELA. He made a brief presentation about the Peruvian Sports Betting and Related Association, and what the dynamics of the industry operators are. He then spoke about the challenges the sector is facing regarding regulation. He stressed the need to have legal predictability for this process, with the intention that the industry can continue to grow. He also believes that the regulation will be an example and hopes that it meets the expected tax collection objectives, responsible gambling and protection of minors.

“As an association, we seek to promote the formal and responsible development of the sports betting and online gaming market in Peru. We are in favor of regulation and we consider that it is important to maintain predictability and legal stability,” he highlighted. However, he considers that additional taxes such as the ISC play against the formal industry and the institutional seriousness of the country. “Let's work together to face the challenges of the future,” he concluded.