Licenses granted to operate slots in Puerto Rico to be investigated

The state leader also announced that the investigation will include the steps taken by the Commission to connect the 80,000 machines that currently operate illegally throughout the island to the Department of the Treasury.

“I have always been consistent in my position on the operation of these machines, stating that I am against them outside of casinos. Today's news should be worrisome for everyone, since the granting of licenses to operate this type of system must be rigorous and must be accompanied by the connection to the verification and inspection systems of the Department of the Treasury, ”said Aponte Hernández.

This morning it came to light that the Commission has granted around 100 licenses to operate this type of machine since January. However, they are not connected to the Treasury, thus facilitating evasion.
“We are in June and knowing that licenses are being granted offline is worrying. But even more difficult to understand is that there are still 80 thousand free machines, operating without the government knowing their transactions and income, that is illegal, in addition to being an unfair competition against operators in casinos that have to be governed by all the articles of the law, "added the representative of the New Progressive Party.

“I have to reiterate the wrong argument behind the operation of these machines that they would generate around $ 130 million in new taxes for the treasury. I repeat what I said before, that premise is incorrect. This has not happened because they are not connected to know what they will contribute, which I am convinced that it will be much less than the projection. All this without taking into consideration the new licenses issued for unconnected machines”, declared the New Progressive legislator.

According to available scientific information, the prevalence of pathological gambling in the States fluctuates between 0.4 to 1 percent. While in Puerto Rico, the rate is higher than in any other jurisdiction in the nation. A report from the Addiction and Mental Health Services Administration in 2018 confirmed that 7.4 percent of the island's population could be pathological gamblers and an additional 6.4 percent could have gambling problems over the course of their lives.

Aponte Hernández highlighted that there is reliable data, including a detailed report from the Spectrum Gaming Group company, commissioned by the Puerto Rico Tourism Company in 2013, which establishes in its conclusions that, with the elimination of all illegal gambling machines from street, the government could get an additional $ 171.7 million in revenue. This figure is much higher than any that has been projected, since there is not even income yet.