The piece of legislation would amend section 5 of Law 221 of 1948, known as the Law of Games of Chance and Authorization of Slot Machines in Casinos, which regulates all casinos in Puerto Rico.

Currently, the law distributes the income from slot machines in Group A, made up of the concessionaires who own these machines in their gaming rooms, and Group B, made up of government funds.

The statute establishes that the first 315 million of the annual net income is distributed at a rate of 34% for Group A and 66% for Group B. However, when an annual net income is reported in excess of up to 495 million, it is distributes 60% to Group A and 40% to Group B.

The measure, presented by representatives Ángel Matos García and José Rivera Madera, proposes to reconsider the distribution of income from slot machines so that it is equitable for casino operators and government components, as a result of the closure of casinos over the years and the limited operation of others.

During a final consideration hearing, the piece was endorsed with nine votes in favor.

“Undoubtedly, this new formula equated to 50% for Group A and the remaining 50% for Group B will give both sectors the opportunity to project more effectively and uniformly, without being at the expense of what could be the amount of the disbursement ”, reads the explanatory statement of the project.

In the consideration hearing, joint resolution 17 was also approved, submitted as a complementary piece to the bill, to order the Tourism Office of the Department of Economic Development and Commerce (DDEC) to distribute the income for a special period of 180 days. annual net of slots at a rate of 60% for Group A and 40% for Group B.

The distribution would be carried out as an economic mitigation measure due to the covid-19 pandemic.