Rosselló, who has previously claimed the legislation could turn Puerto Rico into a “state-of-the-art jurisdiction” for sports betting, is likely to ratify the bill.
The bill was passed by a conference committee formed of members from the Puerto Rico House and Senate, to reach a consensus on differences between the bills passed by each chamber. These differences largely centred around social responsibility concerns, such as a requirement that no point of sale can be located within 100 meters of a school, rehabilitation centre or religious venue.
PC2038 establishes the Gambling Commission, a body created through the legislation, which will be led by a seven-strong board of directors, and a commissioner appointed for a ten-year term. This body will replace the existing regulatory bodies, the horse racing regulator Administración de la Industria del Deporte Hípico and the Division of Gaming.
It sets out a 7% tax on gross gaming revenue from land-based betting, and a 12% tax for online operations, higher than the originally proposed rate of 6% of land-based GGR and 11.5% for online.
Source: GMB / iGaming Business
