Uruguay Senator Felipe Carballo has introduced a bill to regulate online casinos in Uruguay, with state participation and the involvement of the private sector.
Under the bill, a State Online Gaming Platform is to be set up under the supervision of the Dirección Nacional de Loterías y Quinielas. This platform is to be responsible for providing online betting services in Uruguay.
In addition, within the framework of this project, it is planned to create a national agency for the regulation of online casinos. The agency should be independent and empowered to issue licenses, audit platforms and algorithms, monitor financial transactions, and manage a national registry of digital players.
Senator Felipe Carballo explained:
For us, this is a central issue. There have been other initiatives in previous periods, including one from my political party’s caucus (Frente Amplio) in the Senate during the last term, as well as one from the previous Executive branch, and none of them succeeded. The proposals failed because we touched very large interests. We are talking about private banking operators, for example, which hold the monopoly on games in the country. Technological advances have created online gambling, and today anyone with access to a cellphone, internet, and a credit card can place bets.
The senator noted that more than 150 new illegal international gambling sites are blocked every in Uruguay, and this have become a problem in the country.
He also emphasized that online casinos are a very profitable sector, and Uruguay, as the legal owner of casino operations, should receive more economic benefits from the sector.
