Major change ahead for paraguay gambling?

Conjazar, the online and land gambling regulator in the South American nation of Paraguay, has plans to reduce the country’s current seven sports betting operators to just one, who will have an exclusive monopoly in return for paying a higher tax rate than the prevailing 4 percent of GGR, which brings in a paltry $140,000 for the taxman.

Explaining the regulator’s position to media last week, Conjazar president Javier Balbuena said that the seven operators currently active in Paraguay operate on provisional licenses, but that within the next few months a government tender for a single betting concession would be launched.

Enforcement efforts would also begin to shut down any operator not in possession of a Conjazar approval…that will impact sports betting enterprises that have municipal but not national permits.

The empowering legislation will come from amended laws and will give Conjazar a stand-alone status independent of the national Finance Ministry, funded from the higher tax take which will flow from the creation of a sports betting monopoly.

This will enable the regulator to expand in order to properly supervise the betting industry across the nation, both online and retail, Balbuena claims.

Media reports indicate that although it is still early days on the monopoly concept, Daruma Sam SA is likely to be a front-runner due to its online and retail betting involvement in Paraguay over the past three years.

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