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Bolivia – WhatsApp the route for illegal operators to promote in Bolivia

By - 15 August 2018

According to The Authority of Taxation and Social Control over Gaming (AJ) illegal gaming operators are using WhatsApp in order to avoid detection after the government launched its crackdown on illegal gaming.

The messenger app for Smartphones is now the most widely used method in order to attract customers and has been growing over the last four years. Illegal operators send out messages, which are disguised as business promotional offers that includes a transportation service and dinner according to the gaming regulator.

So far this year, the AJ has closed down 39 illegal gaming halls in the country meaning that there has been a decrease overall but illegal gaming parlours are still using the app in order to avoid detection.

“Actually they (illegal operations using the app) are a majority, in almost in all cases we could say. This has been working for years . . . .since 2014. It is the means of communication to get people to enter and is effective for people who happen to be compulsive gamblers, ” said the director of the AJ, Jessica Saravia.

The complaints regarding illegal gambling houses occur nationwide. The largest number of the 39 government interventions so far this year were carried out in Santa Cruz (17), while in La Paz there have been two so far.
One of the cases whereby the AJ was able to unravel the modus operandi took place in Cochabamba where authorities discovered that illegal operators were sending out dinner promotions via the app. The activity begins with a potential client receiving an offer from an unknown number. The offer comes with an invitation to dinner with alcoholic drinks and other entertainment on offer. The operator offers a pick up service as well where the client is met where they are then taken to out of the way locations.

Since 2011 – when it went first into operation – the AJ has been extremely active and has carried out more than 1,100 raids on illegal gambling houses and confiscated 12,000 machines, which were then destroyed. Between 2013 and 2017 illegal gambling houses decreased by 83 per cent. However, beyond raids and criminal prosecutions the government has been unable to regulate the industry more closely. Due to the high tax rate plus additional taxes on players put in place in 2010, every legal gaming establishment bar one has been shut down while players are turning in increasing numbers to offshore operators and illegal betting centres. In July, the AJ presented a new app called “AJ Móvil” which will enable local players to ensure the legality of gaming platforms, venues and games before taking part.

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