Legislation
Peru – Two separate proposals would allow for sports betting expansion in Peru
By Phil - 16 October 2018
Two major proposals have been put forward that would make major changes to Peru’s sports betting laws. Last week a group of lawmakers, all belonging to the same political party, announced that they would push for new laws which would further regulate land-based sports betting.
Percy Eloy Alcala Mateo along with other members of the right wing Popular Force Party (Fuerza Popular) put forward new laws that would allow for a major expansion of the industry as land based sports betting would also be permitted in annexes to already authorised casinos. Operators would begin to pay an additional tax for sports betting that would stand at 12 per cent per month applied to the difference between the income received from betting and the prizes paid out.
In addition, the new law would establish other rules, which would safeguard players’ rights and put in place checks and additional safeguards.
Apart from off track horse race betting shops there are around twenty to twenty five sports betting shops nationwide. New legislation is urgently needed as at present as they are only permitted via municipal licence and there is no specific authority that regulates them. The only law which specifically relates to sports betting dates back to 1942 in Peru’s Civil Code which grants the private sector the right to enter the market as long as the company adheres to Peru’s Civil code and adheres to the terms of their licence as granted to them by the municipal government.
The second proposal was put forward by Leyla Chihuán Ramos also from the Popular Force Party. Her proposal focuses on online gaming including, online bingo, slots, virtual sports card games and table games, as well as sports betting. The law seeks to ensure that online betting is conducted with “honesty, transparency and equal treatment.” It also seeks to put in place player protection measures and prevent the use of online sports betting for illicit purposes.
Online gaming would also be allowed in separate online sports betting establishments and would also be permitted via already established casinos and slot parlours. Online betting would be regulated by the The General Directorate of Casino Games and Slot Machines (DGJCMT). Licences would be granted for an initial period of five years and will be renewable while much stricter fines would be put in place for non-compliance and for non-licensed operators. The DGJCMT will be responsible for issuing, modifying and revoking the gambling licenses and for approving Internet or Internet games that may be incorporated into the operators’ websites. It will also be responsible for ordering the blocking of websites where Internet gambling games operate without having previously obtained a gaming license from the DGJCMT.
Currently while there is no specific legislation in place which outlines how offshore companies may offer their services to locals offshore companies may offer their services as long as they adhere to local business practices and Peruvian law, and online gaming may be offered either from within or from outside of Peru. Indeed Peru was one of the first jurisdictions to officially allow for online gaming in the region and allows a number of online sites to offer their services locally.
