Legislation
Paraguay lawmakers agree on 90 day deadline for gambling law review
By James - 15 April 2024
The Paraguayan Chamber of Deputies has set a new deadline of 90 days to address the debate on the restructuring of the gambling industry. Lawmakers want to make changes to Paraguay’s gambling law (Law No. 1016/1997) in order to eliminate the current monopoly of licences for quiniela and sports betting. Lawmakers in favour of the bill have expressed their concerns that the new deadline is a delaying tactic designed to keep the current monopoly in place.
Adrián Vaesken, one of the deputies who promoted the project, requested to postpone it for only 15 days, as a new concession could be defined before that time, but he lost in the vote and told local newspaper ABC that there was a need to modify the articles quickly.
“Ninety days is too much, because the lottery concession will be granted before that and the concession is granted for 5 years; and the spirit of this law will not be fulfilled for this period if it is not addressed as soon as possible,” he said.
However fellow lawmaker Yamil Esgaib argued that the postponement for 90 days is because they are waiting for “another more polished project from the Executive branch.”
“I’m practically 100% with Vaesken, but unfortunately it is impossible to approve it as it is. (…) but when this law was drafted in ’97; when (Juan Carlos) Wasmosy was president, this law was made and various gambling modalities that are now visible were not foreseen: sports betting, online casinos were not there and poker was declared a sport,” he said.
Esgaib also explained that other political aspects must also be taken into account, as “there is a very important issue in this law that is not considered, where it practically takes power away from municipalities,” since “when it removes the word ‘exclusivity’, Conajzar aims to eliminate municipalities from also granting permits.”
The last concession for the exploitation of the lottery was granted to the company Technologies Development of Paraguay SA (TDP SA), linked to former President of the Republic Juan Carlos Wasmosy in December 2020, under the name “Tu Quiniela Teete” despite legal issues regarding the allegedly unpaid obligations established by law.
In March 2020 Conajzar extended the license of company Technologies Development of Paraguay SA (TDP) to run quiniela games until December 2020 even though its five year license had come to an end. Questions were raised over TDP’S compliance with the payment of taxes, royalties and fees. TDP is owned by the son of the former President Juan Carlos Wasmosy. In September 2020 the Senate approved an investigation into Conajzar’s licensing of quiniela. In its presentation the prosecution argued that Conajzar awarded the quiniela license to TDP despite the fact that it was in arrears of taxes at the end of 2019.
The National Union of Workers Sellers of Lottery, Bingo, Games of Chance, and Related Activities of Paraguay (Sintraquiba) said that they supported the bill. Alicia Gutiérrez, representative of the union told ABC, that if this project is approved, workers would have the option to choose who to work with, while players could choose where to bet. “Competition is always healthy. Today there are not even options, there is only one concessionaire,” she said.
In November fourteen legislators from the Chamber of Deputies presented the bill aimed to modify Paraguay’s gambling law. If approved the bill would modify articles 8, 11, 13, 21, 22 and 23 of the law. The document seeks to correct the law which allows for a monopoly in certain cases which is in contravention of the National Constitution.
