Operator News
Paraguay – New slot bill passed by Paraguay’s Senate
By Phil - 7 April 2022
The Chamber of Senators of Paraguay has passed a new slot machine regulation bill. The bill bans slots outside slots of specially legalised gambling zones such as casinos and slot parlours. The bill aims to prevent access of minors to slot machines after slots began to appear in small businesses and shops.
Despite some opposition the bill was approved and will become law. It will have a major impact on how slots are regulated as it will affect the agreement between the Paraguayan Gaming Board (Conajzar) and slot operator iCrop. Crucially it will also give more authority to local municipal governments over how gambling is regulated as well.
Senator Hugo Richer emphasised that the new law means that: “The concessions and permits for the exploitation of electronic games of chance will be granted by the municipalities.”
This goes against Conajzar’s decision to delegate its powers to route operator iCrop so that slot machines are permitted to operate in any business in the country. The new law will go into effect in the next 90 days but needs the President’s sanction. If approved it would mean the official recognition of irregularities over the agreement between the gaming regulator and the granting of its licence to iCrop.
It addition it should also help put an end to a long running dispute over how slots are regulated. Conajzar had hired local route operator directly and granted it the power to register, regulate and collect the fees. The company kept 76 per cent of the business profits in return. There are around 23,000 slot machines now operating in different types of businesses. In July 2021 senators argued that Conajzar’s contract to permit slot machines outside of casinos and slot parlours via its agreement with iCrop had been a way of bypassing local gambling laws and legalizing them.
In July last year the President of the Senate Finance Committee, Esperanza Martínez announced that reports would be requested from the Prosecutor’s Office, Comptroller’s Office, Treasury and Conajzar on everything related to the company and its members, as well as background information, in order to clarify the circumstances of how the company was granted a license.
In January the scandal worsened when a judge stated that all of the members of the Conajzar faced charges of fraud. The officials were accused of breach of trust and the usurpation of public functions. The public prosecutor’s office argued that many irregularities had been discovered regarding both the licensing process for slot machines, reduced fees and the licensing of quiniela games.
