Puerto Rico Gaming Commission opens e-bets licensing process
The Puerto Rico Gaming Commission has begun to receive applications from those interested in being online sports betting operators in Puerto Rico, agency Executive Director Orlando Rivera confirmed.
Those interested in getting authorization to process bets through electronic platforms will find information on the procedure on the commission’s website, which includes the forms and documents needed to request a license for sports betting operators or satellites, e-Sports, and online fantasy competitions, as well as for service providers and employees.
The Commission’s Sports Betting Bureau will evaluate the applications.
The new betting market is expected to pump $18 million into Puerto Rico’s economy in the first year alone, agency officials said.
“We encourage all those interested in being part of a new market that has a high growth potential and the wide reach that the internet offers to participate in the process,” Rivera said.
“Through the rigorous standards that we’ve established and strict regulation of the betting activity, we will guarantee the protection of the player and the consumer,” he said, noting that operators will be protected as well under the Commission’s established rules and procedures.
Puerto Rico’s e-betting market is defined under Act 81–2019, which seeks to generate “favorable conditions for the development in Puerto Rico of an industry that operates successfully in other jurisdictions of the United States,” the agency stated.
The budding e-Sports market will be regulated by the Sports Betting regulations (No. 9316) and Fantasy Contests (No. 9317), which will be integrated into the Puerto Rico Sports Betting on E-Sport and Fantasy Contest Regulations.
These regulations establish the norms for the licensing and supervision of the new industry and lay out the procedures and requirements that future operators must comply with, as well as the operation of betting and electronic games in Puerto Rico.
