Nine companies got their sports betting licenses for operating in Puerto Rico. The Puerto Rico Gaming Commission gave the state’s regular sports betting licenses to new companies, allowing them to expand in this fast-growing market.
Licenses for various operators and providers:
Jaime Rivera-Emmanuelli, the Commission Executive Director, said that the Sports Betting Bureau had an impact on the Commission’s decision. They chose two sport betting companies that got the licenses, and others are well-known service providers whose duty is to serve the operators.
The International Betting Integrity Association is among the companies that got the license. It is a famous company that designed a tool for anti-corruption monitoring. The tool is very useful to all operators, considering that it can identify and report any suspicious activity by using consumer data.
ASF LTD and Sports Content Co also got the licenses. These two companies are among the leading ones in the industry when it comes to data collection. They collect statistical information about many regulated markets, gathering them from major gaming leagues.
Sports Betting in Puerto Rico is currently limited to land-based casinos. However, legalizing online sports betting is in progress, and the process of evaluating and issuing the licenses can be very consuming.
Rivera-Emmanuelli commented: “Once certain final details are clarified, the door to online betting will officially open, from anywhere, using mobile devices such as smartphones and computers. Puerto Rico will quickly catch up with the states that have legalized sports betting. The island has the appeal of drawing a broad and culturally diverse audience while having the security, controls, and regulations that the United States requires of its jurisdictions.”
Heavy controls:
Since operators’ licenses in Puerto Rico have to be renewed on a yearly basis, the licenses are renewed to in-person betting operators Condado Hotel Services Group Inc., Condado Duo La Concha Casino, and CHPR Hospitality. They got their licenses last year, but they have expired in the meantime.
Another company that got its license renewed is BetMGM LLC. On top of that, the company got a license for online gambling services, which will enable Bet MGM to offer its services in both retail and online casinos in Puerto Rico.
In order to let players wager online, the Commission has to check many details related to online casinos. Among the things that need to be checked are internal controls of the casino, as well as many other things, such as the duties of the employees and the security and accounting rules.
Eric de la Cruz, the director of the Betting Bureau, said: “The controls explain in detail how the operator will respond if there is a problem. The company has vicarious responsibility over the betting operation, and as such, it must be accountable to the bureau.”
When the Commission approves all of the 18 points on the checklist, players are able to register on the betting site.
Three-year licenses in Puerto Rico are issued to providers Global Tote US LLC, Kambi Malta Limited, and United Tote Co.