Paraguay’s gaming regulator Corajzan has put out a tender for applicants for a sports betting operator to be the exclusive sportsbook provider of the South American country.
Applicants will pay a fee of 60 million Guarani (about $8,700). An operator must be willing to build an office and locate in the capital city of Asunción.
Corajzan will announce the winner of the bidding on October 31.
The gaming regulator is amidst efforts to crack down on offshore gaming operators and to limit the expansion of slot machines.
It has a similar partnership with Daruma Sam, which operates the Aposta.la brand but never generated satisfactory results. It was also accused of money laundering in 2021.
Daruma Sam hasn’t ruled out bidding on the new tender, saying, “bidding terms and conditions have not even been published.”
The country’s gambling lobby is criticizing the government for launching the tender before it completes Law-1016, which they say it should do first. Currently the law defines sports betting as: “activities in which an amount of money is risked on the results of a to-be-determined sporting event, with an uncertain outcome and unrelated to the parties involved.”
Critics also scolded Corajzan for making the announcement without consulting with government authorities.
The gaming trade body APOJA’s President Anibal Salomón criticized the regulator for launching the tender with limited competition rules and transparency on how bidders would be judged.
