The Puerto Rico Gaming Commission (CJPR) recently celebrated the 75th anniversary of legislation that opened the door to legal gaming in the country. The body’s interim executive director, Jaime Rivera Emmanuelli, said the legislation was enacted to promote tourism.
“This objective is constantly met if we consider that the island has a growing catalog of tourist offers to which remote sports games and betting have recently been added,” he said, as reported by the San Juan News Journal.
“With the approval of Act No. 221 of 1948, the legal framework was established on the island to safeguard transparency in gambling, through regulation. The legal framework made possible the creation of a formal industry, supervised by the government, with a view to ensuring tourists and locals the greatest guarantees of purity of the games…. The regulation allows them to make important contributions to the treasury.”
The industry currently is made up of 18 casinos which have generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenues for the government and education.
“The Gaming Commission as a regulatory body ensures compliance with the licensing, supervision and control procedures of casinos, slot machines and sports betting. Every casino must have a license in order to operate. In this way, we establish a good balance between the free operation of the casinos and the interests of the state and its people,” said Rivera Emmanuelli.
