The Puerto Rico Gaming Commission has issued a statement through its Sports Betting Bureau that two recent sporting events, March Madness and World Baseball Classic, dramatically boosted sports betting on the island.
The Weekly Journal reported April 17 that the bureau’s director, Eric De La Cruz, said he could not say precisely how much gaming revenue was generated during the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament and the World Baseball Classic, but that it has definitely increased tax revenues for the commonwealth.
He said, “The operators are the ones who have the data of the plays. […] What we receive is the tax established by the Law, but the operators’ data is supposed to be quite detailed.”
Currently the island only has retail sports betting and no mobile sportsbooks. But that may change soon, according to Commission Executive Director Jaime Rivera Emmanuelli, who said the process of vetting online gaming operators is “very advanced.”
According to the Journal, he said last month: “Once certain final details are clarified, the door will officially open to online gambling from anywhere, using mobile devices such as smartphones and computers. … Puerto Rico has the security, controls, and regulations that the United States requires of its jurisdictions.”
In March, Emmanuelli said three operating companies and four service providers have been authorized to operate.
Casino Metro General Manager Ismael Vega told the Journal, “Since we opened in December, every month, we have been in double digits in bets. That doesn’t mean that we have increased our earnings in double digits because it all depends on how the events develop, but we have grown in participation since MetroBets has become a favorite among Puerto Rico’s clientele.”
