Interactive
Uruguay – Uruguay’s online crackdown could be imminent
By Phil - 16 August 2017
The head of the Uruguayan National Lotteries Office Luis Gama has told press that his office is working alongside the Ministry of Economy and Finance on a legal measure that would prohibit gaming via the Internet by operators not authorised by the state.
“We are working on a project that will disable the activity through electronic channels, because we have to combat gaming which is currently being exploited unofficially. After putting this document into practice, we can think about granting another license. With it, advertising and promotion would be banned. It (the new law) even proposes the imposition of some type of sanction for those who exploit games in an unauthorised way,” he added.
The official made clear in declarations to República Radio that the only online gaming platform currently allowed is via Supermatch. Supermatch, which went live in October 2005, is the first and only officially sanctioned sports betting site in Uruguay. The site, which is locally run and was developed locally, allows Uruguayans to bet on a number of sporting events including football from a number of leagues around the world.
“We must limit this unregulated activity because the resources that are invested belong to Uruguayans. However, they (the resources) do not stay in the country, but they leave the border. It is important to think that this problem also happens regionally and that the only country that has regularised it is Colombia.”
Gama said that customers have moved away from traditional lotteries and now bet on other faster paced types of games via the internet as well as via officially sanctioned games such as instants. Gaming online, he said, was particularly attractive to younger players. Gama said that the lottery was incorporating different sales models in order to try to make the lottery more appealing to customers.
According to the most recent studies, around 91,000 Uruguayans gamble online. There are currently no regulations in place that establish a legal framework for online gaming nor are there any penalties in place for players gambling via offshore websites.
