Dominican National Lottery administrator reports structural failures
The regularization process for gambling in the Dominican Republic is once again at the center of the debate following recent statements by the administrator of the National Lottery, Teófilo "Quico" Tabar. The official attributed the slowness of the process to a combination of structural failures, regulatory gaps, and administrative obstacles that have diminished the State's capacity to effectively oversee and collect revenue. These remarks coincide with the reactivation of the National Regularization Plan under Decree 197-26, an initiative that seeks to correct distortions accumulated over years in an industry marked by informality and disorderly growth.
Tabar pointed out that one of the root problems lies in the fragmentation of control functions that began in 2006. During that period, the powers to grant licenses, oversee, and collect revenue were distributed among various institutions such as the Ministry of Finance and the General Directorate of Internal Taxes (DGII), which, in his opinion, weakened comprehensive market supervision. Added to this is the practical non-compliance with Law 139-11, which prohibited the opening of new betting shops but was circumvented through the creation of establishments under alternative figures such as "points of sale" or "agencies," fostering an irregular proliferation of operators.
Tax Inconsistencies and the Obstacle of Technical Interconnection
Another critical point highlighted by the head of the National Lottery is the deficient application of the tax regime. Tabar recalled that since 2011 there has been a regulation that allowed for the collection of a fixed monthly fee while the necessary technology for the interconnection of betting shops was being implemented. However, this alternative was not applied correctly, which led many businesses to operate without paying the provisional amount or the corresponding taxes, resulting in millions in losses for the treasury and allowing many actors to remain outside the formal system.
The official was emphatic in questioning the requirement of technological interconnection as a prior and indispensable condition for beginning to pay taxes. Tabar described this requirement as an administrative "stumbling block" that ultimately paralyzed progress, despite technical solutions being proposed at the time to overcome this barrier. This lack of administrative agility has been, in his opinion, one of the biggest brakes on the transparency of the sector.
Decree 197-26 as an Opportunity for Definitive Ordering
Upon evaluating the balance of the census initiated in 2022, the diagnosis shows that more than 90,000 betting shops were identified, including legal, illegal, and registered ones. However, after this survey, the process stalled as these operators were not incorporated into the tax system, even after transferring the data to the economic authorities. Given this scenario, Tabar believes that the new decree is the ideal opportunity to unblock the system and abandon methodologies that have systematically failed in the past.
"Quico" Tabar's call is clear: bureaucratic obstacles that only benefit evasion and prolong informality must be eliminated. The official urged to redouble institutional efforts to ensure that all operators begin to comply with their tax obligations. Finally, he warned that his own continuity in the process will be conditioned on obtaining tangible results that demonstrate real progress in the purification and formalization of this key industry for the Dominican economy.
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