Puerto Rico joins national self-exclusion program with idPair
The Puerto Rico Gaming Commission officially joined the National Voluntary Self-Exclusion Program, known as NVSEP. The island thus joins a growing network of U.S. regulators, commercial operators, and tribal communities that coordinate their responsible gambling protections to make them more accessible and interoperable.
The initiative will launch in June and will offer eligible individuals in Puerto Rico the possibility to voluntarily sign up to block their access to gambling operators and platforms across multiple jurisdictions and verticals. The technical management of the system will be handled by idPair, a platform specializing in responsible gambling infrastructure that already operates in other states.
An Expanding Ecosystem Under New Supervision
The decision aligns with the Gaming Commission's efforts to modernize sector oversight, prioritizing consumer protection in an ecosystem that already integrates casinos, sports betting, and other regulated modalities. Juan Carlos Santaella Marchán, the agency's executive director, emphasized that the alliance strengthens public policy to sustain a safe and highly regulated industry.
Jonathan Aiwazian, CEO of idPair, highlighted that Puerto Rico has built one of the most dynamic and fastest-growing gaming markets in the region, and noted that the integration will simplify the self-exclusion process for users and streamline it for operators who already process data through the platform in other jurisdictions.
Towards an Interjurisdictional Infrastructure
The national program seeks to solve one of the historical problems of self-exclusion: its fragmentation. Until now, a person who wanted to block themselves from gambling had to manage registrations operator by operator and, often, jurisdiction by jurisdiction. The interoperability proposed by NVSEP aims to close that gap and reduce the risk of relapse through parallel access.
In the Latin American context, Puerto Rico's incorporation provides a concrete reference for regulators in the region who are advancing with centralized self-exclusion schemes. Brazil already has its own platform, the Dominican Republic has just approved its National Self-Exclusion System, and Colombia is evaluating similar formulas. The North American model of interjurisdictional cooperation offers valuable clues for emerging markets that are still debating how to articulate national protections with cross-border operators.
Tags: Puerto Rico, responsible gaming LatAm, voluntary self-exclusion, Puerto Rico Gaming Commission, idPair