ANFUCE calls for an online gambling law with the state at the center
The union representing employees of Uruguayan state casinos wants online gambling to be regulated by law, not through a faster route. The National Association of State Casino Employees of Uruguay (ANFUCE) issued a statement now that sector regulation is on the horizon, calling for clear rules, discussed with full guarantees, allowing for each stakeholder in the activity, and with the State at the center of the business.
The core of the proposal is the business model, not the opening itself. ANFUCE objected to the digital channel leading to a scheme where the business falls into private hands and the State is left merely with the role of collecting fees, taxes, or other considerations. The organization demanded that the State remain a protagonist in the operation and sees no convenience in changing the current model for one of that type.
From this stems the institutional demand for the General Directorate of Casinos. For the union, the body already has the structure, experience, and trained personnel in casino game operation and oversight, so the leap to online should expand this role, not diminish it. The General Directorate of Casinos cannot be minimized, the association affirmed.
The proposal does not exclude private companies from the market. The statement values the investments made, the operating venues, and the employment sustained by private capital, and proposes framing this participation within a scheme with the State in a central position. The association also linked the management model to the destination of the money, arguing that what gambling generates must return to society to the greatest extent possible and that state management keeps this surplus within the public sphere.
Responsible gambling appears as another argument in favor of the current scheme. The union recalled that state casinos already run prevention programs and self-exclusion tools, and maintained that this type of capacity is more critical when accessing a platform takes seconds. For the organization, ensuring responsible gambling and preventing problem gambling is the State's task, and the digital channel only magnifies this obligation.
The last focus of the statement is labor. ANFUCE warned that the expansion of the digital channel could impact land-based venues, their revenue, and the conditions of those who currently work in them, and therefore requested that personnel be considered in the new model and participate in the debate. The text concludes with four slogans: law for online gambling, the State as protagonist, workers considered, and citizens protected.
The demand comes at a time when the Uruguayan Government has not yet defined the instrument with which it will regulate the digital channel. The administration has already advanced administratively on other fronts of state gambling, with a commission dedicated to mobile lottery integrated weeks ago, so the demand for a law is also a defense of Parliament's place in the discussion. At the heart of the proposal is a competition that has not yet been resolved within the State itself, because Casinos del Estado and the National Directorate of Lotteries and Quinielas approach future regulation with different structures, interests, and clienteles.
Tags: ANFUCE, online gaming in Uruguay, State Casinos, General Directorate of Casinos