CUOASEC presents a project to regulate online gambling in Uruguay
The Uruguayan Chamber of Operators and Lessors of Casino and Entertainment Room Services ratified its commitment to combating illegal gambling and presented an integral bill to the Executive Branch to regulate online gambling. The Chamber stated that illegal gambling causes economic and social harm, promotes unfair competition, facilitates tax evasion, and exposes users to platforms that operate without guarantees of transparency, security, or protection. At the same time, it proposed that the activity should be regulated by a law that establishes a comprehensive regulatory framework, defines the State's powers, and ensures an effective system of control and oversight.
The bill proposes a regime that reaffirms that all gambling operations require state authorization and limits operation to authorized providers subject to oversight. The initiative incorporates tools to ensure transparency and traceability of operations, protect users, promote responsible gambling, and reinforce the prevention of problem gambling, money laundering, and terrorist financing, in addition to cybersecurity and personal data protection. It also includes specific mechanisms to combat illegal gambling, such as blocking unauthorized platforms, creating the exclusive .bet.uy domain to identify legal operators, and a National User Registry that strengthens control of the activity, in a proposal that seeks to adapt Uruguayan regulations to international standards and best practices. The Chamber is comprised of Enjoy Punta del Este, Codere, Victoria Plaza Casino, Rivera Casino & Resort, Santa Cristina Hotel & Casino, and Salto Hotel & Casino.
In his assessment of the initiative, Luis Gama stated that one of its main merits is that it addresses a reality that current regulations need to contemplate with greater precision, with clear rules for an activity that evolves at the pace of new technologies, as the project defines who can participate, under what conditions, and with what responsibilities, while providing authorities with greater tools to supervise the sector's operation. Gama noted that the proposal incorporates relevant guarantees for users, prevention mechanisms against problematic behaviors, and requirements regarding identification, payment methods, and technological security, in an initiative that seeks to reconcile the development of the activity with public interest, with legal certainty and a clearly defined scope of action.
Tags: CUOASEC, Online gambling regulation in Uruguay, .bet.uy domain, Luis Gama