Puerto Rico, a U.S.-controlled territory in the Caribbean, could soon begin to offer sports gambling. A bill has been drafted that would allow both in-person and online wagers and, if approved, would also open the doors for gambling on fantasy sports and eSports.
According to an article by the media outlet Caribbean Business, Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Roselló announced the bill this past Monday. It was drafted by Representative Nestor Alonso Vega, the chairman of the House Tourism Committee, and Roselló believes that legalized sports gambling could attract anywhere from $44 million to $66 million in taxes each year.
The bill seeks to create a new Gaming Commission that would be responsible for creating the regulations for the sports gambling industry and for issuing licenses to operators. That commission would be composed of seven individuals from the public and private sectors and would work closely with the Financial Institutions Commissioner’s Office, which would be in charge of overseeing the market.
According to Roselló, “This industry has the potential to convert Puerto Rico into a jurisdiction in the vanguard of allowing the establishment of this new model, which will have a positive effect on our economy. We have worked on aggressive legislation that aspires at being able to market the island at the international and national levels as an attractive destination for the millions of people who bet on sports events.”