"Caliente will become the first online gaming operator in Panama"

"Online gambling began on March 6, 2020, authorized by a resolution," the head of JCJ said. "Sadly, the pandemic struck right after the resolution was approved but that did not stop us: we kept working and there is a site set to go live in a few days."

"Caliente.pa will be up and running soon with Playtech’s platform, tests are already being made and we estimate that they will start to offer sports betting on February 17, so we will have our first licensed online operator in the country soon," Manuel Sánchez said.

"We’ve had direct contact with GLI so we could adapt the platform and out systems to guarantee safe operations for bettors," Sánchez said as he stressed the international support that brands such as Caliente and Playtech have.

"Our goal is, obviously, to have not only Caliente, but also other renowned operators compete in this market. Many applications from top operators are being reviewed. Brands like Sportium and Codere, among others, are filling the relevant documents to obtain licenses," he added.

As for when Caliente is set to go live, Sánchez said it won’t be later than February since the government is in need of the 10 percent tax rate on these bets.

He also announced that an operator donated one million dollars to buy vaccines. “The most important thing for us as part of the government and the gaming industry is the health care of our people and that is why we wanted to reopen the land-based sector and we are looking forward to having all of our casinos open again," Sánchez explained

See the full interview in Spanish on our Youtube channel.