Puerto Rico grants nine sports betting licenses; officials work on final details for mobile launch

The Puerto Rico Gaming Commission has granted regular sports betting licenses to nine companies. The move comes as officials expand the island's gaming industry with “guarantees of the integrity of the bets,” Commission Executive Director Jaime Rivera-Emmanuelli said. 

The commission accepted the recommendation of the Sports Betting Bureau to authorize two licenses for sports betting operators. The remaining licenses correspond to service providers that serve operating companies, reports News is my Business.

One of the newcomers is anti-corruption monitoring services provider International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA), while two other companies were licensed as betting service providers: ASF LTD and Sports Content CO. Both specialize in data collection and gather statistical information from gaming leagues for licensed betting markets. 

Other companies that received three-year betting service provider licenses are Global Tote, Kambi and United Tote.

BetMGM Sportsbook lounge at Casino del Mar

In Puerto Rico, sports betting is only available in-person and, according to Rivera-Emmanuelli, the process of evaluating and authorizing online betting operations is “very advanced.” 

“Once certain final details are clarified, the door to online betting will officially open, from anywhere, using mobile devices such as smartphones and computers,” he stated, as per NimB. Rivera-Emmanuelli further assured that the country will quickly catch up with the states that have legalized sports betting.

“The island has the appeal of drawing a broad and culturally diverse audience while having the security, controls and regulations that the United States requires of its jurisdictions,” he added.

The commission granted regular licenses to the Condado Hotel Services Group & Condado Duo La Concha Casino, which does business as Casino del Mar; and CHPR Hospitality, which does business as Casino Metro. 

These began offering in-person betting services last year with temporary licenses. Operator licenses are renewed every year. BetMGM, which offers services to Casino del Mar, has a betting platform provider license for in-person betting. But the commission also granted it a second license as an internet gambling platform provider, allowing BetMGM to make its online gambling application available to the public. 

However, for players to bet from electronic devices, the commission must approve the operator’s internal controls, in this case, the casino. These controls detail everything involved in the operation, from the duties of the employees to the security and accounting rules, among others. 

The director of the Betting Bureau, Eric de la Cruz, said: “The controls explain in detail how the operator will respond if there is a problem. The company has vicarious responsibility over the betting operation, and as such, it must be accountable to the bureau.”

He added that, once the commission approves these controls, which consist of 18 areas, players will only have to go to the operator’s authorized premises to register and open an account to then be able to access and use the betting app.