Bolivian National Lottery asks for a norm to regulate games of chance

“Games of chance are acknowledged in the constitution approved, but it does not mean that there is a norm to control these activities,” explained the executive director of the National Lottery (Lonabol), Marco Antonio Cárdenas.

Article 299 of the constitutional text (Chapter Eight) establishes that “the following competences will be shared between the nation and the autonomous territories,” and it specifies the “lottery and games of chance games”. “What this inclusion does (to the CPE) is to disqualify articles 909 to 915 of the Civil Code, which banned games of chance, except lottery,” added Director of Lonabol.

However, there are still voids, as the control of this type of business activities and the way in which taxes will be distributed to the state and the autonomous regions. One of the points that must be cleared, affirms Cárdenas, is the competence on the issuance of operating licenses, because CPE indicates that the task will be shared between the central administration and autonomous regions.

The authority considers that, if a law is not passed, local governments could decide to issue licenses, saying that they do it in their territory. Cárdenas believes that local governments might create their own “regional lotteries,” on top of delivering casino licenses. However, he added that “a central entity should control the activity.”

This entity may be existing Lonabol. Cárdenas said that, in December 11th 2008,he presented a bill with regards to the control of the Ministry of Health, to be analyzed and then, approved. In this proposal, Lonabol proposes that, of the total income generated by games, a 35% goes to the local government and the other 65% to Lonabol “to be distributed for charity.”