Bolivia approves the games of chance regulation

In a press conference, the Ministry of Economy and Public Finances, Luis Arce, reminded that last November president Evo Morales promulgated the Lottery and Games of Chance Law that establishes the application of taxes to betting centers (30 %) and players (15 %).

"The Cabinet of ministers in the plenary has approved two decrees that establish the regulation of that law: the first one establishes the regulation of the taxes (..) and the second has to do with the regulation (of faculties) of the Authority of Auditing and Social Control of Gaming", he explained.

Arce informed that the tax regulation establishes an aliquot of the 30 % on the gross income for companies that administrate games of chance and a 10 % aliquot for business promotions, an amount that does not admit any type of deduction, except the amount corresponding to the aliquot of the Value Added Tax (VAT).

He also added that, on top of that, the tax to games of chance to the participation in games of chance is 15 %, "except business promotions, in raffles for charity, in recreational games, or temporary public events.” With these taxes, the government plans to collect around us$ 27,955,600 annually.

Arce indicated that those taxes will be distributed among the City Councils (15 %), the Regional governments (15 %) and the rest of the percentage for the National General Treasury (TGN), which will allocate the 70 % to the Ministry of Health.

The second decree has to do with the regulation of the powers of the Authority of Audit and Social Control of Gaming, with venue in the city of La Paz, and with national competence to audit all the activities and operations of lottery and games of chance games, with the aim to guarantee a “fair plan”, said the authority.

Besides, he said that the law empowers the Gaming Authority to implement controls in the facilities, machines, tables and any other gaming environment and also in the computing systems belonging to operators, based on any technological medium that assures the performance of that activity in a transparent way. "This Authority of Audit will come into force in less than 30 days", Arce announced.

Besides, he informed that neither public officers will not be able to open gambling venues, nor those people with sentence conviction executed in criminal matters or debts with the State.