Executive director of the AJ, Jessica Saravia Atristain said that one of the main reasons for the study was the rise of online gambling during the pandemic.
“One of the effects of the pandemic was the increase in unauthorized online gambling pages. Therefore, we will take the necessary steps to eliminate these illegal activities that do not guarantee fair and transparent gambling,” she said.
In addition, the board will carry out a study to find out the percentage of people who participate in gambling activities via both land based betting and online betting sites in Santa Cruz, Cochabamba, La Paz, Tarija and Sucre, all cities where according to the AJ gambling had increased the most.
When it comes to making progress in the online sector much of the focus for now will be focused on business related raffles and promotions so that medium and small companies can manage their business together with the AJ, to ensure that they are operating legally.
Online gambling is currently illegal in Bolivia. In July 2018 an investigation carried out by the AJ revealed that players in Bolivia used at least seven online casinos operated by web pages hosted outside the country.
According to the study, between 2013 and 2017, $b2.6m was gambled via offshore betting sites. There has been no news of any real changes to online gambling regulation for years and despite the government’s best efforts illegal gaming remains widespread.
Source: G3 Newswire
