Legislation that would launch a legal sports betting industry in Puerto Rico has passed a joint committee of House and Senate members and now will go to Governor Ricardo Rosselló Nevares for his approval. Rosselló has previously stated the legislation could turn Puerto Rico into a “state-of-the-art jurisdiction” for sports betting. He is expected to sign the bill without hesitation.
PC2038 establishes a gaming commission to be staffed by a seven-person board of directors and a commissioner who will serve a 10-year term. This body will replace the existing regulatory bodies, the horse racing regulator Administración de la Industria del Deporte Hípico and the Division of Gaming, reported GGRAsia.
The bill calls for a 7 percent tax on gross gaming revenues from land-based betting and a 12 percent tax for mobile operations. Both rates are slightly higher than the originally proposed rate of 6 percent of land-based GGR and 11.5 percent of online gross revenues.
