Bolivian gambling regulator warns of sanctions against illegal operators

The regulator has made 27 interventions this year.

Bolivia.- The Bolivian gambling regulator AJ has warned that it will increase enforcement actions against illegal gambling operators. Executive director Dr. Marco Antonio Sánchez Vaca said at the annual Initial Public Accountability Hearing that the regulator will step up its enforcement operations and close gambling sites and venues found to be breaching regulations.

Vaca said that the regulator had made 27 interventions so far this year, confiscating 99 items of gaming equipment. He added that the AJ will hold workshops for content creators and marketers on how they can ensure that promotional material is legal.

The regulator also plans to hold information and awareness workshops at educational centres to promote responsible gambling.

Last year, Bolivian chair umpire Heriberto Morales Churata was banned from tennis for six years for multiple breaches of Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP) betting rules. He was fined $10,000.

Morales Churata was found to have manipulated tennis scores for betting purposes, incorrectly entering them into a handheld device at ITF World Tennis Tour events in 2021 and 2022. The six-year suspension has been backdated to the start of a provisional suspension declared on December 8 last year, so it will run until December 7, 2028. Churata must not umpire at nor attend any tennis event authorised by the ITIA.