Competition watchdog probes Paraguay sports betting tender

CONACOM will investigate last year’s tender for a national sports betting franchise.

Paraguay.- The Comisión Nacional de la Competencia (CONACOM) has begun an investigation into Paraguay’s sports betting tender. The national gambling regulator Conajzar opened the tender in September and received seven bids to run a national sports betting franchise.

It chose Daruma Sam, which operates the Aposta.LA retail betting shops in Gran Asunción, as the winner. However, other bidders complained that the conditions of the tender favoured the Paraguayan operator. The trade association APOJA also questioned how Conajzar could launch the tender before Paraguay had finalised details of sports betting regulations.

CONACOM, Paraguay’s competition authority, has agreed that the conditions imposed by Conajzar “did not favour competition” and that other bidders had not been informed of costs and minimum technical requirements. It said Conajzar had failed to provide an adequate explanation for the exclusion of international bidders and also criticised a lack of due diligence.

Conajzar maintains that Daruma Sam was the best choice to run national sports betting in Paraguay.