Puerto Rico: legal sports betting on the horizon

Studies estimate the territory could generate $14.9m – $87m of taxable revenue per year.

US.- Puerto Rico has begun a 30-day public consultation in which the public can comment on proposed rules for legal sports betting.

The comments will be discussed before the meeting of the Puerto Rico Gaming Commission (PRGC) tomorrow (August 19).

Puerto Rico is subject to the laws of congress under the territorial clause in the US constitution. This means, the May 2018 Supreme court ruling legalising sports betting on a state-to-state basis also applies to the island.

Licensed sports betting was made legal within the territory in a bill passed last year. The PRGC was made responsible for setting terms and issuing licenses to eligible operators.

The rules proposed by the PRGC would allow mobile sports betting with remote registration across the whole of Puerto Rico and retail betting at many locations.

The tax rates proposed are 7 per cent for land-based revenues and 12 per cent for mobile and online revenues.

A series of studies has estimated that the territory could produce between $14.9 million and $87 million of taxable revenue annually in a mature market.

The proposed policies also do not include integrity fees or royalties to the professional sports league.

Earlier this year, officials were looking for consultants to help roll out the sports betting regulatory framework.

Implementing legal sports betting quickly could be one of the ways the state can replace some of the revenues lost from land-based casinos due to the coronavirus pandemic and consequent reduction in tourism.