TV Global Enterprises Limited: TVGE pushes forward, despite Panama’s gambling industry showing signs of weakness

Panama has been experiencing a little bit of a slump lately with its gambling activity. According to a report by the Central American country’s gaming regulator, Junta de Control de Juegos (JCJ), the aggregate sum of wagers in the period among January and August was $1.425 million, which is $45,000 less than what was reported over the same eight-month period a year earlier. This figure does exclude the National Lottery’s sales.  
 
Out of the aggregate total wagered up to August, $1.116 million was utilized to pay prizes and administrators received gross gaming revenue (GGR) of around $259.6 million. Manuel Sánchez Ortega, JCJ’s official secretary, brought up that these figures show a 47% drop in gaming table wagers since the 5.5% tax was implemented four years back. That tax is designed to fund an expansion in the nation’s retirement fund. This fall has likewise influenced business rates.
 
Sánchez Ortega said he would advance before the Legislature a bill that changes the execution of that tax, constraining its extension to reject gaming table bets. So, gamblers who bet on class A and C slots, as well as on sports contests, will keep making good on such government obligations. However, the tax structure isn’t expected to change.
 
The government gets $53 million from the 5.5% assessment, and with this change, it is evaluated that duty assortment will fall $3 million. In any case, government authorities stay certain that once the quantity of bets on gaming tables starts to rise, so will the sum gathered from the yearly payments made by gambling club administrators.
 
In order to make sure that gaming operators continue to meet their fiscal requirements to the state, the JCJ has announced that it will start to once again conduct audits, as it has done in the past, of gaming operators. The goal is to ensure that the information reported matches the amount of revenue and the number of wagers the venues are actually seeing. 
 
Of the aggregate sum bet up to August, $75.6 million was produced by wagers on gaming tables. This figure shows a year-on-year 15% fall while bets on Class A opening machines dropped 2.6% to $1.277 million. The main segment that developed the most was sports wagering, with a 13.2% expansion, to $33.6 million.
 
According to most estimates, the implementation of the 5.5% tax is expected to continue to hurt operations, at least in the short term. The industry believes that gaming activity in the country won’t return to levels seen before the tax for at least another three years. 
 
In that time, TV Global Enterprises Limited (TVGE), through its Betcris operations, will continue to push forward and maintain its level of commitment to the gaming community. Betcris has five retail establishments across the country, all with state-of-the-art facilities and amenities designed to ensure patrons have an outstanding experience every time they visit. 

Contact Information

Bob Greer

Director of Corporate Communications

TV Global Enterprises Limited

(356) (356) 2778 0684

media@tvglobalenterprises.com