The Puerto Rico Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority (AAFAF) has issued a request for proposal (RFP) for a firm to help provide consulting services, seven months after legislation was passed to legalize sports betting in the American territory. Those interested in submitting an RFP have until March 13.
“We understand that there are different companies that can contribute the knowledge they have acquired in other jurisdictions and bring that knowledge to Puerto Rico, where we are facing the challenges of a new industry, which is quite complicated,” José Maymó Azize, executive director of the Gaming Commission explained. “It is not to write it, but to give us the recommendations and work hand in hand with the commission for the formulation of that regulation and of any other regulation that is required.”
Last July, the legislature passed a resolution that would allow customers to bet on sporting events both in person and online.
The move is an attempt by Puerto Rican officials to gain greater economic from the U.S. by providing a new source of revenue. The measure calls for a 7% tax on land-based operations and a 12% tax on online wagers.
Over the last decade, resolutions have been sought to make Puerto Rico the 51st state, but without progress on that front, others have sought to create a greater degree of sovereignty by other means.
Already, there are a growing number of firms that are interested in opening an operation in Puerto Rico. Because of the large number of potential suitors looking to get a license, Department of Economic Development and Commerce Secretary Manuel A. Laboy Rivera explained:
“It is important to select a firm with the expertise required to guide us in the process of drafting the regulations of the Gaming Commission in order to develop, as soon as possible, a solid and comprehensive document. This economic sector represents a great opportunity for Puerto Rico. Projections indicate that the government of Puerto Rico could collect approximately $87 million from this activity within a five-year term.”
