Last Updated on December 1, 2011 by Dan Nedelko
<p>This article has been reprinted from httpgamblingcompliancecom<p> <div class=field field type text field field teaser> <div class=field items> <blockquote> <div class=field item odd>The Costa Rican government has confirmed plans to create a new gaming authority under forthcoming legislation that will also subject all gaming companies online and offline to tighter licensing and taxation requirements the countrys finance minister has announced<div> <p>The governments plans to address Costa Ricas worsening fiscal situation include tighter regulatory control over gambling and an extra 2 percent tax on the gross revenues of all gaming operators established in the country finance minister Guillermo Zuñiga announced earlier this week<p> <p>Speaking at a press conference in Costa Ricas capital San José Zuñiga stated that the government would introduce a new gaming bill for discussion in the countrys parliament perhaps as early as this August<p> <p>Zuñiga said the 2 percent gaming tax on gross gaming revenues would allow the government to generate US$85m per year in new revenues The proposal comes as Costa Rica attempts to address a fiscal situation that has seen government revenues drop eight percent during the first half of the year with expenditure rising by more than 20 percent Projected GDP growth for the year has also been lowered by the countrys central bank Under the fiscal plans the government will also introduce US$112m worth of public spending cuts<p> <p>The finance minister said the gambling bill would include steps to establish a new gaming regulator under the control of various government departments The regulatory body would be charged with issuing licences to gaming companies and ensuring their compliance with legislation The new regime will apply equally to online betting operators and the countrys 35 terrestrial casinos according to local newspaper reports<p> <p>Zuñiga refuted any notion that Costa Ricas move to tax and regulate gaming was related to the countrys inclusion alongside Uruguay Malaysia and the Philippines on a list of countries that failed to meet international tax standards that was published by the Paris based Organisation for Economic Co operation and Development OECD in April 2009 Zuñiga this week described the Costa Rican governments gambling plans as falling within a global tendency to regulate gambling activities<p> <p>Costa Rican casinos were made s<a href=httpwwwgamblingcompliancecomnode17103 target= blank>ubject to more stringent licensing requirements just last year<a> However an April 2009 report from global anti money laundering AML watchdogs the Financial Action Task Force FATF criticisd the Costa Rican government over a failure to apply more effective AML controls to its gaming sector<p> <p>The report said such protocols appear to be lacking in Costa Rica El Salvador and Nicaragua despite recent attempts by their respective governments to better control and regulate the industries<p> <p>Costa Rica has also played a central if controversial role in the development of the global online gaming sector A number of the most prominent names in the remote gambling industry have at one time or another installed offices or call centres in the Central American country despite the fact that the activity has never been formally regulated under Costa Ricas gambling laws<p> <p>There are currently around 250 internet gaming firms registered in Costa Rica according to the US State Department At present these companies are not subject to either gaming taxes or specific licensing fees although they are forbidden from accepting bets from Costa Rican residents<p> <p>Several previous attempts have been made to establish tighter controls over online gaming in Costa Rica<p> <p>A temporary law passed in 2003 required all internet gambling companies to be formally registered with the governments finance ministry while several other bills proposed by politicians to impose stricter regulations on Costa Rica based operators have stalled in the countrys legislative assembly<p> <p>Zuñiga said he was confident that the governments latest initiative would receive parliamentary backing though he acknowledged that the government had yet to sound out its Libertarian Movement coalition partners over the gambling plans<p> <p>Costa Ricas stock as an online gaming jurisdiction has fallen significantly since the United States clampdown on US facing gaming websites that has encompassed both the 2006 passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act UIGEA and the collapse of Costa Rica based and London listed operator BetonSports just a few months later<p> <p>BetonSports former chief executive David Carruthers has now pleaded guilty to violations of US gambling law following his 2006 arrest in Dallas in transit between London and his home in Costa Rica while the companys founder Gary Kaplan is due to stand trial before a federal court in Missouri later this year<p> <p>A number of gaming companies such as <span>Sportingbet<span><span class=jTip title=Click to see portfolio info about Sportingbet><img src=httpwwwgamblingcompliancecomprofilesdefaultmodulesgcl portfoliogcl portfolio popupwp contentblogsdir1fileschart barpng border=0 alt=Portfolio info about Sportingbet width=16 height=16 ><span> have also moved their principal operations away from offices in Costa Rica as they have withdrawn from the US market and come to favour bases with closer links to the online gaming industrys core markets in Europe and in particular the UK<p> <p>How Costa Ricas new rules will be applied to those internet gaming firms still based in the country is not yet clear According to local media reports they could see the Costa Rican government mimic tougher restrictions that have been put in place in Antigua Barbuda in recent years Antigua was admitted to the<a href=httpwwwgamblingcompliancecomnode21365 target= blank> UK governments white list of approved online gaming jurisdictions<a> in November 2008<p> <p>Representatives from Costa Ricas land based sector are said to broadly welcome the plans to impose stricter licensing and regulatory controls on gambling businesses However a spokesman from the Costa Rican Casino Association questioned the wisdom of hitting casinos with higher tax burdens when casinos too were suffering as a result of the countrys economic difficulties The governments plans to limit casino opening hours were<a href=httpwwwgamblingcompliancecomnode36717 target= blank> shelved earlier this year on operators concerns<a><p><blockquote> <div> <div> <div class=zemanta pixie style=margin top 10pxheight 15px><a class=zemanta pixie a title=Reblog this post with Zemanta href=httpreblogzemantacomzemified3e48fe6f 139f 4724 8574 5dfece3a74dd><img class=zemanta pixie img style=border medium nonefloat right src=httpimgzemantacomreblog epngx id=3e48fe6f 139f 4724 8574 5dfece3a74dd alt=Reblog this post with Zemanta ><a><span class=zem script more related pretty 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