BGLC deploying tech to monitor slots amid wavering gambling revenue

While there has been a marginal increase in people placing bets, playing lottery games or betting in gaming lounges, the take is down, new data from the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Commission, BGLC, shows.

The regulator sees untapped promise in online gaming, but some of that opportunity lies in a space it does not directly regulate: casino gaming.

BGLC, too, is attempting to tighten its monitoring of the slots market, by investing in software through which it can better track the level of activity at such machines.

In its latest report on the performance of the gaming industry, the regulatory body said sales in the April-June quarter amounted to $60.97 billion, reflecting a 2.39 per cent dip from $59.55 billion in the similar period for 2023.

Total government revenue from betting, lottery and gaming fell by nearly 12 per cent to $2.6 billion.

The lottery sector, with its 89 per cent contribution to total government revenue, fell 5.56 per cent in the quarter, the BGLC said.

“One of the things that we suspect, is that there has been growth in the online betting space, but the regulations that exist do not allow us to create a regime to completely regulate that, so we have not been able to take advantage of that growth,” said BGLC Executive Director Vitus Evans.

Evans said the BGLC has been issuing permits to existing bookmakers for online gaming.

“We believe that there’s much more room for growth for other players to come in …,” he said in an interview with the Financial Gleaner, referring particularly to the online gaming segment.

As to the current crop of licensees in the online gaming space, Evans has signalled disappointment with their infrastructure, the exception being pioneer lottery operator Supreme Ventures Limited, which also operates bookmaking businesses and offers sports betting through online game JustBet.

“They haven’t been as aggressive as we’d like in putting in the requisite infrastructure, and so on; so there is a lot more room for growth. Except for SVL’s JustBet, none of the others have put in the sort of infrastructure that we’d like to see,” Evans said, adding that the BGLC is working on a plan for expansion by the end of the financial year, that is, by March 2025.

Evans said many of the companies that sought licences for online gaming are more interested only in online gaming and introducing casino gaming online. However, while slot machines are in the BGLC’s remit, casino gaming is not. That subgroup has its own regulator: the Casino Gaming Commission.

“That has held us back a little, so we’re certainly not generating the levels of income that is possible with a properly regulated online gaming sector,” Evans said.

BGLC’s remit also includes slot machines and gaming lounges.

The present regulatory regime allows for single machines to operate after paying over an annual fee of $5,000 to the BGLC and another $5,000 to the tax authorities, per machine. Such facilities may operate up to 19 slot machines.

However, Evans said there is no proper accounting regarding the amount of money passing through those machines.

“Those locations with under 19 machines have seen explosive growth. If you go back four years ago, there might have been about 6,000 of them, but presently, there are 26,000 machines out there, and that’s only taking into account the legal ones,” he said, while citing the potential risk for money laundering. BGLC is working with machine owners to bring more order to the segment and improve compliance, he noted.

“We don’t want to over-regulate, but there certainly has to be some sort of understanding as to how they operate going forward,” said the regulator.

Slot machines at gaming lounges operate differently. Those operators pay what is called a gross profit tax on the total intake of the machines. The BGLC monitors activity on these machines through a direct link.

The gaming regulator is in the process of installing a gaming management and information system, or GMIS, that will allow for the monitoring of single machines that are not in established gaming lounges. Evans noted, however, that the implementation of the GMIS is being met with resistance from operators.

neville.graham@gleanerjm.com