New regime set to start May 30 with cessation of existing licensing 

Durrant Pate/Contributor

The Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Commission (BGLC) is rolling out a new regulatory architecture, which will be in compliance with international best practices.

The new regulatory regime, which will see the cessation of licensing of any new machines that do not meet the new standards, come May 30, 2025. In addition, come August 1, 2026, the BGLC, which regulates the local gaming sector, will commence the 24-month implementation of a phase Central Monitoring System (CMS) for gaming machines under the new standards.

As a precursor to the new system being rolled out, the BGLC held a stakeholders meeting this morning at the Chinese Benevolent Association, 176 Old Hope Road, Kingston 6, where details of the upcoming regulatory regime were outlined.

Stakeholders were briefed on the new regulatory regime at the meeting, which was well attended by Technical Service Providers (TSP), which are entities that manufacture, assemble, service, repair, sell, lease and rent gaming machines in Jamaica, and many gaming machine operators, some of them coming from as far as Westmoreland and Portland. They were advised that the technical standards being put in place align with global best practices, and will result in improved transparency, strong oversight and greater integrity.

Benefits of the new system articulated

BGLC Chairman, Ryan Reid, cited the many benefits to accrue to the sector in general and stakeholders in particular, making reference to the new regime. He pointed to the fact that stakeholders have been given a period within which to bring their machines into compliance with the new regulatory regime, highlighting that the new regime would be underpinned by a CMS, which would bring order to the present system.

For his part, BGLC Executive Director, Vitus Evans, emphasised that today’s stakeholder meeting represents an important moment in the transition to the new system, enabling feedback and perspective from those involved in the trade. “This is not just about change for change’s sake but to improve technical standards to bring about improved quality and reliability of the machines,” Evans told the meeting.

BGLC’s Director of Enforcement, Noel Bacquie, pointed to the robust growth of the gaming machine sub-sector noting that the sector has grown from breaking the 30,000 barrier last year to now stand at over 34,000 at present, admitting that the sector is in need of urgent and greater oversight in compliance with international anti-money laundering regimes whilst protecting the integrity and transparency of the sector.

He conceded that the new regulatory regime would revolve around the soon-to-be implemented CMS, for which a Request For Proposal (RFP) is now going out for a successful provider. Bacquie advised that the new CMS would provide:

• Real-time transaction visibility
• Machine-level data reporting
• Enhanced compliance monitoring
• Reduced reliance on manual inspection