The Social Protection Board (JPS), the local gambling regulator from Costa Rica, has revealed the illegal lottery market is worth $380m, mainly because of the ease to collect prizes.
Evelyn Blanco, Production and Commercialization Manager of the JPS, said in an interview with TeleDiario that illegal gambling currently represents 46% of the market in the country as well.
Blanco believes that the ease to collect prizes may be one of the reasons why the illegal market is so powerful in Costa Rica. She also noted that they make contributions to the community, although the JPS can’t point out how much of that money is directed to social organizations.
Blanco stated: “As it’s an illegal activity, they [don’t pay taxes]. So they support certain sectors in the community and may feel identified with them.”
On the other hand, she warned that through illegal gambling, many times operated by internationals, there might be an increase in other crimes, such as money laundering.
Aiming to counterattack these losses, the Security and Drug Trafficking Commission of the Legislative Assembly is waiting to analyse Project 21,362, which has 14 other bills ahead.
Marcela Sánchez, a legal advisor of the JPS, said that “this project, since it was unveiled, has followed the corresponding legislative process.” It’s currently on a second round of consultation with different institutions to find out their opinion on the bill, she revealed.
