The Federación Nacional de Bancas de Loterías (Fenabanca), the national federation of lottery shops from the Dominican Republic, has criticised former Deputy Luis Alberto Tejeda for allowing a large number of lottery shops in the country and not complying with the normative that establish a minimum distance between them.
According to the local Ministry of Finance, lottery shops must follow a restriction that prevents them from being within 200 metres of each other in order to operate legally.
Fenabanca’s President Rubén Jiménez said that Tejeda locates his businesses next to legal shops, as reported by local outlet Diario Libre. In addition, he addressed President Luis Abinader and warned that lottery shops owners may strike to force authorities to enforce the regulations.
He also hinted that these types of violations happen with the Ministry of Finance’s knowledge, which is in charge of supervising the lottery shops.
“The Head of the Directorate of Casinos and Games of Chance, Aníbal Amparo, has shown his incapacity to act when his hands are tied,” Jiménez added.
Back in January, President Abinader was asked to comply with the measures that he pledged to follow to improve lotteries when he was sworn in last year.
According to Jiménez, he has held meetings with sector officials and talked to them on multiple occasions. However, he said that these measures are not enough to help with what the lottery businesses need.
