Puerto Rico moves to regulate online gambling and use gaming tax revenue for public pensions

Governor Jenniffer González Colón has announced four legislative initiatives, including a bill to regulate online gambling, or iGaming, in Puerto Rico. For PSPs and operators, the important part is not the headline itself but the shape of the framework: licensing, oversight, user protection, cybersecurity, fraud controls, and AML obligations all start to look more formalized.

1. Measure A158 would amend the Puerto Rico Government Gaming Commission Act to create a specific legal framework for the digital market. The bill would set requirements for operators, providers, and players, while also adding provisions aimed at strengthening consumer protection and supervision of the activity.
2. The proposal also creates a levy on adjusted gross gaming revenue. The funds collected would be used to finance increases in pensions for retirees of the Government of Puerto Rico. The official announcement did not specify the tax rate or the size of the pension increases.
3. According to González Colón, the initiative is meant to tie regulation of an economic activity to one of her administration’s priorities: improving the income of people who retired after working in public service. The proposal also includes responsible gaming measures, cybersecurity, and prevention of fraud and money laundering.
4. The Gaming Commission would play a central supervisory role and would work with the Department of the Treasury, the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions, and other government agencies. In practice, that means the regime would connect gaming oversight with the financial and tax controls needed to make the new structure work.
5. González Colón also presented three other legislative initiatives related to medical innovation, divorce procedures, and access to public services. One of them, A157, would create the Puerto Rico Clinical Innovation and Regenerative Medicine Act to establish a framework for innovative treatments and encourage investment in dedicated facilities.