8 months ago
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The Betting Gaming and Lotteries Commission, BGLC, has begun the implementation of a new gaming management information system, which, for the time being, is designed to streamline new licence applications, amendments and renewals.
BGLC Manager of Corporate Affairs and Communications, Wendy Robertson, says the regulator expects to roll out additional features in the coming year.
Under the new system, all licences will be printable from the portal. Each operator’s gaming machines will be associated with one licence and the addition of new gaming or slot machines will be treated as an amendment to an operator’s existing licence. A Google or Microsoft account is required to access the portal.
“BGLC’s new online customer portal is a 24/7 online tool that will give licensees the flexibility to submit applications and make payments conveniently at their own pace,” Robertson told the Financial Gleaner.
Agents will be required to complete their own applications and renewal, and licensees must pay for ‘rapid response’ service before the BGLC performs a site visit. Grandfathered machines will now have serial numbers.
The BGLC is the body that regulates all legitimate gambling in Jamaica, inclusive of lotteries, contests involving chance winnings, and the operation of gaming machines, otherwise called poker or slot machines.
ICT Project Manager Dwayne Walters says the new gaming information system allows the BGLC to observe activity in real time on registered gaming machines. As such, it will allow the BGLC to better monitor the gaming industry and facilitates better inter-agency cooperation, Walters said.
“Currently, we have arrangements with eGov, for online payments, and with Tax Administration Jamaica, where we share data on the online machines,” he said, adding that the cooperative element will be part of the upgrade.
“We anticipate that there are implementation challenges that we’ll have to work through. As such, we are doing the soft launch now in December, so that we can go fully live on April 1, 2025,” he said.
The BGLC regulates operations at 14 gaming lounges, so designated because they house more than 19 slot machines on premises; and 1,450 establishments that operate a small number of slots, according to industry data from the BGLC. There are also four hotel-based gaming rooms.
The total number of licensed slot machines is about 26,000. Licensees are required to undergo fit and proper investigations every five years.
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