1 month ago
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A man walks away with his receipt after placing a bet at an NLCB booth in Scarborough. - IN an effort to stem the leakage of billions in revenue, stiffer penalties for "whe whe" operators and other illegal gaming houses are on the cards.
Finance Minister Davendranath Tancoo, in his budget presentation on October 13, gave this warning as he revealed that underground betting schemes were costing the State.
Tancoo said the National Lotteries Control Board (NLCB) earns almost $3 billion annually, but its profits are being eroded by an illegal parallel market worth an estimated $9 billion.
“Illegal lotteries continue to impair the NLCB’s profit margins,” he said.
“These illicit activities also deprive the government of income tax, corporation tax, windfall tax and direct revenues from NLCB’s services.”
He added that such operations are often linked to money laundering, black-market trading and human trafficking, and he described these networks as a major drain on legitimate economic activity.
To combat the problem, Tancoo said the government plans to amend the Gambling and Betting Act to raise fines and introduce new offences targeting modern online and receipt-based betting schemes.
“I propose to increase existing penalties to a fine of $250,000 and imprisonment for three years, or on indictment, a fine of $3 million and imprisonment for seven years,” he said.
The ministry is also set to create a new criminal offence under the National Lotteries Act, empowering the NLCB to assist police with evidence against unauthorised agents.
Tancoo added that the NLCB will now be required to make quarterly payments into the Consolidated Fund, allowing closer oversight of its earnings.
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