Peru Pushes Forward with Legislation at a Time Its Most Needed
Published March 23, 2021 by Lee R
With land-based play disrupted, Peru's new legislation equitably paves the way to meet demand.
Peru is filtering into the new as a key LatAm point of entry.
Modern Regulation
As private operators begin joint forays and applications into the jurisdiction, the government legislation is coalescing with the movement to turn Peru into a full-fledged iGaming jurisdiction as well.
New Tax Proposed
The latest key piece of legislation paving the way to bring Peru into the iGaming fold is Peruvian congressman Walter Ascona's new bill submitted to Congress to address the taxation of online and sports games.
The proposed tax seeks 12% of the revenue to be shared among municipalities and provinces.
Unregulated Performance
In Peru's current unregulated gambling market, local outlet RPP figures for online gambling revenues indicate a total of some $485m. According to this scale, the bill's 12% tax on business revenues stand to raise $65m annually for the Peruvian state.
Social Programs
Ascona's new bill additionally seeks to establish new programs for reinvestment into problem gambling and the promotion of sports, educational and cultural activities.
Re-Structuring of Revenue Distribution
The project also calls for any company with headquarters in Peru to be subjected to a structuring by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Foreign Trade which would re-allocate 60% of revenues to the provinces, with the municipalities retaining the remaining 40%.
Companies not in possession of a physical address would distribute their revenues among all of Peru's municipalities.
Land-Based Comparison
The legislation for iGaming appears to have the potential might to at least partially stabilise Peru's land-based sector, where casinos have registered $540m in losses since the pandemic started, and caused a 15% drop in employment and 10% bankruptcies.
Land-based Contributions
Casino and Slots Union representative Iván Katekaru called the union one of Peru's largest source of jobs, spread across 800 operations providing 87,000 formal jobs and 250,000 indirect jobs,” contributing more than $135m a year to the local economy.
Outlook
While Katekaru called for a review from the Presidency of the Council of Ministers which would allow Peru's land-based casinos to reopen with a reduced capacity, a regulation model for iGaming appears a key part of the solution for meeting the demand for gaming and harnessing the revenues in Peru in this day and age.
