{"id":522550,"date":"2026-08-26T15:53:20","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T19:53:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/uncategorized\/deputies-defend-gambling-bill-and-assure-it-does-not-respond-to-the-interests-of-betting-shop-owners\/"},"modified":"2026-08-26T15:53:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T19:53:20","slug":"deputies-defend-gambling-bill-and-assure-it-does-not-respond-to-the-interests-of-betting-shop-owners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/dominican-news\/deputies-defend-gambling-bill-and-assure-it-does-not-respond-to-the-interests-of-betting-shop-owners\/","title":{"rendered":"Deputies defend Gambling bill and assure it does not respond to the interests of betting shop owners"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Rafael Castillo explains lottery booth owners were excluded from the commission that studied the bill<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Santo Domingo.\u2013 <\/strong>Deputies from different benches defended the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/s-sil.camaradediputados.gob.do:8095\/ReportesGenerales\/VerDocumento?documentoId=258309\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/s-sil.camaradediputados.gob.do:8095\/ReportesGenerales\/VerDocumento?documentoId=258309\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">bill that seeks to regulate gambling in the Dominican Republic<\/a> <\/strong>and assured that the initiative does not respond to the particular interests of legislators linked to the betting shop business, in the face of questions about possible conflicts of interest in the <strong>National Congress.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Fuerza del Pueblo deputy Rafael Castillo<\/strong> explained that, during the study of the initiative in the Chamber of Deputies, measures were taken to prevent congressmen who own or are related to gambling businesses from being part of the special commission in charge of reviewing the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFrom the Chamber of Deputies it has not been like that, because the commission that was formed to study the project was exclusively so that it would not have any person who is linked to this sector,\u201d stated Castillo.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>You might be interested in: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/nacionales\/genao-lanza-juegos-de-azar\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/nacionales\/genao-lanza-juegos-de-azar\/\">Genao Lanza rejects criticism regarding tax breaks for betting operators in the bill<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Ocho legisladores ligados a bancas inciden en Ley de Juegos de Azar\" width=\"1240\" height=\"698\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/6Y2SuR2aOoQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The legislator highlighted the decision of the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Alfredo Pacheco, to keep congressmen with interests in the sector off that commission. &#8220;He did not want any of the people who are owners of lottery betting shops or any type of betting shop to participate as a member of the commission,&#8221; he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite defending the need to regulate the activity, <strong>Castillo considered that the project does not currently constitute a priority for the Dominican Republic<\/strong>. However, he pointed out that there is widespread disorder in the sector that forces the State to intervene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Today there is an extremely large mess, there are 300 benches in less than a kilometer and the goal is to regulate that,&#8221; he maintained. He added that it is an activity that is already part of the country&#8217;s reality and that the authorities cannot ignore it.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For his part, <strong>Modern Revolutionary Party (<a href=\"https:\/\/prm.org.do\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/prm.org.do\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">PRM<\/a>) deputy Carlos S\u00e1nchez<\/strong> considered that the fact that some congressmen are owners of betting shops does not in itself represent a problem, provided they do not use their position to legislate for the benefit of their businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat some fellow legislators are bank owners is not wrong at all (\u2026) Now, what would be wrong is for them to legislate for their own benefit,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">S\u00e1nchez maintained that legislation must be primarily oriented toward protecting the population and not toward favoring the owners of betting establishments. In that sense, he mentioned the need to regulate the distance between betting shops, the types of games, and to establish controls to prevent minors from getting involved in these activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The ruling party deputy also warned that the growth of gambling has been accompanied by negative effects for Dominican families, which is why he believes stricter regulation of the sector is necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meanwhile, <strong>PRM deputy Luis G\u00f3mez<\/strong> also downplayed the questions regarding the presence of legislators linked to the business, noting that they represent a minority within a Chamber composed of 190 deputies and would not have the capacity to impose their positions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI don&#8217;t believe that because they are deputies and have a license or their betting shop business, that should lead us to have to make a decision tied to their interests,\u201d expressed G\u00f3mez.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The congressman favored the regulation of the activity and particularly highlighted the provision that would prevent the opening of new betting shops for ten years. In his view, it is necessary to put a stop to the proliferation of gambling establishments in the national territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">G\u00f3mez stated that there is an investigation according to which <strong>around RD$400 million is spent daily on gambling in the Dominican Republic,<\/strong> a figure he described as an &#8220;exaggeration.&#8221; He suggested that the country should promote areas such as education instead of continuing to expand this type of business.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For his part, <strong>Deputy Miguel Arredondo, also from the PRM,<\/strong> supported the need to establish controls on gambling, especially to protect children and young people. However, he avoided elaborating on the involvement of colleagues who maintain economic interests in the sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAlthough I do not agree, I am not going to give my opinion because they are my colleagues,\u201d replied Arredondo when questioned about the subject, although he insisted that a regulation that responds to the well-being of all Dominicans must prevail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Lawmakers linked to gambling<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Among the legislators with declared ties to the sector are Domingo Eusebio de Le\u00f3n Mascar\u00f3, a deputy for Fuerza del Pueblo, who lists holdings related to Consorcio de Bancas La Soluci\u00f3n and Loteka. Likewise, Juan Carlos Echavarr\u00eda Milan\u00e9, a deputy for the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD), appears as the owner of Consorcio de Bancas Joselito.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Joining the list is the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) deputy, Alexander Javier Cuevas, linked to Bancas Alex Sport. These congressmen are part of the eight legislators \u2014seven deputies and one senator\u2014 who have declared holdings, properties, or economic ties to businesses related to gambling, at a time when the National Congress is reviewing the bill that seeks to regulate this sector in the Dominican Republic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <strong>Gambling bill<\/strong> is currently in the Senate of the Republic, after passing its procedure in the Chamber of Deputies. The initiative seeks to establish a regulatory framework for betting shops, lotteries, and other forms of gambling, amidst calls to organize a sector whose expansion has generated questions both inside and outside the National Congress.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rafael Castillo explains lottery booth owners were excluded from the commission that studied the bill Santo Domingo.\u2013 Deputies from different benches defended the bill that seeks to regulate gambling in the Dominican Republic and assured that the initiative does not respond to the particular interests of legislators linked to the betting shop business, in the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":78,"featured_media":522551,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[40216],"tags":[44182,41253,44562,44555,41646,44755],"class_list":["post-522550","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dominican-news","tag-cover","tag-deputies","tag-gambling","tag-gambling-law","tag-legislators","tag-lottery-booths"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/phj1q1-2bWe","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/Copia-de-Copia-de-Post-de-Instagram-Feliz-Cumpleanos-Sencillo-Minimalista-Azul-1000-x-500-px-2026-08-26T155045.537.png","dum_api":{"author_name":"Elsa Cesilia Feliz","author_image":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/cropped-elsa-cesilia-96x96.jpg","categories_name":["Dominican News"],"featured_media_url":"https:\/\/cdn.deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/Copia-de-Copia-de-Post-de-Instagram-Feliz-Cumpleanos-Sencillo-Minimalista-Azul-1000-x-500-px-2026-08-26T155045.537.png"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522550","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/78"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=522550"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522550\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/522551"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=522550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=522550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=522550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}