With iGaming beginning to bloom in Puerto Rico, sustainability in its operations will be critical not only for the online space but also for the market’s historic land-based casinos.
Puerto Rico Gaming Commission Executive Director Juan Carlos Santaella Marchán recently spoke with SBC Noticias about the country’s expanding online sector and the biggest challenges the Commission is facing to make sure the vertical can balance with its brick-and-mortar counterparts in the long run.
While Marchán noted that the Puerto Rican government has successfully integrated gaming under a single regulatory framework, the biggest challenge will be stopping digital growth from weakening the land-based gaming sector.
The Executive Director said: “Physical casinos not only generate tax revenue that benefits tourism and the University of Puerto Rico, but also create jobs and support the hotel, entertainment and broader economic sectors.
“The digital environment, by nature, operates with lighter structures and more aggressive commercial strategies. Without proper balance, there could be a rapid migration of consumers toward online platforms with less local economic impact.”
“Our regulatory market has an important advantage: we are not starting from scratch.”
Puerto Rico Gaming Commission Executive Director Juan Carlos Santaella Marchán
Marchán stated that the sustainability of the country’s gaming model will depend on constant and effective real-time technological oversight, promoting legality through incentives, protecting land-based casinos as tourism and economic drivers, strengthening responsible gaming and problem gambling prevention programs and rapidly adapting regulations to new technologies, payment methods and digital products.
“Our regulatory market has an important advantage: we are not starting from scratch,” added Marchán.
“We have over 75 years of casino tradition, a century-old horse racing industry, a modern legal framework and regulatory proximity to the Anglo-Saxon model. But the next level of maturity will be proving that the hybrid system can grow without one side destroying the other. That is where the true success of our jurisdiction’s regulatory model will be defined.”
At SBC Summit Americas, Marchán will take part in the ‘Regulator Rumble: The Future of LatAm’ panel, where he will discuss why a ‘land-based anchor’ model on a continent rapidly embracing digitalisation can shield markets from volatility.
Marchán explained how this type of gaming model has helped to defend Puerto Rico against volatility.
The Executive Director said: “Market size and regulatory quality do not necessarily advance at the same pace. Some jurisdictions achieve massive digital volumes very quickly, but later face integrity problems, tax evasion, illegal operators and political pressure to tighten regulations after the market has already experienced explosive growth.
“Our position is that regulatory stability has economic value in itself. An ecosystem where operators must maintain physical presence, local infrastructure, and real ties to the jurisdiction creates a less speculative and more trustworthy market against aggressive expansion cycles.
“That may result in slower growth, but it also reduces volatility and strengthens credibility. During the panel, we will argue that regulatory success should not be measured solely by projected market size, but by how much of that growth remains formalised, supervised and protected against recurring risks.”
