Lotteries Committee Revoked Exclusive License Held By B.C.C.L.
The Lotteries Committee has taken a decision to revoke the exclusive license held by Brads Gaming Group Limited (B.G.G.L.) to administer the Government Lotteries. A release from the Government of Belize states that the committee decided to revoke the exclusive license held by Brads due to, “material and substantial breaches of the conditions of exclusive license, and the Lotteries Act and its regulations. News Five has been following the story since the beginning of the year, when we caught wind of a letter that had been written to Brads Gaming Company Limited from the director of the Lotteries Committee. In that letter, the committee raised a number of concerns that had to do with compliance. Now, viewers may recall that the exclusive contract was awarded to Brads Gaming Group Limited by the Barrow administration back in mid-2020. The exclusive contract carried a ten-year lifespan which was set to expire in 2030. That is until now, three years into the contract and the Lotteries Committee has taken a decision to cancel this absolute agreement. Earlier this year, the legal representatives for Countach Technologies Limited, a shareholder in Brads Gaming Group Limited, wrote to Prime Minister John Briceño citing the Bilateral Investment Treaty Between Belize and the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, since the company is registered in the Cayman Islands, a British Overseas Territory. The attorneys for Countach put forward that should G.O.B. proceed to cancel the contract with Brads, it will constitute a wrongful interference with the company’s holdings, tantamount to a seizure of its assets. Here is how Prime Minister John Briceño responded to questions on that specific letter back in January.
Prime Minister John Briceño
Prime Minister John Briceño (File: January 23rd, 2023)
“If you ask Belizeans, they think that the Boledo belongs to them. But there is a contract and we have to live up to the contract that was signed by the previous government. But in that contract, there are certain commitments that the company did and we found out afterwards, after our consultations, that they were not living up to all the commitments and we wrote to them last year and then to the end of this year, we wrote again to them saying well we believe that you still have not lived up to the commitments that you made in the contract. And so, giving them an opportunity to respond as to why we should not cancel that contract. I think that now they are their attorney. I think, is the mother of all ironies that the former prime minister is going to be defending something like this and he knows that Belizeans would want for us to be able to benefit more from that. So he has responded and now the technical team, the attorneys, they are looking at it and whatever recommendation they might give, then we will look at it as a Cabinet and make the final decision.”
