Brads Does Not Intend to Challenge Cancellation of Boledo License

The Government of Belize has announced the resumption of the nightly Boledo draw and the Sunday lottery draw beginning December first.  That announcement came several months after the license that was initially granted to Brads Gaming Group Limited was terminated.  Senior Counsel Dean Barrow represents BGGL’s Managing Director Kim Chee.  According to Barrow, there is presently no undertaking to challenge G.O.B.’s decision to void the contract.

Dean Barrow

Dean Barrow, SC, Attorney-at-law

“He’s not given any instructions to go to court to challenge that cancellation.  I don’t want to say too much about his difficulties, but it is a fact that the government via the tax department is going after Brads and he has had various sparring sessions with officials of the tax department.  They are in the process of auditing Brads concerning both licenses, even the one that expired in 2020 and of course the one that was canceled.  There’s also the fact that the government is pushing for the judicial review that we had started when the minister legislated for that twelve and half gross tax to be levied on Brads.  We were able to get a stay of the tax, now the government wants the matter to be concluded.  You would think, well, why, it’s academic.  Brads no longer has a license, he can’t protect himself from any taxes.  But because we had gotten that stay, if we were to lose that judicial application review, if Brads were not to win it, the government could come back and say you need to pay for that year during which the license continued but tax was stayed because it was always a quid pro quo.  You will not pay the license in the meantime, but if you lose then you will have to, as it were, make good that default with the government.”