Belize Business Bureau Calls for GOB to Take Over Boledo & Lotteries
The Belize Business Bureau is calling for a direct takeover of the nightly Boledo and Sunday lottery from Brads Gaming Group Limited which signed an exclusive license in June 2020, to conduct the government lotteries. That demand follows a letter that was written to Kim Chee, Managing Director of Brads Gaming, in late December, where a number of concerns were raised by Narda Garcia, chairperson of the Lotteries Committee. The release from the B.B.B. proposes that, notwithstanding Brads’ failure to comply with the conditions of the license, all proceeds from such gaming activities should be applied wholly to the National Health Insurance. Furthermore, the organization recommends the introduction of a national electronic system of revenue with daily electronic collection from gaming, including Boledo, Sunday Lottery, Fantasy Five, Quick Pick, Scratch and Win, casino revenues, as well as retail shopping. The letter written to Chee also speaks to the establishment of a system in tandem with the Income Tax Department and the Lotteries Committee for the gathering of sales data. According to Garcia, Brads has not consulted with the Lotteries Committee on this system and it is unaware if and how Brads collects, verifies and records accurate sales data. In addition, Brads has also failed to submit a statement of monthly revenue sales to the Commissioner of Income Tax in the format approved by the Lotteries Committee, from November thirtieth, 2021 to November thirtieth, 2022. It was the Lotteries Committee’s expectation that those apparent breaches would have been addressed following a claim brought against the company by Prime Minister John Briceño. Referring once again to the bureau’s release, the B.B.B. states, “taxes should be collected, reported and paid to government, with government getting its fair share on a daily basis, its fair share of revenue from these games of chance.” Brad’s Gaming Group Limited has until January sixteenth, 2023 to respond to the letter written by the Lotteries Committee.
