Paraguay to Hear Illegal Gambling Case
Two companies in Paraguay have been accused of engaging in illegal sports betting. A hearing that was meant to take place on October 20, 2021 has now been postponed to November 30, thanks to a judge’s request. The postponement has been requested in order to give further time to analyze what the judge understands to be a complex case.
A case on alleged illegal sports betting involved two Paraguayan companies will be heard at the end of November. ©Diego Allen/Unsplash
Details of the Case
The court session that was meant to take place last week concerns two companies, Montego Trading and Enfield SA, which have been accused of take part of illegal sports betting in Paraguay.
Interim judge Gustavo Amarilla has moved the date of the preliminary hearing to the end of November, after hearing a short presentation from the defense attorney Alejandro Villamayor, who wished to emphasize the complexity of the situation.
The case goes back to complaints made in 2018. Auditors from Paraguay’s gambling regulator suggested that sports bets had been made through facilities of both Montego Trading and Enfield SA. Only one company was authorized to take sports bets at the time, Daruma Sam (Apostala).
The case appears to go deeper than just the Paraguayan companies, as Enfield’s representative Nicolás Enjamio has links to an Argentine businessman Leonardo Peiti. In Argentina, Peiti stands accused of bribing various authorities in order to continue an illegal gambling business in the Santa Fe region of Paraguay. This activity allegedly took place in the cities of Rafaela and Melincué.
Though this case has been ongoing in Argentina, and it has been shown that Pieti has strong ties to Paraguay, it has been difficult to prove whether a similar gambling scheme took place within Paraguay.
This puts Paraguay’s regulatory body, the National Commission of Games of Chance, in a difficult situation. The authorized sportsbook Apostala has criticized the commission for not doing more to prevent and prosecute illegal gambling schemes in Paraguay.
Apostala’s leaders, Carlo Giuseppe Espinoza Vega and Carlos Manuel Lugo Garcete have further stated that the commission ignored additional complaints they brought forward, regarding illegal online sports betting in Paraguay.
They are now demanding answers, but tough questions are being asked of Apostala as well. For example, local media has suggested that Apostala has its license thanks to bribes, as a way of remaining the only legal sportsbook and avoiding competition in the country. Apostala’s heads have denied this, as well as accusations of being linked with drug trafficking.
Paraguay and Online Gambling
Though Paraguay’s online sports betting system is fairly closed, as evidenced by Apostala’s complaints, the country does enjoy an active online casino industry with a variety of table games available and online slots. Casino games provider Pragmatic Play partnered with local company Doncashino back in April 2021. Games developer Habanero also brought its 170+ titles to Paraguay in the spring.
