Casino gambling fever cools in Panama

 
740Views 1Comments Posted 12/12/2015

PANAMA’S LOVE affair with casino gambling has cooled down after a decade of constant growth.

The third quarter marked the end of a decade of positive results for gambling companies

Between July and September bets in casinos, bingo halls, sporting events and slot halls Type A, recorded an annual fall of 10.2%, with a total balance of $562.2 million

Comparing the third quarter numbers, with the results of the second quarter, the decline exceeded  14%.

 

Slot machines totaled $489.9 million dollars in the third quarter $33.3 million less when purchased with the movement of the same period last year.

In the tables that are only available in full casinos operating in hotels over 300 rooms, bets fell 32% in the comparative year, with a balance of $53.3 million between July and September 2015.

In the balance for the first nine months of the year, the Gaming Control Board (JCJ) has accumulated $.870 billion In the same period they have been paid prizes totaling $1.551 billion.

 

The statistics do not include the 8,000 type C slot machines that are connected to servers that register the amount of betting

Their contributions to the state are based on a monthly fee of $150 per machine , while full casinos pay a percentage of their income.

 

In  October, the Gaming  commission said  it is working on a project to interconnect these machines with the institution servers

During the administration of Ricardo Martinelli, the number of type C machines tripled because of changes that were made to the rule governing this segment, which has spread to areas with high levels of poverty.

 

According to estimates by economist and professor at the University of Panama Walter Carlos Bellido, the country has between 25,000 and 30.000 people who  have developed some pathology related to gambling.