Panama Passes Internet Gaming Legislation

by Mike Godfrey, Tax-News.com, New York

26 November 2002

For the past three years, Panama has been drafting gaming regulations under the portentous title of: ‘Games of Chance and Activities Generating Wagers performed through Electronic Communication Gambling Systems’. Now the Panama Gaming Control Board has approved the final draft of its gaming regulations, which are said to establish a licensing regime comparable to that of the Isle of Man, and are aimed at operators in those parts of the US where gaming is legal, such as Nevada.

The initial fee for a license will be $40,000, with a continuing annual payment of $20,000.

Panamian Internet hosting service Telco Virtual has lost no time in advertising its facilities for companies wishing to set up a gaming operation in Panama under the new legislation, offering world-class telecommunications and Internet infrastructure, and systems support including jurisdictional vetting and player identification procedures.

Telco Virtual says if will provide clients with:

• An English copy of the Panamanian gaming regulations;
• A full discussion and step-by-step procedural breakdown of the regulations;
• All information pertaining to acquiring a license with breakdown of due diligence process and required business plan, feasibility study and internal control system;
• An overview of the political structure of the Panamanian Gaming Control Board;
• Details of the monitoring procedures and reporting formats required by the Director of Gaming.

Telco Virtual's Internet data center (at www.altec1.com or www.telcovirtual.com) has been installed at the Fort Clayton City of Knowledge Tecnopark, a US military base converted into a state-of-the-art Internet communications hub with direct access to Panama's global fiber optic submarine network, including the Global Crossing, Maya, Arcos, Worldcom, Cable & Wireless and Pan American cables.

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