By John Myers Jr., Staff ReporterHOWARD MITCHELL, chairman of the Jamaica Lottery Co. (JLC), says a portion of the tax collected by the government from lottery companies should be channelled to implementing measures against illegal gaming.
"You have to protect those people who have made the capital investment; there is no question about that... so I'm strongly for enforcement," Mr. Hamilton told The Gleaner in an interview.
He said that he was in full support of enforcement to stamp out the illegal trade. "I don't believe you can turn a blind eye to it, because all (they are) doing is cutting off your source of revenue," he said.
"We do have an on-going situation where people attempt to defraud (our) game." Mr. Mitchell noted, however, that such incidents against the JLC's games were almost impossible because of the implementation of certain security features which made it difficult for persons to sell illegally.
Suzette Smellie-Tomlinson, manager of marketing and public relations at Supreme Ventures Ltd (SVL), players of the popular Cash Pot, Lucky 5 and Dollaz games, said that while her company had not carried out any formal assessment of the impact illegal lottery gaming was having on her company's operations, "We think it can be a very big threat to our company."
$2 BILLION TO $3 BILLION
It is reported that the illegal trade is worth between $2 billion to $3 billion yearly, which is tax-free. As part of the licensing agreement, lottery companies are required to pay over to the government 22.5 per cent of gross sales in taxes.
Since Saturday, special focus has been placed on the illegal gaming industry with the uncovering of a major illegal lottery-selling ring in the Corporate Area. The action is being taken by a combined team from the Betting Gaming and Lotteries Commission (BGLC) and the security forces.
On Tuesday, the BGLC said it was preparing summonses for 119 vendors, employed by the network operated by one Patrick Chang from his business place on Lyndhurst Crescent, Kingston 5. Seven employees were arrested with him but documents found indicate that 200 people are involved.
The BGLC said 97 persons were arrested last year in connection with the illegal trade and of that number, more than 50 were charged with illegally selling 'Cash Pot'.
