Supreme Ventures Limited (SVL) a Jamaican lotteries company says it has been granted permission by the Guyana Gaming Authority to operate in Guyana.
The Gaming Authority, under the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act of 2009 and Amendment 2016, has been identified as the Supervisory Authority for casinos and lotteries.
According to an article from the Jamaica Observer, “SVL, in a statement to shareholders on the Jamaica Stock Exchange, said the agreement with Guyana Gaming Authority is subject to a confidentiality clause, and in this regard, will make full disclosure of its plans for the market as soon as SVL is able and permitted to.”
However, when INews contacted Roysdale Forde, the Chairman of the Guyana Gaming Authority, on this matter, he posited that SVL has “expressed an interest. The process has not been completed. They have to submit other documents.”
According to Bloomberg.com SVL “together with its subsidiaries, engages in betting, gaming, and lottery operations in Jamaica. It operates through Lottery, Gaming and Hospitality, Sports Betting, Pin Codes, and Other segments.”
Should permission be granted, the Jamaican lottery company might be able to use Video Lottery Teller Machines such as casino slot machines and online gambling services that were granted to the Guyana Lottery Company, much to the dismay of local entrepreneurs.
Gambling is prohibited in Guyana under the Prevention of Gambling Act, which incidentally does provide for the issuance of special casino licences.
So far, there has been only one operational licence issued — for the Princess Hotel and Casino, while the Guyana Marriott is also earmarked for another.
Guyana’s laws limit the number of casino licences that can be issued.
The news of SVL seeking permission to operate in Guyana comes at a time when local hotelier Clifton Bacchus of Sleepin Hotel has in recent months lamented bitterly the approach by the incumbent Administration in withholding the issuance of a casino licence to his establishment.
Last year the Gaming Authority suspended operations of Superbet, a Suriname-headquartered company that has 57 gambling facilities in four regions in Guyana.
Guiana Holdings Inc., the company that operates Superbet, has since taken the Gaming Authority to Court to quash its decision to close down their operations.
