2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIFTEEN - Sports and Parks (§§ 1 — 2020) › Subtitle 1 - Generally (§§ 1 — 915) › Chapter 5 - Games of Chance (§§ 71 — 91) › § 76a - Supervision of gambling rooms; personnel licenses; regulations

(a) The Tourism Company is hereby empowered and required to supervise and inspect the bets and operations of the games of chance in the casinos authorized to operate them and to enforce the provisions of §§ 71—79 and 85—89 of this title and the regulations established thereunder.
(b) The Tourism Company may:
(1) Inspect and examine any gambling room or games of chance facility or any place where slot machines, gambling equipment or devices are manufactured, sold or distributed at any time.
(2) Inspect all the equipment and supplies in or around any gambling rooms or facilities, or where games of chance are operated, or where slot machines, gambling equipment or devices are manufactured, sold or distributed.
(3) Inspect, examine, photocopy, audit and demand access to all documents, books and files of every applicant, licensee or holder of any license granted under §§ 71—79 and 85—89 of this title, be it in its facilities or where more practical, and in the presence of the applicant, grantee of a gambling license or holder of a license, or his/her agents, in connection with the gross income produced by any business related to games of chance; and require verification of the income, and any other matter which may affect compliance with the public policy or any of the provisions of §§ 71—79 and 85—89 of this title.
(c) The Tourism Company is hereby empowered to regulate the gambling rooms operated under the provisions of §§ 71—79 and 85—89 of this title and the sale and leasing of the slot machines, their component parts and the equipment and other devices used in a gambling room in order to safeguard and protect their patrons; and to establish the regulations which shall govern the various games. Provided, That any licensee who wishes to acquire or lease any slot machine, prior to said acquisition or lease, shall obtain a license from the Tourism Company for each slot machine pursuant to the regulations adopted for such purposes by the Tourism Company.
(d) The Tourism Company shall adopt regulations setting the requirements to be met by those persons engaged in any activity related to the operation of the gambling rooms and the requirements to be met by those persons who wish to obtain and do obtain a license to perform any work in the gambling rooms, among others, but without being limitated to, licenses to act as managers, cashiers, croupiers, and slot machine service attendants and technicians. No person may perform any work whatsoever in a gambling room without having first obtained a license to such effect from the Tourism Company, which shall be issued pursuant to the said regulations.
(e) Any manufacturer, vendor and distributor of slot machines and any equipment related to games of chance, shall obtain a license from the Tourism Company to be able to sell or lease slot machines and/or their component parts and/or any equipment related to games of chance to be used in Puerto Rico.
(f) Any person employed by a licensee to exercise any responsibility related to gambling, shall have to obtain a license from the Tourism Company before beginning to exercise said functions.
(g) The Tourism Company may charge a reasonable sum from any applicant for any license required by §§ 71—79 and 85—89 of this title, except from an applicant for a gambling license, to defray the investigation costs incurred by the Tourism Company.
(h) The regulations promulgated by the Tourism Company to implement the provisions of §§ 71—79 and 85—89 of this title shall include, but not be limited to:
(1) Establish the types of slot machine that may be acquired, leased or otherwise possessed or operated by the holder of a gambling license in effect duly issued by the Commissioner of Financial Institutions;
(2) establish the requirements under which the manufacturers, vendors and distributors of slot machines and/or any of their component parts may sell or lease slot machines and/or any of their component parts to be used in Puerto Rico, and
(3) establish the sum which the Tourism Company shall charge any applicant of a license as manufacturer, vendor or distributor, or any other license to be granted by the Tourism Company.
History —May 15, 1948, No. 221, p. 750, added as § 7(a) on June 23, 1956, No. 90, p. 582, § 7; June 26, 1997, No. 24, § 8.