New Director of Casinos and Games of Chance appointed in Dominican Republic

Claudia Álvarez Troncoso, a law graduate from the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra, has been selected as the successor to Teófilo Tabar in the role of Director of Casinos and Games of Chance.

In the ongoing process of regulating lottery banks and enforcing compliance, there has been a recent change in the leadership of the Directorate of Casinos and Games of Chance under the Ministry of Finance in the Caribbean country.

Claudia Álvarez Troncoso has been appointed as the new director of the organization, succeeding Teófilo “Quico” Tabar, who held the position on an interim basis. Tabar will continue to serve as the general administrator of the National Lottery, retaining an honorary title.

Álvarez Troncoso brings a wealth of expertise to the role as a lawyer, having graduated from the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra. She has extensive international experience in legal audit processes, transactions, expert opinions, and specializes as a consultant in anti-money laundering and regulatory compliance.

Notably, Álvarez Troncoso is associated with the non-partisan civic movement Civic Participation and has previously participated in the Recovery of Public Assets (ERPP) in the “Operation Anti Octopus,” as per Decree 22-21.

The ongoing process of regularization

The Ministry of Finance, through the Directorate of Casinos and Games of Chance (DCJA), has presented to the Dominican Congress the data regarding the closure of illegal lottery banks between 2021 and 2022.

According to the ministry’s report, a total of 143 lottery establishments were shut down in 2021, followed by 80 closures in 2022. These closures were carried out as part of operations involving the Ministry of Defense and the National Police.

This survey is a significant step in the ongoing process of regularizing lottery banks, which was declared of national interest by Decree 63-22 in February 2022. The Ministry of Finance granted a 120-day period to lottery businesses operating unlawfully to comply with the regulations. This initiative aims to bring these businesses within the legal framework.

According to official figures disclosed by the Directorate of Casinos and Games of Chance and reported by the local newspaper Diario Libre, between January and October 2021, a total of 2,935 service requests were analyzed, generating an administrative fee collection of RD $890.3 million (USD 16 million) for the government. In 2022, 2,081 service requests were analyzed, resulting in an income of RD $21.6 million (USD 389,000).