The President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, who previously ordered the restriction of alcohol sales in order to ‘create a healthy country for the young and future generations’, has declared his intentions to totally ban gaming in Ecuador. He stated, “I believe that gambling and alcohol consumption reduce the level of life in a society.”

During a radio interview last Tuesday, Correa said that legislators are preparing the legal reform and that he hoped it would be ready within a couple of months so as to bring an end to casino gaming. He added, “We are going to totally ban this class of gambling. We will declare Ecuador free of betting games.”

Last Friday the government put in place the restrictions on the hours for the sale of alcohol, using the argument that 10% of murders in the country are alcohol related. The new law prohibits the sale of alcohol at stadiums and restricts sales to before 10pm Monday to Thursday, except at bars and discos which may serve alcohol until midnight, and 2am on Fridays and Saturdays.

President Correa did not make it clear if the gambling ban would cover lotteries, horseracing and betting, cock fighting, Internet betting, local bingos or even private card games, school raffles, charity tombolas or illegal wagering. He also gave no indication of specific plans to bring about a gambling free Ecuador. It cannot be that the President is unaware of the problems that prohibition can and will bring.

As is frequently the case, Ecuador seems to be attacking only the most regulated and controlled sector of gambling, namely the casinos and slots operations. The problem is that the country has no legislation covering the different aspects of gambling and this has led to a nutritious soup feeding the exploitation of the industry by some individuals, including some politicians. President Correa would do well to note that illegal casinos now operate in Russia, following last July’s gambling ban, causing extra policing problems and the proliferation of organized crime. (E-06.24.10)

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