Gaming Commission halts new license applications after appeals court steps in.

The Puerto Rico Gaming Commission has suspended the intake of new applications for route gaming machine operator and wholesale owner licenses after the island Court of Appeals agreed to review a lower court ruling related to the licensing process.

By THE STAR STAFF

The Puerto Rico Gaming Commission has suspended the intake of new applications for route gaming machine operator and wholesale owner licenses after the Court of Appeals agreed to review a lower court ruling tied to the licensing process.

The agency filed an appeal seeking to overturn a decision issued by the Court of First Instance in a case involving new license requests for operators and wholesale owners of route gaming machines. On Tuesday afternoon, the appellate court accepted the petition and ordered an immediate pause of all proceedings in the lower court until further notice.

As a direct result, the commission said it will automatically halt the receipt of any new license applications in the affected categories while the judicial review is underway, according to a statement. 

According to the commission, the appellate court’s action preserves regulatory stability while the dispute is addressed in the proper forum. The agency emphasized that Act 11 of Aug. 22, 1933, as amended, provides a clear legal framework governing the terms, conditions and deadlines applicable to current license holders and any prospective applicants.

The commission reiterated its responsibility to implement and enforce the law, safeguard regulatory integrity and protect the public interest. It added that it will continue ensuring that any licensing process is conducted in an orderly and lawful manner consistent with legislative intent.

Last week, Superior Judge Iris Cancio González ordered the Gaming Commission to receive, process and evaluate license applications from a group of operators of en route gambling machines, after declaring a request for mandamus to be admissible.

“This ruling confirms what these merchants have maintained from day one, that the Gaming Commission could not continue to close the door, refusing to receive applications and keeping them out of a process that the law and the regulations themselves force to activate,” said attorney Frank Torres Viada, legal spokesman for the plaintiffs, in a written statement.

The ruling ordered Gaming Commission Executive Director Juan Carlos Santaella Marchán and Bureau of en Route Gaming Machines Director Loraine Irizarry Torres to comply within five days with the duty to formally receive the requests, issue an official receipt, assign a case or file number and process the requests with priority.