Panama Projects Gaming Recovery in June 2023
Panama City, Panama was the latest host of the Ibero-American Gaming Summit, now in its 7th iteration. The general director of Panama’s gaming regulator, the Panama Gaming Control Board, Manuel Sánchez spoke as a part of the summit. As a part of his speech, Sánchez talked about the state of the country’s gaming regulations, gaming security and the economic impact of the industry for the country’s economy overall.
Panama’s gaming industry is en route to recovery fully, after lapsing during the Covid-19 pandemic. ©Luis Gonzalez/Unsplash
Panama’s gaming industry blossoming after Covid-19
A topic on the minds of many working in the gambling industry is that of recovery, post Covid-19. Panama and many other countries throughout Latin America — and the world — had to deal with devastating consequences as a result of Covid-19. From health to the decimation of tourism and other industries, the consequences were widespread and dire.
Gambling, too, suffered during this time, due to the closure of many brick-and-mortar locations. Though online gaming has flourished as a result, and continues to be on the rise, casino-based gaming has been slow to recover in some regions.
However, Sánchez assured that Panama has achieved almost a full recovery, based on where the industry stood before the pandemic. He labeled it at 98% recovered and estimated that the remaining 2% will be achieved by June 2023.
Sánchez was a key speaker at the summit, and gave a speech to mark the opening of the event. It was attended by many in the industry and 16 different exhibitors shared their products. The summit also featured many panels on topics that are important to the industry right now, from economic growth and recovery post-pandemic, to the future of technology in games and legal regulation.
State of the gaming industry in Panama
Panama’s National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC) shared statistics about recent gaming sales in the country. This data shows that in January and February 2023 alone, Panama had managed to reach gross bets and lottery sales of $321,597 USD (USD is equal to Panama’s currency, the Balboa).
A further breakdown of that number indicates that slot machine sales were by far the highest contributor to the figure. Draws from the National Charity Lottery came in second. Gaming tables were a distant third, followed by racetrack betting, sports betting and lastly, bingo halls.
The INEC also holds data for 2021 and 2020, the main years of the pandemic. In 2020, the gross bets figure only reached $612,181 USD. 2021 showed decent recovery with $1,373,752 USD. 2022 was even better, closing out at $1,870,251. The hope for 2023 is to increase this number every further, with Sánchez indicating that this is very likely.
The general director also spoke about the overall contributions made from gaming revenue to the state. He pegged the overall contributions for all time at $80 million USD, an impressive figure, and said that this money has contributed to infrastructure projects, the building of schools and improvements on rural areas of the state.
Gaming also contributes to social security, and creates both temporary and long-term jobs in Panama. According to Sánchez, the gaming industry is one of the ten biggest benefactors to Panama’s National Treasury.
Though the summit covered many forms of legal gaming, including the popular televised bingo created as a part of the National Charity Lottery, Sánchez also pointed to online gaming as a burgeoning part of the industry, which has already provided much income, too.
Responsible gaming was also a topic on the agenda at the summit, with Sánchez speaking fiercely about the responsibility of casinos to meet regulations on this matter. Panama is home to a Responsible Gaming Office which creates guidelines and helps contribute to related laws.
