Belize’s Gaming Bill Faces Scrutiny Amid Oversight Scandals  

The stakes are high and not just at the tables. The government’s proposed Gaming and Lotteries Control Bill 2025 is aiming to modernize Belize’s gambling industry by rolling four outdated laws into one streamlined piece of legislation. But while the bill promises better oversight and regulation, recent scandals are casting a long shadow over its rollout. Take the Caribi Bleu Casino case, for example. It’s a story that’s still fresh in the minds of many, an illegal ATM dispensing U.S. dollars, hundreds of questionable golf cart permits, and a casino boss now facing charges abroad. How did regulators miss an illegal operation hiding in plain sight? Now, with the bill under Senate review, some lawmakers are sounding the alarm. They say the current draft could hand too much unchecked power to ministers. Also, it doesn’t go far enough to fix the very oversight issues that allowed cases like Caribi Bleu to slip through the cracks. Senators are calling for mandatory audits, community input on licensing, and clearer accountability. The bill is being paused for revisions, but the debate is far from over.  News Five’s Paul Lopez has more on what’s at stake.

 

Paul Lopez, Reporting

The Government of Belize is planning to merge four separate laws into one, the Gaming and Lotteries Control Act, all in the name of modernization. But will this move improve oversight in gaming and lotteries industry? Remember Caribi Bleu Casino? Its boss, Rima Ray, is now behind bars in the U.S. for fraud and running an illegal gambling operation. Yet, for months, he managed to keep an unauthorized U.S. currency ATM running inside his San Pedro casino completely under the radar. Where was the oversight then? When we asked the supervisory body for casinos, the Financial Intelligence Unit, in late 2024 the response was vague.

 

Paul Lopez

“I have to ask, how is it that a casino was able to operate an unauthorized atm for months without consequences if these collaboration remain strategic and highly effective?”

 

Leni Ysaguirre McGann, Former Director, FIU (File: Dec 18^th, 2024)

“Yes, so as I said, when new innovations are detected, we use NQAMLAC and its working groups to address these emerging areas. The operational institutions we have under that does provide and opportunity for that. That is the extent to which you will go? Alright.”

The National Anti-Money Laundering Committee is made up of all these entities. But not only did they fail to detect it, the agency responsible for payment systems and foreign currency exchange, the Central Bank of Belize, also failed and its governor sits on NAMLAC.

 

Paul Lopez

“How is it that a casino can operate and atm undetected for a period of time?”

 

Kareem Michael, Governor Central Bank (File: Nov 27^th, 2024)

“I have a question, how is it configured?”

 

And the Gaming Control Board didn’t step up either, it completely missed the casino’s illegal operation. Made up of these representatives from various government ministries, the board has the authority to inspect premises, assets, including cash, as well as documents. But were those checks happening often enough? Chairman of the Gaming Control Board Bob Bou Nahra told News Five at the time, that checks are done two to three times per year. He also said assessments are at the end of the year. Rima Ray’s Caribi Bleu Casino investigation exposes serious weaknesses in regulatory oversight that demand urgent fixes. Senators highlighted these issues in their debate on Tuesday.

 

Patrick Faber, Lead Opposition Senator

“We cannot have unchecked accountability and one of the most glaring faults we can find right away is the unchecked ministerial power, the lack of oversight and the creation of special privileges and monopolies disguised in this legislation.”

 

Janelle Chanona, NGO Senator

“What really took our focus was this illegal ATM, U.S. currency being dispensed in a gambling facility and it raised for us that along with operation and management that there needs to be something in terms of monitoring and supervision of these activities. I remember that story making a dent in terms of if all of these things are happening in plain sight, then what messages that send to the community.”

 

Louis Wade, Church Senator

“At this point, this Bill does not serve the good of the Belizean people to cover the issues over the last fifty years that we know exist, including the issues such as the Rima Ray, which is currently before us.”

 

The Senate shelved the Gaming and Lotteries Control Bill for further review. Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.