BGLC Hosts Remote Licensing Activity in Westmoreland March 10-11

Owners and operators of gaming machines and prescribed premises in Westmoreland are being invited to take advantage of the remote licensing activity being conducted in the parish by the Betting Gaming and Lotteries Commission (BGLC). 

Licensees are being asked to visit the Boardwalk Shopping Village in Negril Westmoreland on March 10 and 11 between 9:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. to renew their licences, which will expire on March 31. 

Director of Licensing and Registration at BGLC, Vivian Nunes, told JIS News that the initiative is the entity’s way of making it easier for its customers outside the Kingston Metropolitan Area to conduct business. 

Licensees in Mandeville and St. James have also benefited from remotes sites being set up in their parishes. 

“It is important to take advantage of these opportunities [because] the sooner you submit your application, the sooner we can complete processing and issue your licence before they expire. It is [also] an opportunity to lessen the hassle and bustle of coming to Kingston; it is a more convenient way for you to conduct your licensing activities,” said Mr. Nunes. 

He noted that at the remote licensing activities “we will be introducing or sensitising persons as it relates to the new system that we have implemented, which will facilitate online application and even online receipts of your licences.”  

Mr. Nunes advised that the BGLC does not accept cash payments at the remote sites. Instead, payments can be made through bank transfer, Bill Express or on-site using a debit or credit card.  

Gaming operators are required to first make their annual payments to the tax office and present receipts for these payments at the site. 

“As it relates to the licensing of gaming machines, the fee at the tax office is $5,000 per machine, the fee for the premises licence is $2,500 [and] pertaining to the BGLC fee, it is $5,000 per machine and $1,000 for each premises,” Mr. Nunes outlined. 

Late payment attracts fines of up to 60 per cent of the regular fees per machine as well as machine seizure. 

“We look forward to a compliant industry so that we don’t have to conduct any enforcement exercises,” Mr. Nunes said. 

The Director of Licensing and Registration also informed that there is a limit on the number of machines that is permitted per premises. 

“No premises is allowed more than 19 machines except in the parishes of St. James, Hanover and Trelawny where the maximum number is five,” he told JIS News. 

For more information, persons may visit the BGLC’s website at https://www.blgc.gov.jm, send an email to info@bglc.gov.jm, call 876-630-1353, WhatsApp 876-316-8464 or connect with the entity on Facebook, Instagram and X. 

The BGLC is the statutory body that licenses, regulates and monitors the local gaming industry, facilitates its growth and development, and protects the public from unfair, unscrupulous and illegal activities.