Lonabol, the National Charity and Hygiene Lottery, will cancel the contract with Refle Games, which owns and operates entertainment machines in places where the underage are allowed. The decision was made after Lonabol’s technical inspection in all the sites where the illegal slot machines were functioning and the offense was confirmed.

According to Wilma Velasco, Lottery director, the process of contract cancellation is starting and, in a few days, the police will take away the machines. These are installed in shops, pharmacies and other stores in La Paz and El Alto. Entertainment machines of this kind are permitted for adults only, and therefore have to be placed in private halls, inaccessible to minors.

“Some shop owners have disconnected the machines themselves as soon as they realized their image was being damaged. Most shops simply subcontract the slots. Rafle Games, on the other hand, has violated the law”, explained Juan Carlos Santelices, from Lonabol’s Technical Inspection department. Furthermore, Lonabol is now revising every contract signed with gaming and gambling companies in order to verify they are operating in compliance with the regulations.