The Dirección Nacional de Control de Drogas, the government drug enforcement agency, closed down 90 betting shops in Santo Domingo and other cities. The owners are under investigation for money laundering. The administrator of the National Lottery, Taína Gautreau said that large illegal gambling stores are cover ups for criminal and money laundering activities. She opposed a congressional bill that would legalize these betting stores by establishing that they pay 1% of total bets to the state. The bill would legalize the games of lotto, caraca, bingo, pale, casino, sports betting banks and others. The government already legalized the operation of the sports betting shops which are licensed by the Ministry of Sports.
