Puerto Rico’s Gaming Commission (CJPR) and the Puerto Rico Police have launched their first enforcement actions under Regulation No. 9718, a joint confiscation framework targeting illegal “route” slot machines operating in convenience stores and other non-casino venues. In what CJPR described as its first operation, investigators carried out simultaneous interventions in Carolina and San Juan, seizing 17 machines found to be operating in violation of the law.
A second enforcement round followed in the metro area. Local outlet NotiCel reported that CJPR and police teams seized about 30 machines and $8,347 in cash after intervening at two establishments: Colmado y Cafetería Caribe (San Juan), where authorities seized 12 machines and $7,910, and Mi Gente 2GO (Las Palmas, Cataño), where they seized 17 machines and $437. NotiCel described this as the second operation since Regulation 9718 took effect and said the machines were operating without the required licenses.
Regulation 9718, dated 23 December 2025, sets the formal procedure for occupation, confiscation, custody and disposition of illegal route machines, including administrative challenges and judicial review pathways.
CJPR Executive Director Juan Carlos Santaella Marchán warned that anyone who owns, operates or hosts an illegal machine commits a misdemeanor and faces penalties of up to six months in jail and/or fines up to $10,000, plus potential permit revocations. The same reporting highlights why enforcement has become politically salient: legal route-machine proceeds are distributed 55% to the Police Retirement Trust, 40% to municipalities, and 5% to CJPR operating costs.
