WILLEMSTAD – The Court of Audit (ARC) has identified uncertainties in the 2018 financial statements of the National Lottery due to the write-off of outstanding debts without clarity on the correct application of the statute of limitations.
The report also reveals financial irregularities, such as the absence of budgets approved by the Parliament since 2007, unformalized adjustments to contribution amounts, and insufficient clarity regarding the transfer of excess funds to the Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten.
The National Lottery could not demonstrate that internal regulations with guidelines were established for all financial transactions, making it difficult to assess compliance within established frameworks, according to ARC.
There is also insufficient assurance of the guarantee fund. The existing legal framework does not provide adequate assurance for prizes and premiums of special draws.
Although the financial position improved in 2018 due to a one-time write-off, there is no concrete plan to make the organization profitable, which poses a risk of future negative results.
The absence of audited financial statements for the years 2019 to 2022 also makes it impossible for the Court of Audit to confirm that the organization is indeed moving in the right direction.
The lack of an implementation plan with concrete financial results resulting from actions to be taken also does not guarantee structural improvement.
This also applies to outdated legislation. Therefore, the ARC recommends the implementation of the Gaming Ordinance LOK, which also applies to the National Lottery.
Recommendations
The ARC recommends that the Parliament, among other things, seek clarification as to why outstanding debts, such as stamp duty and license fees amounting to 18.3 million guilders, have not been collected, while the ministry should have been aware of these debts.
This is particularly important because a director of the ministry is an ex officio member of the Supervisory & Advisory Board. Other questions include why the ministry has not taken steps to recover the due turnover tax from the National Lottery since 2010 and why there is an insistence on the legal formalization of the reduction of the contribution by 75 cents.
The Court of Audit also recommends that the Parliament take necessary action to update the National Lottery Regulation so that a proposal with the necessary amendments can be submitted to the Parliament.
Photo: woman selling lottery tickets
Bron: Curacao Chronicle