Uruguay launches 180-day pilot for real-time control of quiniela prize payments

Uruguay’s National Directorate of Lotteries and Quinielas has authorised a technology test that gives inspectors real-time access to full payout data for winning tickets, aiming to modernise oversight while keeping existing proof-of-payment procedures in place.

Uruguay has taken a new step in the digitalisation of gambling oversight by approving a pilot system designed to monitor quiniela prize payments in real time. The initiative was formalised by Resolution No. 016/2026, signed in Montevideo on 13 January 2026 by the National Directorate of Lotteries and Quinielas (Ministry of Economy and Finance).

The pilot began on 1 February 2026 and will run for 180 days. It introduces a “consultation and control” system that allows the regulator’s control unit to access complete information on paid winning game documents at the moment a prize is settled, while the current image-capture process remains in place as payment evidence.

Implementation is staged, starting with a first 90-day period at the Montevideo quiniela collective network, followed by an additional 90 days extending the same approach to collective networks in the interior of the country under equivalent requirements. The resolution also specifies that transmitted data should include details such as draw date, ticket number, game, winning outcome and payment information, with additional identity and signature capture requirements for telephone-bet payouts.

On the technical side, the framework emphasises secure connectivity and encrypted private communications, plus authentication, confidentiality and integrity safeguards, and it requires monthly reporting on the pilot’s results by inspection and IT teams. If the system is not fully validated, the existing regime remains in force until a subsequent decision is issued.