‘Pajama Billionaire’ accused of breaching Gaming Act

Foreign exchange (forex) trader Chavez Allen, who goes by the moniker 'Pajama Billionaire', has found himself before the courts, answering to the charge of breaching the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Act.

He appeared in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court yesterday when his case was mentioned before Senior Parish Court Judge Lori-Ann Cole-Montague. His case was first mentioned in January.

It is reported that on November 13, 2020, the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Commission (BGLC) received information that an illegal raffle was advertised by Allen on social media where a Mercedes-Benz motor vehicle, along with cash prizes, was being offered to the public.

No approval granted

The regulatory body conducted checks and investigations by the Licensing and Registration Division to verify if the raffle had been granted approval. The BGLC indicated that there was no approval granted for the hosting of the raffle.

On November 15, 2020, more than 3,000 social media users tuned in to Allen's Instagram live session, where the holder of ticket 183 was announced the winner of a Mercedes-Benz CLA-250, valued at J$5 million.

Allen, in a November 2020 article, told THE STAR that the competition, which started months earlier in June, was actually a private in-house raffle for students enrolled in his forex trading classes. Raffle tickets were sold for US$50 (approximately J$7,500) each. He is expected to return to court on July 21.