[REVISION HISTORY]

Dominican Republic gambling regulation and protection laws

Updated 5 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-09-08 21:14 UTC → 2026-09-09 23:40 UTC · added ~~removed~~

Dominican Republic gambling regulation ~~legislation~~ and protection laws

Legislative efforts in the Dominican Republic ~~are underway~~ to regulate gambling and lottery ~~activities. Initial proposals focused on zoning and distance requirements, suggesting that the minimum distance between lottery shops~~ activities have progressed toward stricter oversight and ~~community institutions, such as universities~~ consumer protection. Following previous discussions regarding taxation and ~~police stations, be increased from 200 to 500 meters, alongside~~ a ~~500-meter separation between individual lottery shops. The~~ 10-year moratorium on new licenses, the Chamber of Deputies has approved ~~modifications to the bill,~~ new measures specifically ~~regarding taxation. Amendments include reducing~~ targeting the ~~tax on non-cumulative electronic lotteries from 5% to 2.5%~~ protection of minors and ~~eliminating a proposed 1% additional tax on gross sales. While critics suggest~~ the bill favors operators by allowing them to reduce accumulated tax debts through a special regime, Deputy Rogelio Alfonso Genao defended the project, stating it establishes new taxes and stricter controls. Key provisions prevention of ~~the approved bill include a 10-year moratorium on issuing new licenses for gambling establishments to allow the state to supervise~~ addiction. To protect minors, the ~~existing sector, which comprises over 71,000 registered lottery and sports~~ law now mandates that online betting ~~shops. Casinos located~~ operators verify user identities and age in ~~hotels~~ real-time by cross-referencing biometric data and ~~tourist areas would be exempt from this moratorium.~~ civil registries with the Junta Central Electoral (JCE) database, replacing previous self-declaration methods. To ~~encourage compliance,~~ combat gambling addiction, the ~~bill offers~~ legislation introduces a ~~conditional amnesty, allowing operators~~ National Self-Exclusion Registry. This free service allows individuals to ~~receive discounts on accumulated tax debts~~ voluntarily prohibit themselves from accessing gambling venues and fees if they regularize their status by December 2025. Under this proposal, current operators who successfully undergo the regularization process could become the sole authorized participants in the market digital accounts nationwide for a ~~decade.~~ minimum of six months. Operators are legally required to check this registry before allowing access, opening accounts, or paying prizes, and are prohibited from targeting registered individuals with advertising or bonuses. Additionally, establishments are banned from offering credit to players. The ~~legislation~~ bill also ~~proposes the creation of~~ seeks to centralize oversight by establishing the General Directorate of Gambling (DGJA) ~~as an autonomous entity to oversee~~ under the ~~industry, including digital and electronic platforms. The project must now return to~~ Ministry of Finance. This body will unify regulations currently managed by the ~~Senate for further review. Following legislative progress, a new gambling law has been approved with a specific focus on protecting minors. Building on these efforts,~~ Ministry of Finance, the ~~Dominican Chamber~~ General Directorate of ~~Deputies has approved a new gambling~~ Internal Taxes, and the Public Ministry. To deter illegal activity, the law ~~specifically designed~~ establishes penalties of up to ~~protect minors.~~ 10 years in prison for operating unauthorized gambling establishments, such as those found in local grocery stores (colmados).

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