Costa Rica Introduces Plan to Regulate Online Gambling

Costa Rica, home to many casinos on and offline, is once again trying to regulate the gambling businesses set up within the country. Over the last two decades, this is the sixth initiative that has been started in order to regulate Costa Rica’s booming gambling business. None of the prior initiatives were successful, and none were made into Costa Rican gambling laws.

Costa Rica is just one of the many countries attempting to regulate domestic and online gambling. This is a new trend that can be seen worldwide where, in a country with a suffering budget, the government wants to tap into the booming gambling business as a source for capital. Costa Rica estimates that an extra $100,000,000 is out there to be had. Other countries working on similar policies are the US and France.

In order to start regulation, the Costa Rican government is proposing a new department titled “National Regulatory Commission on Betting and Gaming.” Legislative success would provide many job opportunities in increasingly hard times. According to the administrations vice-president, this movement is bound to be a success due to its being a high priority for the current government.

Some legislators say that the government has no intention in passing the law. They think this because the initiative has, apparently, come too late. With only a few months left before elections, legislators doubt that there will be any executive action.

According to Hacienda reports, there are currently over 100 online gambling operations running in Costa Rica, and many more brick and mortar facilities. These would all have to undergo changes in order to continue operations.

If passed, the laws towards on-land and online casinos would be the following:

• All casinos and gaming houses must be licensed.
• All slots must be registered, invoiced, and in an exact location.
• Infractions will be penalized through fines and loss of license.
• It is prohibited to transact with customers who do not identify themselves.
• Winnings of $10,000 or more must be reported.