Dominican Republic – Ministry of Finance regulates online casino and betting licenses
A new Resolution 136-2024 has been published on the website of the Directorate of Casinos and Gambling and on the Ministry of Finance’s page, regulating online sports betting and casino games.
Online casino licenses will cost RD$ 20,473,481, while sports betting licences will cost RD$15,355,111 and for gambling games falling outside either category which are categorised as “other games” the licence fee will stand at RD$ 10,236,740. Each license will have a validity of five years and can be renewed.
The published regulations outline the need for new rules and regulations covering the industry stating that “gambling and betting on the internet are practiced in various social and economic sectors, which has led them to become a global reality that transcends national borders . . .” and that “given the growing practice of online gambling in the era of digitization, it is necessary to establish a regulatory framework that ensures the efficient application of the law authorizing the issuance of licenses for the operation of online gambling, as well as the establishment of controls to prevent these platforms from being used to deceive citizens and/or attract resources from minors, persons with legal incapacity, and vulnerable segments of our society.”
In the case of foreign commercial companies, they will have to register with the National Taxpayer Registry (RNC) of the General Directorate of Internal Taxes (DGII).
According to the new regulations the applicant must be certified by an authorized audit firm and register with the Superintendence of Banks of the Dominican Republic and use a specific website with a “.do” domain name. The domain must redirect all connections made from locations in the Dominican Republic, or those using local user accounts, to websites under the “.do” domain that are owned or controlled by the gaming operator, its parent company, or subsidiaries.
Online systems must also be connected to the National Casino and Gaming Board of the Ministry of Finance, in a way that allows monitoring of gaming activity at any time and in real time.
When it comes to payment methods operators will be able to accept bank accounts opened in financial intermediaries authorized to operate in the Dominican Republic as well as credit or debit cards issued in the Dominican Republic. They will also be able to accept any other payment methods offered by authorized and supervised entities by the Superintendence of Banks. In addition cash payments through physical points established by the operator, up to a maximum amount of RD$ 250,000 can also be accepted.
In order to operate the operator must put in place player protection measures and submit to the gaming board, a responsible gaming program, describing the minimum measures to be implemented to prevent problematic gambling behaviours.
In January The Ministry of Finance issued a warning to the public over gambling via unlicensed betting sites. The warning was posted by the head of The National Casino and Gaming Board (Dirección de Casinos y Juegos de Azar) Claudia Alvarez-Troncoso on her LinkedIn account and published via the Ministry of Finance. The official warning included a list of eight sites and twelve companies/brands which the board said were operating without a license.
On March 22 The National Casino and Gaming Board issued another similar warning to the public over gambling via unlicensed betting sites. The statement warned that the sites were banned under the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Act 155-17. (The act overhauled the previous Anti-Money Laundering Act 72-02 from June 2002). The board published a list of 41 brands not licensed by the treasury to operate including, William Hill, Bet365, 888Sport, Betsson, interwetten.es, marathonbet.es and betmotion.
