Interactive
Peru – Online regulation making progress in Peru
By Phil - 2 January 2020
The Peruvian gaming board is looking at regulating the online gambling industry with laws in place likely this year. The board, which comes under the Foreign Trade and Tourism Ministry (MINCETUR), would impose a tax of 12 per cent tax on net winnings and will impose fines for noncompliance.
MINCETUR is looking at regulating the industry further in order to generate additional gaming revenue and ensure that online gaming sites meet with money laundering requirements as well as player protection measures especially when it comes to the protection of minors.
The head of the board Manuel San Román, told local daily Gestión that responsible gambling measures will also be included in the new bill which are similar to those that are already in place for the local land based industry. Online bookmakers and online casinos, which are not licensed, will be prohibited from signing advertising or sponsorship contracts.
The proposals also state that online operators operating in Peru must be formally established in Peru. Meanwhile unlicensed offshore operators will be blocked from offering their services as agreements have already been reached with the corresponding government agencies to ensure that they will not be able to offer their services locally.
The executive’s proposal will allow the use of credit or debit cards only via authorised platforms. Manuel San Román said that ideally the new legislation would be passed into law this year as the government has already been working on the proposal for two years and has agreed on the tax rate with the Peruvian tax office.
There are currently five online operators in Peru. While there is no specific legislation in place which outlines how online gaming companies may offer their services to locals operators may offer their services as long as they adhere to local business practices and Peruvian law, and online gaming may be offered either from within or from outside of Peru.
