Dominican Republic law creates single gambling regulator, sets 10% online tax

The Dominican Republic published Law 86-26 on gambling in its Official Gazette (G. O. 11263) on 2 October 2026. It creates the Dirección General de Juegos de Azar (DGJA), a regulator that takes over supervision of all gambling in the country.

The DGJA is an autonomous body attached to the Ministry of Finance and Economy. A Gambling Council, chaired by the finance minister, sets rules by resolution and decides on licences, licence suspensions and revocations. The DGJA director general, appointed by the president, submits licence applications to the council. The law's preamble says the sector's rules are scattered across earlier laws, decrees and resolutions and need consolidating.

Online gambling

Online games may be run only by legal entities holding a licence issued by the Gambling Council. Licences last ten years. Fees, requirements and conditions will be set later by resolution.

The law sets a tax of 10% a month on the base of operations from all games carried out online. The licence holder pays it, by reference to the web address the DGJA has authorised, wherever the activity takes place. Payment is due within the first ten working days of each month at the tax authority, the DGII.

For unlicensed offers, the DGJA must order blocking of domains, addresses and apps by internet providers, together with the telecoms regulator INDOTEL. It must also require payment entities to suspend transactions to those operators. It will publish a list of authorised operators and blocked sites. The DGJA may also suspend a web address where online games are run for unpaid taxes or fees, fraud or money laundering.

Key details

• Licence terms: casino, slot-hall and online licences run for ten years.
• Casinos: only in hotels rated four stars or more; hours 4:00 pm to 6:00 am, which the DGJA may extend in hotels and tourist areas.
• Slots: minimum return to players of 85%; slot halls only in casinos, one- to three-star hotels and sports betting shops.
• Bond: every licensee must deposit a bond with the licence; the council sets the amount. Failure to do so leads to suspension.
• Distance: no gambling venue within 500 metres of schools, universities, hospitals, churches and other listed sites. Separately, the minimum distance between gambling venues does not apply to casinos.
• Minors: under-18s are barred from venues and online platforms; venue entrants must show official ID.
• Self-exclusionSelf-exclusionA formal request by a person to be barred from gambling with a business, or with many businesses at once, for a set period.Full entry in the glossary: a national register with a minimum six-month enrolment. Operators must check it before allowing access, opening accounts or paying prizes, and may not send advertising or bonuses to people on it.
• Advertising: banned if aimed at or attractive to under-18s, or if it lacks the warning "Jugar Puede Provocar Adicción y Afectar la Salud" and the free helpline number.
• Suspension grounds: failing to report sales, to connect to the monitoring software, to register with the goAML anti-money-launderingAnti-money laundering (AML)The rules that oblige businesses to spot and report money that may come from crime. For gambling companies it means knowing who their customers are and where large sums come from.Full entry in the glossary system, or to pay taxes and fees.
• Licence bar: applicants sanctioned in the past four years, or bankrupt in that period, are barred from licences.

Why it matters

Operators serving Dominican players now face one licensing authority and a fixed 10% monthly online tax. Failure to register with goAML, report sales or connect to the monitoring system is a ground for suspension. Operators without a licence face blocking and payment cut-offs. The law cites official data of more than 71,000 registered lottery and sports betting shops.

The law leaves several figures, including bond amounts and licence fees, to later resolutions. The specifications and details of gambling advertising are left to a DGJA resolution, and the operation of the self-exclusion register to regulations.