The Dominican Republic has ushered in a new era of online gambling regulation with the signing of Resolution 136-2024 into law. This resolution, issued last week, introduces a comprehensive regulatory regime for online casinos and sports betting, supervised by the Dirección de Casinos y Juegos de Azar (Directorate of Casinos and Gaming), under the Ministry of Finance.

Online gambling in the Dominican Republic was initially regulated in 2006, with the first license issued in 2011 to Amaya, now known as The Stars Group after a rebranding in 2017 and subsequent acquisition by Flutter Entertainment in 2019. Despite the existence of two laws, Ley 139-11 and Ley 494-06, which formed the framework for online gambling, Amaya remained the sole license holder, rendering the law more theoretical than practical.

Resolution 136-2024 is expected to bring about a more comprehensive framework for regulation, making the regulated market more competitive and potentially boosting state revenue with new entrants. The resolution, which totals 36 pages and contains seven chapters and 36 articles, was signed into law by the Minister of Finance, Jose Manuel Vicente.

Terms of Dominican Republic licence

Under the new law, each licence issued will be valid for five years and non-transferable for the first three years. The cost of a license is set at $346,000 (£275,000/€320,600) for both online casino and sports betting. While taxation rates have not been specified in the resolution, it is likely to follow the precedent set by Ley 139-11, which established a gross gaming revenue rate of 29 percent for land-based casinos.

In a move towards responsible gambling, operators in the Dominican Republic will be obligated to provide evidence of responsible gambling programs. This includes a mandatory self-exclusion process and a set of measures outlined by the ministry to encourage responsible gaming. These measures include displaying the time elapsed since the start of a session, providing options to limit bets and gaming session duration, and requiring all sites to display a permanently visible responsible gaming notice.

This new resolution marks a significant step forward in the regulation of online gambling in the Dominican Republic, promising a more competitive market and a stronger emphasis on responsible gambling.