Dominican Republic Prepares to Re-Regulate iGaming, Blacklists Operators

The Dominican Republic has blacklisted dozens of operators as it prepares to re-regulate gambling. In line with this, the Caribbean nation announced its intention to bar unlicensed companies from operating in the country.

Several days ago, the Dominican Republic’s minister of finance, Jose Manuel Vicente, signed resolution 136-2024, providing a new regulatory framework for online gambling. The island country will thus adopt a licensing model, setting the Dirección de Casinos y Juegos de Azar (DCJA) up as its new gaming authority.

The decision to regulate gambling comes as the result of a lengthy process that resulted in a recommendation to launch licensed iGaming in the country.

Under the new rules, companies that wish to operate in the country will need to contact the DCJA and apply for a license. Licenses for online gaming and sports betting will cost approximately $350,000 and $260,000 respectively. In the meantime, online gaming companies that offer products that do not fall under any of these categories will have to pay roughly $170,000 for a license.

The Dominican Republic’s gaming licenses are valid for five years and cannot be transferred within the first three years. Additionally, operators will have to operate locally through a .do domain.

Foreign companies will also have to register in the Commercial Register and register their brand with the Office of National Contributions and the General Directorate of National Tax.

Speaking of taxes, no official news about the framework’s taxation rates has been announced yet.

A Second Chance for Online Gambling

As per the island nation’s AML and CTF laws, unlicensed companies will no longer be allowed to operate. As a result, the DCJA has already blacklisted 41 online gaming operators, including some of the biggest names in the industry. The authority’s blacklist includes the likes of Betsson, Bet365, 888, PokerStars and William Hill, among others.

As the launch of legal gambling in the Dominican Republic looms, the DCJA asked players to always make sure that the company they are playing with is legal and to avoid unregulated activities.

The re-regulation of the local iGaming market comes after a previous regulation in 2006 that resulted in the issuing of a single license to Amaya. The new framework seeks to make up for the mistakes of the previous one and establish a proper online gambling system.