Latin America is home to multiple new iGaming opportunities in 2021. Read on to learn about the region’s regulations and revenues from Mexico to Brazil.
Latin America’s iGaming industry is promising. Markets that have regulated online casinos and sportsbooks are seeing stable growth, and countries with favorable regulations on the horizon anticipate astounding growth.
Online gambling regulations vary by country. Ecuador and Brazil prohibit all gambling, including online gambling, except for state lotteries. In other countries, it’s not regulated but not banned.
Bolivia and Nicaragua include online gambling in their overall gambling regulations. Argentine provinces regulate online gambling.
Bolivia, Mexico, and Brazil are reforming their internet gambling legislation. Both countries are considering laws. Colombia’s regulatory structure has been updated for the digital era.
Brazil is nicknamed the sleeping giant of Latin America, but other markets offer iGaming operators opportunity. Below is a country-by-country breakdown of South American online gaming in 2021.
Argentina
Argentina is Latin America’s fourth-largest country and second-largest economy. Gambling is regulated province-by-province, and operators can only serve locals. In countries that regulate gambling, operators can offer almost any kind.
Online gambling and betting produce $2.4 billion annually. The federal levy on internet gambling will climb from 2% to 5% to help the country recover from the 2020 crisis. Buenos Aires province levies operators 25% of gross gambling income. Buenos Aires taxes GGR at 10%.
Gambling advertising is regulated. Advertisements cannot target minors or be deceptive or misleading. In the country, only authorized operators may advertise.
The IPLyC, Buenos Aires’ regulatory authority, launched its licensing regime in 2021 with partnerships between domestic companies and foreign operators like William Hill, Bet365, and 888 Holdings.
Brazil
Brazil, Latin America’s largest and most populous country, is called a sleeping giant. Most gambling is illegal, although a commission was founded in 2016 to regulate sports betting. 2018 gambling legislation was passed, but implementation has been delayed.
600 gaming companies offered nearly 2000 suggestions during public consultations. Sports betting will be privatized, state governments will run lotteries, and jockey clubs will offer horserace betting. New regulations will take effect in 2021.
Brazil will have the continent’s largest land-based and online sports betting market once new regulations take effect. With a population of over 200 million (of which 63% have mobile access) and a passion for sports, especially football, Brazil is a dream for sportsbook operators looking to expand into South America.
The sportsbook licensing fee is R$3 million ($560,00), with a R$20,000 ($3,700) monthly fee for land-based retailers. Online-only sportsbooks pay R$30,000 ($5600) per month; retail-and-online sportsbooks pay R$45,000 ($8400).
Within five years of becoming legalized, Brazil’s sports betting business may be worth $1 billion.
Chile
Chile’s Ministry of Finance indicated a bill to regulate online gambling will be proposed in 2021. Even regulated land-based casinos can’t offer online services under current laws. The regulations would allow casino gambling and sports betting to improve tax revenues and player safety.
In 2020, regulators will consider renewal petitions based on financial valuation, not a company’s licensing status. New licenses would be issued through a tender process, instead of allowing license holders to renew by meeting standards and paying a fee. Foreign investors with ties to Chile’s casino business disapproved of the reforms, and the Chilean Casino Association broke off negotiations with authorities in September 2020.
Chile will become the latest Latin American country to allow internet gambling if a measure passes.
Colombia
Colombia is a major market. With over 50 million people, the continent’s fourth-largest economy, a mobile penetration rate of 56%, and a national passion for football, Colombia presents a significant opportunity for online gambling enterprises, especially online sportsbooks.
Colombia regulated internet gambling in 2016, and the gaming and betting business has grown quickly since licensing began in 2017. With the 2016 regulation of the online industry, practically all kinds of gambling, both land-based and online, are now allowed in the country. Only Coljuegos, the country’s regulatory agency, and commercial enterprises with government concessions may run trackside betting.
The industry’s growth is astounding. The national treasury’s gaming and betting contributions grew 106% in 2019 to $19.6 million. Net gaming revenue (NGR) is expected to reach $200 million in 2020.
Much of the country’s betting is done in brick-and-mortar businesses, but internet betting is swiftly catching up. Other games of chance like slots and lotteries are also popular with Colombian bettors.
Online gambling businesses must pay an annual charge of 811 times the monthly minimum wage in Colombia (roughly $175,500,175)
Peru
As a stable country, Costa Rica is attractive to multinational companies, including iGaming. While regulations from 1922 and 1974 prohibit chance-based games, the government’s implied consent has made the country a hotspot for online gambling.
Authorities allow gaming enterprises to operate in Costa Rica as long as they don’t target locals. They accept foreign players.
The government’s tolerance of gambling firms and lack of an internet gambling tax has made Costa Rica appealing to online casino operators; 450 iGaming companies operate out of the country.
Online casino operators apply for a “data processing” license and are often categorised as call centers. Costa Rican banks don’t execute internet gaming transactions for domestic operators.
Haiti
The Dominican Republic’s casino business grew along with tourism as the government sought to diversify the economy. In the 1960s and 1970s, gambling was legalized and private tourism enterprises, including casinos, received tax incentives.
Fantasy and virtual sports betting are not regulated nor forbidden in the Dominican Republic. Online gaming licenses cost $230,000, plus $23,000 in admin expenses.
Dominican Republic imposes 10% sales tax. Operators must additionally pay the National Directorate of Casinos and Games of Chance RD$1 for each RD$100 they process and invest an extra RD$2 per RD$100 for technological equipment. Operators must retain 25% of players’ earnings for the national treasury.
Ecuador
In 2012, casinos and bingo halls closed. Online gambling is illegal. The Association of Former Casino Workers of Ecuador began lobbying for a reversal in 2019. The group’s leader said Ecuadorians gambled in Peru and Colombia, contributing $45 million in potential revenue, and casinos should be reopened. No legislation for sector re-regulation has been explored.
Guyana
Gambling is illegal in Guyana, however lotteries and pool betting are allowed. Casinos were legalized in 2007 to boost the tourism industry. Two casinos have opened, and only hotel guests can play.
Guyana doesn’t ban online gambling. The Gambling Prevention Act bans common gambling houses but not remote gambling. Remote gambling licenses were revoked in 2013.
Mexico
Mexico’s 120 million people, 60% mobile penetration rate, and second-strongest economy in Latin America make it fertile ground for online casino and sportsbook operators.
Mexico regulates nearly all kinds of gambling except land-based card rooms (poker is exclusively allowed in casinos) and fantasy sports (which are permitted, but not expressly regulated). All games of chance are popular in the country, but football betting is especially popular.
1947’s Federal Gaming and Raffles Law regulates gambling in Mexico. 2004 (after much debate) saw full regulations. Casino games and online gambling are considered illegal by the 1947 law, but they can operate under various interpretations.
Online casino and sportsbook operators need only permission and a partnership with a land-based license holder. The online gaming and betting sector’s revenues are estimated to be $450 million, with only $50 million coming from authorized operators. The country could benefit if the regulatory authority, the Directorate General of Games and Raffles, loosens requirements and issues more licenses.
Nicaragua
All land-based and online gambling is controlled in Nicaragua, except for racing, fantasy sports, and virtual items. Control Board of Casinos and Gaming Venues and Ministry of Finance and Public Credit share regulatory authority. Despite being legalized in 2001, land-based and online gambling remain underdeveloped.
Panama
Panama regulates most gaming. Local authorization is required for online sports betting, car race betting, and casino games. Lottery games, horse racing betting, amateur competitions, political elections, and other activities are outlawed.
Licenses cost $49,000. Applicants must have a legal agent in Panama, follow all requirements, and pass a background check. Online gambling is 10% of GGR. Panama’s Gaming Control Board regulates gambling.
Panama’s fully licensed online gambling market was announced in September 2020. Before, licensees couldn’t provide services to Panamanians, but now they can have up to five “.pa” domains. Regulators expect 10 to 15 licenses.
Paraguay
Paraguay legalizes most gaming. Paraguay’s lone sports betting operator generates $4 million in taxes yearly. In 2016, the government proposed a measure to reform gambling laws, especially internet gaming. In 2021, increased gaming taxes are expected.
Peru
Peru controls casinos but not lotteries, racing, or sports betting. Online gambling is unregulated, therefore authorities do not issue licenses or restrict businesses from offering casino games or sports betting. Government plans to control online gaming.
Latin America’s sleeping titans
Intralot Peru, Corporacion Galena, and Monterrico racecourse are the only entities allowed to conduct internet gambling.
Current restrictions lack technical and player ID criteria. Formally recognized online betting services pay a 20% tax on GGR. Only 42% of Peruvians have smartphones, lagging behind other Latin American countries.
Land-based casino gambling and sports betting are well-established, but the online industry is developing and offers iGaming companies an enticing opportunity.
Uruguay
Uruguay legalizes most types of gambling, but lacks a comprehensive legal framework. Instead, operators are governed by concession contract.
In the past 15 years, the government has permitted more private operators into the gambling business. Some casinos have private investors, but most are government monopolies.
Direccion Nacional de Loterias y Quinielas has sole power to operate internet gambling since 2018. (National Directorate of Lotteries and Pools). Online gambling is illegal besides DNLQ’s lottery and sports betting. Online gaming providers may set up shop in the Montevideo Free Trade Zone if they don’t serve Uruguayans.
Venezuela
Venezuela prohibited casinos and bingo in 2011. The government allowed a cryptocurrency casino in 2019 to promote Petro’s worth.
