Dominican Republic Overhauls Gambling Law With 12-Month Registration Window

The Dominican Republic has published Law 86-26, introducing a new comprehensive regulatory framework for gambling and online betting and replacing legislation that had been rooted in rules dating back to 1964.

The law was published in Official Gazette No. 11263 on October 2, 2026. It regulates casinos, sportsbooks, lottery outlets, slot halls, online gambling, virtual games, electronic lotteries, bingo and other gambling products under a single framework.

A newly established Dirección General de Juegos de Azar, or DGJA, will oversee licensing, supervision and enforcement.

For existing operators, the legislation starts a broad transition process covering registration, replacement of licences and connection to new regulatory technology.

Existing Operators Get 12 Months to Register

Gambling businesses legally operating when the law enters into force have 12 months to register in the DGJA's unified gambling registry.

After that 12-month period expires, the Gambling Council will have another 90 days to publish the official register of licensees and gambling establishments.

Separately, businesses operating under licences issued under the previous regime have one year from the law's entry into force to complete an adaptation process and obtain replacement licences under Law 86-26.

Those two transition periods run from the law's entry into force rather than consecutively.

The legislation itself does not postpone its effectiveness until the operator register is published. Instead, publication of the register triggers a separate restriction on new licences.

10-Year Moratorium Begins After Registry Publication

Once the official register is published, the Dominican Republic will impose a 10-year suspension on new licences for the gambling establishments and modalities covered by Article 21 of the law.

That list includes casinos, sportsbooks, lottery outlets, slot halls and online gambling.

Casinos located in hotels and tourist areas are exempt from the moratorium.

Based on the statutory timetable, the registry could be published roughly 15 months after the transition period begins if the authorities use the full registration and publication windows.

The structure gives existing businesses an opportunity to formalise their position before access to new licences becomes significantly more restricted.

Online Gambling Licences Will Run for 10 Years

Law 86-26 gives online gambling licences a 10-year term.

Casino licences and sports betting shop licences also run for 10 years, while lottery shop licences last five years. Several other categories have their own licence periods under the legislation.

The law also defines new location restrictions for land-based gambling.

Casinos are defined as gambling facilities situated in hotels rated four stars or higher.

Sports betting shops must generally be at least 500 metres apart, while lottery outlets require a minimum separation of 200 metres.

Gambling establishments are also generally prohibited within 500 metres of schools, universities, hospitals, churches, military and police facilities, childcare centres and several other protected locations.

Existing authorised businesses receive protections from some of the new distance rules.

Online Gambling Faces 10% Tax on Gross Operations

The new framework introduces a monthly tax of 10% on the operations generated by gambling conducted over the internet.

Importantly, the law describes the tax base as online gambling operations and, in its transitional provisions, refers specifically to gross sales or gross operations. It should therefore not be interpreted as a 10% GGR tax.

Until authorities complete the technology required to calculate and collect the percentage-based tax, each online gambling corporate entity will instead pay RD$5 million per month.

The DGJA and Dominican tax authority DGII have six months to develop the technology needed to interconnect operators with the government for tax collection and monitoring.

Existing licensees also receive three months to adapt their gambling platforms, operations and technical systems to the new framework.

DGJA Can Block Illegal Gambling Sites and Payments

The law gives the DGJA powers to act directly against unauthorised online gambling.

Working with telecommunications regulator INDOTEL, it can order internet service providers to block domains, websites and apps offering gambling without a licence.

The regulator can also require payment companies to suspend transactions to illegal operators.

The DGJA must maintain updated public information covering authorised operators and blocked gambling sites.

This expands enforcement beyond conventional licensing action and creates a framework for targeting both access to illegal products and their payment infrastructure.

Law 86-26 therefore represents a substantial restructuring of the Dominican gambling market. The immediate priority will be bringing existing operators into the new register and licensing framework, while the longer-term market structure will depend heavily on the 10-year restriction on new licences that begins once the official register is published.