Uruguayan Gambling Laws, Sports Betting and Online Casinos – 2011

Uruguay is located in South America, has 18 casinos spread throughout 15 cities of this second smallest country on the continent. The casinos are either government owned and operated or are licensed through Uruguayan gambling laws (more like law) and operated by large European gambling conglomerates.

Just like everywhere else in the world, try to avoid the government operated casinos in Uruguay as the level of English, service and game selection will be inferior to a European operated casino.

Everything in Uruguay is either legal or ignored whether you are a tourist or a local, as long as it doesn’t harm anyone else, including: legal gambling, legal prostitution and an open drug policy similar to Amsterdam.

The minimum age to gamble in Uruguay is 18 but as a tourist it is unlikely anyone will ask for identification unless a blatantly obvious pre-teen tourist tries to bet on sports in Uruguay alone in the middle of the night.

The Uruguay government licenses as well as operates horse racing, casinos and tote/pari-mutuel (gambling on horses, jai alai, greyhounds: any sporting event that’s quick and winners are in a ranked order).

Casinos in Uruguay are too expensive for the vast majority of the locals to enter and are a tourist playground with blackjack, craps, roulette, punto-bunco (baccarat), and of course there are lots of different European and American style video slots.

It’s easy to find $ 1 blackjack tables as all Uruguayan casinos only accept US dollars. If you aren’t a guest of the casino you will be asked to pay a couple of dollar entrance fee at some locations.

Poker is extremely popular and there are plenty of live games and tournaments available in Uruguay for all American traditional poker games along with some South American variations.

There are no laws that regulate online poker sites in Uruguay and most online players frequent foreign online poker rooms since there are none available locally. There are no plans for any future poker regulation in Uruguay and due to the popularity of the game (which is practically a national pastime) it is unlikely there will ever be any.

The city of Punta del Este has the best action with Uruguay’s top three European operated casinos nested close to each other. The best casino in Uruguay is Conrad Resort and Casino with 640 slot and video machines and 80 live table games. The city is right on the Atlantic Ocean with awesome nightlife and basically non-stop action no matter where you go.