Gambling Laws in Dominican Republic

Gambling in the Dominican Republic is legal under various laws that comprise the Dominican gambling legislation. Among them, the Law No. 351 from 1964 (Ley No. 351 que autoriza la expedicion de licencia para el establecimiento de salas de juego de azar), the Law 140-42 from 2002 regulating sports betting, and the Order 252-89 (Reglamento No. 252-89 para la operacion y funcionamiento de las maquinas tragamonedas) make up the core of the gambling laws in the country. According to these laws casino games, table games, bingo, lotto, betting, etc. are considered to be forms of legal gambling in the Dominican Republic. Online gambling is still unregulated in the Dominican Republic, with the exception of online lottery.   The body responsible for the regulation of the gambling activities in the country is the Office for Casinos and Gambling Games (Direccion de Casinos y Juegos de Azar) functioning within the Dominican Ministry of Finance (Ministerio de Hacienda). Exception from their supervision is the sports betting sector which is overseen by the Secretaria de Estado de Deportes, Educacion Fisica y Recreacion. According to Dominican gambling laws, licenses for providing any of the gambling games legal in the country can be obtained from the Office for Casinos and Gambling Games. Minors, under 18 years of age, are prohibited to participate in gambling activities in the Dominican Republic.

Is Online Gambling Legal in the Dominican Republic? No, all forms of online gambling are unregulated in the Dominican Republic, with the exception of online lottery.

Online Casinos in the Dominican Republic

There are dozens of licensed land-based casino operators in the Dominican Republic, as of August 2018. However, none of them has launched, so far, an online casino in the Dominican Republic. The most popular casino in the Dominican Republic is the Hard Rock Casino in Punta Cana, which is also the largest casino in the country with 41 tables and around 500 slot machines. Due to the lack of domestic online casino sites, foreign internet casino sites can be easily accessed from the country.

Online Poker in the Dominican Republic

Poker is legal and part of the regular offer of every casino in the Dominican Republic. On the other side, online poker is not regulated with specific Dominican online poker laws. Yet, the articles regulating online gambling in general apply and this game is also legal in the Dominican Republic. However, there are no specialized Dominican internet poker sites, as of August 2018, but foreign internet poker sites, licensed elsewhere, can easily be accessed from the country.

Online lottery in the Dominican Republic

In compliance with the Dominican online lottery laws, there are several lottery operators in the Dominican Republic which include: Loteria Nacional, Leidsa, Loto Real, and Loteka. Due to this variety of lotto providers, there are practically daily lotto draws in the country, the special ones being reserved for the Sundays. Tickets can be purchased from street vendors as well as online. Some of the most popular Dominican lotto games include Gana Mas and Loteria Nacional provided by Loteria Nacional, Loto Real, and Pega 4 Real provided by Loto Real, as well as Super Kino TV and Loto Pool by Leidsa and QuinelaLoteka by Loteka. Besides the variety of lotto providers, the only provider that makes up the online lottery in the Dominican Republic is Leidsa. Leidsa is at the same time the first company which was authorized under Dominican gambling laws to operate the online gambling sector in the Dominican Republic.

Online bingo in the Dominican Republic

There are no specific Dominican online bingo laws, but the general regulations derived from the Dominican gambling legislation, serve as a basic legal framework that makes bingo legal in the Dominican Republic. Although there are various bingo halls in the country, online bingo in the Dominican Republic, is still not an option, as of August 2018, since there are no Dominican licensed online bingo providers. Foreign online bingo sites in Spanish language can easily be accessed from the country.

Online sports betting in the Dominican Republic

Dominican sports betting has been fully legalized in 2006 and is currently supervised by the Secretaria de Estado de Deportes, Educacion Fisica y Recreacion, the authorized institution for organizing and regulating sports betting activities in the country. Sportsbooks in the Dominican Republic are mainly part of the casinos, the biggest one being the Hard Rock casino sportsbook in Punta Cana, offering more than 100 sports for betting within the 5000 square foot betting section. However, as of August 2018, there are no online sportsbook sites in the Dominican Republic.  Foreign internet sportsbook sites, in Spanish language, can easily be accessed from the country.

Online daily fantasy sports in the Dominican Republic

Online DFS sites in the Dominican Republic do not have a legally regulated status. There is an ongoing debate on the status of this type of game, but considering the legality of online sports betting in the country it is very probable that internet Daily Fantasy Sports would soon receive a legal status in the Dominican Republic.