Gambling Laws in Jamaica
Gambling in Jamaica is legal in all of its variety. Within the
Jamaican gambling legislation, the
Betting Gaming and Lotteries Act from 2010 and its amendment from 2014 are considered to be the main regulatory acts of all gambling activities in the country. According to this act, all forms of land-based gambling are legal in Jamaica. Online gambling is however only partly legal according to this act. The aspects that are legalized include the online lottery and sports betting while the rest of the games are still unregulated.
The regulatory body of the land-based activities in the country is the Betting Gaming and Lotteries Commission. The legal functioning of the online gambling sector is supervised by the same body. Besides its function as a supervisor, the Betting Gaming and Lotteries Commission is the official body that grants licenses to all Jamaican land-based casinos, sportsbooks, or other types of gambling providers, as well as to the online lottery and betting providers.
According to
Jamaican gambling laws minors, under 18 years of age are prohibited to participate in gambling activities.
Is Online Gambling Legal in Jamaica?
Partly. Online lotto games and online sports betting are legal while the rest of the games are not regulated. |
Online Casinos in Jamaica
There are several licensed land-based casino operators in Jamaica, as of October 2018, but none of them has launched
online casinos in Jamaica, licensed under the laws of this country. Due to the unregulated status of various online gambling games in the country foreign
internet casino sites are still accessible from within Jamaica.
Online Poker in Jamaica
There are several land-based operators in Jamaica, offering land-based poker on the Jamaican market as of October 2018. However, none of them has launched
online poker sites in Jamaica, licensed under the laws of this country. As there are no special
Jamaican online poker laws , and this market is rather unregulated, foreign
internet casino sites are still accessible from within Jamaica.
Online Lottery in Jamaica
The Betting Gaming and Lotteries Act from 2010 and its amendment from 2014 serve as the core of the
Jamaican online lottery laws. These laws provide the legal framework within which the Supreme Ventures Limited offers its lotto products in Jamaica. Supreme Ventures Limited, formed in 1995, is responsible for organizing the
online lottery in Jamaica, too. In 2003, SVL purchased its competitor, the Jamaica Lottery Company, and thus consolidated its lottery operations in 2004, becoming the main lotto provider in the country.
Online Bingo in Jamaica
There are no specific
Jamaican online bingo laws, and, consequently, the online bingo market in the country is considered to be rather unregulated. The current lottery operator in Jamaica does not offer any
online bingo in Jamaica in the country. However, bingo rooms licensed elsewhere are freely accessible from Jamaica.
Online Sports Betting in Jamaica
Online sports betting in Jamaica is regulated with the Betting Gaming and Lotteries Act from 2014. The most widely visited
online sportsbook sites in Jamaica are the JustBet and QuickSports run by the Supreme Ventures Limited company, which since 2006 was awarded a license for operating the Jamaican betting market, besides their engagement in the Jamaican lottery. The betting offer they provide is quite diverse, positioning these two sites pretty high according to their quality in comparison with the other
internet sportsbook sites in the region. Race betting is also popular in Jamaica with the Cayman Track Limited having an exclusive license to organize the race betting market.
Online Daily Fantasy Sports in Jamaica
Online DFS sites in Jamaica 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 Jamaica.