Dominican lawmakers advance ten-year licence moratorium
Regulation2 min read
The Dominican Chamber of Deputies approved a bill that would suspend most new gambling-establishment licences for ten years. The moratorium would cover lottery and sports-betting outlets but exclude casinos in hotels and authorised tourist locations. The Senate must review the amended text before any possible promulgation, and the measures would have no legal effect until final approval.
The Dominican Republic's Chamber of Deputies has approved an amended gambling bill that would suspend most new licences for gambling establishments for ten years. The suspension would begin after the official register of licensees is published and would cover lottery and sports-betting outlets.
Casinos in hotels and tourist locations would be excluded from the moratorium. Under the bill, casinos could be established only in hotels with at least four stars or in authorised tourist locations. The proposal would treat those casinos differently under minimum-distance rules.
The proposal cites figures from the Directorate of Casinos and Gambling identifying more than 71,000 registered lottery and sports-betting businesses in the country. The sector's size has made it difficult to validate operators, inspect premises and create an interconnected register. Authorities would review, validate, register and interconnect the existing network before considering further expansion.
The restriction would not automatically close authorised businesses or cancel existing licences. The bill's acquired-rights provisions would protect established legal positions during the compliance process. Existing operators could apply to renew their licences for a period equal to the original term, subject to technical assessment and regulatory compliance.
The bill would allow the regulator to establish a special discount scheme for tax and fee debts accumulated up to December 2025. The scheme would be coordinated with the Ministry of Finance and Economy and the tax authority, and operators would have to complete registration and regularisation to qualify.
The proposal would extend the deadline for lottery outlets, points of sale, agencies and betting outlets covered by a plan reactivated under Decree 197-26 in March 2026. The decree instructed authorities to complete the review, validation and formalisation of the existing land-based sector.
The Senate approved an earlier version, but the deputies' amendments require the bill to return to the upper chamber before it can go to the executive for possible promulgation. The moratorium, debt discounts and transitional protections will have no legal effect until the bill is finally approved and promulgated.