Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, borders with two countries, Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the south, and with two water masses, the Caribbean Sea to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. The most visited touristic nation in the Central American region, Costa Rica also provide a business environment for many foreign companies that operate in its Free Trade Zones enjoying the benefits of investments with tax incentives.
When it comes to gambling, there are two sides of Costa Rica legal coin. One is the legality — is it legal to gamble in land-based or online casinos? The other is the jurisdiction — how can you run an online gambling business in line with Costa Rican laws?
If you have tossed your virtual Costa Rican coin, the colón, in the air and it landed on the side of the former — you’re in the right place.
Legal Framework
Speaking formally through the letter of law, gambling is illegal for native citizens in land-based and online casinos located in Costa Rica while foreigners can indulge both.
However…
…this is just a letter on the paper.
The government is tolerant when it comes to enforcement of the law and does not take any concrete actions through its regulatory body. Since the country relies on the income from gambling companies in the country — and other foreign businesses, also by-products of tax incentives — it could turn out to be counterproductive.
In online gambling aspect, the language of Costa Rican law is peculiarly tailored. It stipulates that…
…the gambling does not take place at the location of the server that hosts the game but instead at the location of the player.
Thus, if players from around the world visit and play at the online casino in, say, San José, the capital of Costa Rica, it’s not illegal. And as long as Costa Ricans play from their homes in online casino not licensed in Costa Rica, no law is broken.
Ambiguous? As a matter of fact, not at all.
Land-based Casinos
The unique, exotic character and ecotourism on pristine locations in the wilderness, make Costa Rica a popular destination among tourists around the world. When it comes to entertainment, pastime, and money, tourists have a number of land-based casinos at their disposal.
These venues are adjunct to fairly larger hotels. Usually small, generally not crowded places, silent or with easy-going background music, land-based casinos offer table-based games and slots machines to players accompanied with national snacks and cocktails.
Aside from tourists, you will not find any Costa Ricans in land-based casinos. If natives want to gamble, they have to go elsewhere.
Online Casinos
When you mix lenient procedures for establishing an online gambling business, with the peculiar language of Costa Rican law, you get a major hub for online gambling.
Therefore, if you’ve tossed your virtual colón in the air, and it landed on the side of establishing and running the online casino business, you can check out our detailed overview of Costa Rica jurisdiction and learn more about…
…well, a number of important things that may be worthy of your time. And money.
But in a nutshell, the Costa Rican online gambling industry started with the advent of the internet. While one might assume that a quarter of the century is enough to create a professional and regulated market, it just isn’t the case here.
The usual suspects? Hmm, let’s see…
- Lax implementation of the gambling law;
- Lack of serious national regulatory body;
- Rather relaxed procedures to establish the online casino;
- Non-existent quality control and evaluation of online gambling business practices.
These, and other reasons, de facto paint a picture of underdeveloped iGaming industry. It implies that online gambling operators are given practically freehand to run their business. And this, in turn, explains the popularity of Costa Rica to anybody in this line of work.
And that is not always a good thing. In fact, more often than not, it isn’t.
To set the record straight — it doesn’t mean that all online casinos are rogue. Not at all. You’ll find a number of well-respected operators to be based in Costa Rica. It just means that they are diamonds in the mud.
Licensing and Player Protection
Seriously? Look, licenses in Costa Rica are not gambling but data processing licenses. In some instances, they’re not even mandatory. If you look closer into the process of attaining the license, you’ll realize that there is no player protection nor any highly regulated framework in place whatsoever.
Before You Enter
All of this may or may not mean a thing for your own experience. We’re not trying to create a picture of this beautiful country with amazing people, culture, and nature (at least that is our experience during extended holidays). We do, however…
…advice you to thread prudently the online gambling waters of this alluring jurisdiction.
Above all, stock yourself with useful information before you sail play away. To start with, if you’re reading this from Costa Rica you can find the list of casinos where you’re welcome below.
Further Reading
Nearby Restrictions
Belize
Curacao
Nicaragua
Panama
Similar Restrictions
Armenia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Barbados
Bangladesh
Burkina Faso
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