Located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region, Dominican Republic is the second-largest nation in the Antilles by area, after Cuba. It is also the third-largest population, with approximately 3.3 million residing in the metropolitan area of Santo Domingo, the country’s capital city.
With an impressive number of land-based and more than a great selection of online casinos accepting players from the Dominican Republic, we can say that this country is quite an active participant in the entertainment sector. Gambling is embraced as an integral component of the rapidly growing tourism industry, along with a large number of intriguing attractions.
At first, traditional gaming establishments were aimed at foreigners only, but nowadays the situation has significantly changed, so locals are permitted to gamble as well. Interestingly, all companies interested to operate a betting venue need to fulfill an unusual requirement- the casino itself needs to be within or attached to the hotel.
Overview of Land-Based Industry
Casinos in the Dominican Republic are governed by Law 351, as amended by Law 24-98, introduced in 1999. Companies who want to install and operate games rooms need to fulfill a set of requirements.
For example, the interested party needs to be current in the payment of all tax liabilities, and a certificate of no criminal record from the Tax Office and the National Police. It has to be the owner, lessee, or licensee of a World Class Hotel.
Regarding the facility itself, there are two main categories:
- Venues located in Santo Domingo and in the provinces
These facilities are obliged to pay taxes on a monthly basis based on the number of tables they possess. Establishments running between 1 and 15 tables need to pay RD$ 12,000.00 pesos per table. Outlets operating between 16 and 30 tables are charged RD$ 14,000.00 pesos per table, while those encompassing between 31 and 60 need to pay RD$ 16,000.00 pesos per table.
- Casinos legally established in the beach areas of the country
Parlors situated in the geographical area of Juan Dolio, Boca Chica, Punta Cana, and the entire east of the country, have to pay RD $ 8,000.00 pesos per table on a monthly basis, while those accommodated in the geographical area of the southern region, and Puerto Plata, Rio San Juan and all the rest of the North, are charged RD $ 6,000.00 pesos per table.
As for the selection of games, punters are given a wide variety of categories at their disposal. Aside from all sorts of slot devices, there are Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Poker, and Baccarat. Let’s not forget to mention Bingo halls, horse racing, and the weekly lottery and lotto draw.
Is It Legal to Gamble Online?
Even though the law regulating online activities dates back to 1998, web-based casinos weren’t included at that point. They become legal a couple of years later in 2006. Wanting to halt illegal gaming activities, the country, that is the relevant institution decided to grant the license to grant the license to Amaya Gaming Group, one of the biggest names in the industry.
Being the only company officially certified to operate in this territory, it holds the monopoly of all genres-slots, table games such as Blackjack, Roulette, SicBo, Craps, Baccarat, online poker, with the exception of online lottery. Worth stressing out is that in 2017, Amaya changed its corporate name to The Stars Group Inc. In May 2020, the company was acquired by the British gaming conglomerate Flutter Entertainment.
The licensing and regulatory body responsible for land-based and internet casinos is the Casino Department of the Ministry of Finance of the Dominican Republic. Loteria Nacional is in charge of lottery licensing, while the Ministry of Sports, Culture, and Community Development regulates the sports betting sector.
Player Protection and Responsible Gambling
One of the most notable scandals associated with fraud has to do with MaxLotto, a company that received the Dominican Republic license in 2001. As far as advertised, 10% of the venue’s worldwide $100 million lottery revenues would be donated to charities.
Just a year later, in 2002, the corporation had disappeared from the Internet, along with the customer’s capital. No prizes had been paid out. Only a couple of (lucky) listed benefactors received donations.
Other than this, there are no examples of consumers getting scammed like that by the operators, neither the local nor the offshore ones. If playing with respectable gaming platforms, consumers have versatile helpful tools at their disposal. Those vary from one regulator to another, but mostly include deposit or loss limits, cool off/ take a break option, and even self-exclusion.
In case a website has none of these, caution is advised. A venue that is not equipped with any sort of player protection tools is not the best example of responsible gambling practices. Some jurisdictions such as the UK, Sweden, or Malta are under obligation to include them on their web pages, which ranks their licensees as trustworthy betting venues.
How to Find a Good Online Casino for Dominican Republic Players?
Come to think of a venue that caters to the needs of local clientele, it should be the one that offers Spanish among languages (including Spanish-speaking support agents), and has Dominican Peso as available currencies.
Other than this, it is necessary to take a look at a couple of more details, so as to be able to make the right decision. Start with the banking policy, processing time, and fees on transactions. Then see how complex and complicated is the identity verification procedure, and how long does it take to have the account approved.
Furthermore, check which providers are included and what’s the selection of game genres like. Also, don’t forget to see what sort of promotions and bonuses are offered and what are the accompanying wagering requirements.
All there’s left to say is- don’t forget to read Terms and Conditions to inspect if there are any problematic, unfair, predatory or simply unusual rules. It’s every responsible player’s duty, be it from the Dominican Republic or elsewhere.
Gamble responsibly!
Further Reading
Nearby Restrictions
Antigua and Barbuda
Aruba
Barbados
Cuba
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