Dominican Republic lists 39 gaming venues in the iGaming.bet B2B directory, across 8 cities. Cities with the highest concentration of venues: Santo Domingo (15), Punta Cana (13), Santiago de los Caballeros (5), Sosúa (2), Bayahibe (1).
Among the most popular casinos in Dominican Republic are: Catalonia Bávaro Casino (Punta Cana), Grand Paradise Playa Dorada Hotel & Casino (Puerto Plata), Casino Las Terrenas (Las Terrenas), Casino Dominicus - Kviar Bayahibe (Bayahibe), Playa Chiquita Resort & Casino (Sosúa), Dominican Fiesta Hotel & Casino (Santo Domingo), Kviar Show Disco & Casino - Sunscape Coco (Punta Cana), Platino Casino (Santiago de los Caballeros), Kviar Hamaca Casino (Boca Chica), Naco Hotel & Casino (Santo Domingo).
The Dominican Republic has one of the Caribbean most consolidated gaming industries, with casinos operating in Santo Domingo major hotels since the 1950s. The sun and beach tourism that took off in the 1980s with the development of Punta Cana and the Puerto Plata Hotel Zone made gaming a central component of the country all-inclusive resort proposition, with the Dominican Republic today being the Caribbean destination with the highest number of casinos with 39 active establishments.
In the Dominican Republic, gaming is regulated by the Directorate General of Casinos, under the Ministry of Finance. The main legal framework is Law 351 of 1964 and its regulatory decrees, establishing casino authorization requirements, operating conditions and gaming tax regime. Casinos must be integrated into four or five-star hotels or specifically authorized establishments. The gaming gross revenue tax is 5% for hotel casinos and varies for independent halls.
Punta Cana concentrates the Dominican Republic highest-level casinos, integrated into the large all-inclusive resorts of the Bávaro coastal corridor. Hard Rock Hotel Punta Cana Casino is the country largest and most recognized, with more than 700 slot machines, 38 gaming tables, the Hard Rock Bet Sportsbook and Live at the Hard Rock as international entertainment venue. Barceló Bávaro Palace, Iberostar Grand Bavaro, Melia Caribe Tropical, Riu Palace Macao and Dreams Punta Cana casinos form the most active all-inclusive gaming corridor in the Caribbean, serving the four million tourists visiting Punta Cana annually.
Santo Domingo has in Casino Jaragua, Casino Naco and Hotel Santo Domingo Casino its most traditional establishments, complemented by Renaissance Santo Domingo Casino and other hotel casinos in the Avenida George Washington and Malecón waterfront area. Santiago de los Caballeros has its gaming hub in the hotel corridor of the country second city. Cruise tourism, with La Romana, Puerto Plata and Santo Domingo ports receiving more than one million annual passengers, generates additional short-trip gaming demand from the docking piers.
The DGJA published the list of platforms with valid authorization and warned that it detected around 81 sites operating without a license. The Regulatory Council has not yet convened, meaning there is currently no pathway open for new licenses.
The sixth Dominican edition will take place on November 18, featuring eight hours of exhibition and a series of panel discussions dedicated to the new regulatory framework, bringing together four local trade associations on a single panel.
A betting shop leader from Duarte province demanded regulatory oversight against foreign lotteries and slot machines in retail stores, and questioned years of irregularities in the formalization process.
The DGJA submitted the provisional and conditional database of establishments enrolled in the Regularization Plan to the DGII, a step that enables real-time tax verifications.
The newly created regulator opened its functions with two resolutions and a 30 day window for operators to declare irregular premises.
Betting operators were granted five-year licenses, casinos will only be permitted to operate in four-star hotels or higher, and the new regulator begins with an interim head.
The amendments extended licences, cut taxes and deleted the revocation grounds tied to labour rights.
The technical committee will convene bookmakers, casinos, ADOBAD, and the Horse Racing Commission to propose improvements to Congress following the promulgation.
The 195-article document establishes an autonomous regulator, mandates the .do domain for online operations, and freezes licenses for ten years.
The bill passed the Chamber of Deputies on July 23rd and awaits a ruling in the Senate. It establishes the General Directorate of Gambling and freezes licenses for ten years.