Gambling in Panama grows 16.7% and online jumps 59.5%
Panama's digital channel grew almost ten times faster than the rest of the market. From January to July, online gambling totaled US$463.7m, an increase of 59.5 percent, while overall gross betting advanced 16.7 percent to US$1,897.7m.
The data comes from the most recent report by the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC), which is part of the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic and compiles records provided by the Gaming Control Board of the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The comparison is against the US$1,626.8m from the first seven months of 2025. July alone contributed US$289.8m, 17.5 percent more than the same month last year, and in that month, online gambling reached US$84.0m with a year-on-year increase of 57.9 percent.
The volume, however, remains elsewhere. Type A slot machines accounted for US$1,301.3m of the accumulated total, more than two-thirds of everything, although they grew considerably less: 6.9 percent.
The rest of the segments operate on smaller scales. Table games reached US$100.9m and advanced 18.3 percent; sports betting halls stood at US$10.9m with 5.5 percent; bingos, at US$3.9m with 6.3 percent. In negative territory were the racetrack, which fell 8.7 percent to US$15.4m, and instant games, which lost 30.4 percent, ending at US$1.3m compared to US$2m last year.
The lottery also lost ground in the accumulated total. Sales and gross revenue, including ticket and chance emissions, totaled US$475.1m, 1.6 percent below the US$482.7m from the same period in 2025. The striking fact is that July moved in the opposite direction: that month, sales reached US$74.4m with an increase of 14.5 percent.
The operational landscape supporting these numbers includes 22 full casinos and 31 slot machine halls, in addition to 45 sports betting shops, three bingo halls, and one racetrack, according to the official list. Alongside Type A machines, Type C machines coexist, designed for smaller venues, which pay a single line per coin, while the main category allows multiple combinations.
Panama regulates gambling through the Gaming Control Board and was one of the first countries in the region to enable the online channel. The speed with which this segment is expanding, compared to a land-based market growing at a single digit and a lottery that is declining, describes the same shift occurring across much of Latin America, although in Panama, it happens within a regulated framework rather than outside of it.
Tags: Gaming Control Board, gross gaming revenue in Panama, Panamanian online gaming, National Charity Lottery