Panamanian online gambling is US$1.8m away from surpassing the lottery
Two curves moving in opposite directions are about to cross in Panama. Online gaming accumulated US$547.7 million in gross bets between January and August 2026, while the Lotería Nacional de Beneficencia sold US$549.5 million in the same period, a difference of just US$1.8 million between the channel growing at 60.1 percent and the product declining by 2.7 percent. These figures come from the National Institute of Statistics and Census, which reports to the Comptroller General of the Republic.
The total market is sustained by this momentum. Gross bets from gambling operators reached US$2,206.1 million in the first eight months, 16.9 percent more than the US$1,886.6 million recorded in the same period of 2025. In August, the total amounted to US$308.4 million with an 18.7 percent increase, and the digital channel contributed US$83.9 million that month, 63.4 percent above August of last year. The starting point for online gaming had been US$342.1 million in the accumulated total for 2025.
Type A slot machines continue to be the heavyweight by volume. This segment gathered US$1,507.2 million until August, an increase of 6.9 percent compared to US$1,409.3 million from the previous year, which accounts for more than two-thirds of the total amount wagered in the country. Gaming tables, on the other hand, were the most dynamic land-based segment, with US$115 million and an 18.4 percent increase.
The rest of the land-based sector is moving slowly or declining. Bingo halls remained at US$4.5 million with a 4.6 percent increase, and sports betting halls at US$12.2 million with a 4.3 percent increase, two variations that barely keep pace with inflation during the period. The racetrack fell 8.4 percent to US$18.1 million, and instant games plummeted 35 percent to US$1.5 million, the worst performance in the series.
The state lottery is the other side of the picture. Gross sales of the Lotería Nacional de Beneficencia stood at US$549.5 million between January and August, below the US$564.6 million of 2025, and August confirmed the trend with US$74.4 million compared to US$81.9 million a year earlier. The institute's survey covers online gaming, Type A slot machines, tables, bingo, sports betting halls, racetracks, and instant games, with lottery sales accounted for separately.
There is one piece of data that the report does not calculate, which puts everything else into perspective. The market growth was US$319.5 million in absolute terms, and US$205.6 million of that increase came from the online channel, meaning almost two-thirds of Panama's total growth in eight months. Adding the contribution of Type A slot machines, these two segments explain 95 percent of the expansion, so the rest of the land-based market is stagnant in real terms, even if the total appears to be rising. Online gaming already represents 24.8 percent of what is wagered with operators, and if it maintains its pace, it will close the year as the country's second-largest segment. The physical infrastructure it competes against remains considerable: one racetrack, three bingo halls, 45 sports betting halls, 31 slot machine venues, and 22 full casinos, according to the official list of operations, plus Type C machines in smaller establishments, which allow only one play per coin compared to the multiple combinations of Type A machines.
Tags: Panama, INEC, online betting, slot machines