Peruvian regulator proposes lower fines and more lenient controls
While much of the region is tightening its grip on online gambling, Peru is moving in the opposite direction. The Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism opened a public consultation on a draft Supreme Decree that lowers the cap on fines for the most serious remote gaming infringements from 200 to 70 Tax Units (UIT), while simultaneously easing several technical requirements currently imposed on licensed platforms.
The text was introduced via Ministerial Resolution No. 382-2026-MINCETUR, dated October 20, 2026, which mandates the publication of the draft and its statement of grounds on the ministry's website, establishing a 15-calendar-day window to receive feedback from public and private entities, civil society organizations, and any interested stakeholders. The Dirección General de Juegos de Casino y Máquinas Tragamonedas was placed in charge of receiving, compiling, and analyzing all submissions.
This scale adjustment is at the core of the proposal and directly impacts the sanctions regime established in the regulations of Law No. 31557. Minor infractions would see their ceiling drop from 50 UIT to 11; serious infractions, from 150 to 35; and very serious infractions, from 200 to 70. In relative terms, the reduction is steeper at the bottom than at the top: a 78 percent decrease in the minor bracket, nearly 77 percent in the serious tier, and 65 percent for very serious violations. While the spread between the floor and the ceiling of the scale widens, the deterrent power of the penalty framework declines across all three tiers simultaneously.
There is another detail worth examining alongside these reductions. The draft allows for a 50 percent fine discount if the operator acknowledges responsibility prior to the final investigation report, a 35 percent reduction if done before the sanctioning resolution is issued, and a 25 percent reduction for prompt payment without appeal—benefits that do not apply to repeat offenders. With the maximum discount applied, a very serious infraction penalized at the ceiling would drop to 35 UIT, precisely the cap established by the same proposal for serious infractions. The framework's harshest penalty, once negotiated, effectively equals the ceiling of the lower category.
The draft proposal does not stop at monetary penalties alone. In the event of a very serious infringement, MINCETUR could revoke the administrative authorization or disqualify the offender for up to 10 years or permanently—a measure not measured in UIT that remains the most severe tool at its disposal. To calibrate fine amounts, criteria such as illicit economic benefit, probability of detection, harm caused, intentionality, repeat offenses, and financial capacity are introduced. As a general rule, fines may not exceed 10 percent of gross revenue generated in the year prior to the infraction, a cap that does not apply to repeat offenders or unlicensed operators; furthermore, if the offender fails to substantiate their income, the regulator may levy the maximum amount directly.
On the advertising front, the regulatory momentum shifts in the opposite direction. Promotions would be restricted exclusively to platforms, games, and sports betting with an active license, and every advertisement would need to clearly identify the permit holder and its authorization number. Marketing targeted at minors, messages presenting betting as a source of income or a solution to financial difficulties, and creative assets associating the activity with personal attractiveness, acceptance, social success, or prestige are strictly prohibited. Warnings regarding problem gambling would need to be displayed for at least five seconds in audiovisual or digital content and occupy at least 10 percent of the visual area in print or static ads.
This chapter explicitly covers content creators. Influencers and creators would be required to disclose sponsored posts as advertising and refrain from targeting audiences predominantly made up of minors, while licensed operators would be held liable for content disseminated by agencies, third parties, and contracted influencers. Enforcement of advertising violations would fall under the Instituto Nacional de Defensa de la Competencia y de la Protección de la Propiedad Intelectual (INDECOPI), while the ministry oversees advertisements within its own scope of authority.
The technical section raises the most questions. It eliminates the obligation to permanently grant access credentials prior to commencing operations; instead, specific ad-hoc requests from the ministry during inspections will serve as the gateway to systems, databases, and reporting. It also reduces the minimum password length for players from eight to four characters, extends the full re-authentication interval from the current 30 days to six months, and stretches automated critical software audits from every 24 hours to every 30 days. It is an uneasy trade-off: player accounts serve as the identity anchor underpinning self-exclusion and age verification—the very pillars reinforced in the advertising chapter—and a four-character password valid for six months without re-verification undermines that foundation. Conversely, on the supervisory front, the ministry expands its scope: it may request data on suppliers, player accounts, markets, events, odds, bonuses, prizes, withdrawals, and deposits, while also contemplating the seizure of assets used in unauthorized or uncertified operations.
Peru regulates remote gaming and online sports betting under Law No. 31557, whose regulations launched the licensed market governed by MINCETUR via the Dirección General de Juegos de Casino y Máquinas Tragamonedas. The country couples this framework with an aggressive crackdown on illegal gambling that includes platform blocking and shutdowns, while maintaining INDECOPI as the consumer protection authority with jurisdiction over advertising and bettor complaints. The newly opened consultation represents the first comprehensive overhaul of the regulations since they took effect.
Tags: Peru, MINCETUR, regulation, online gambling