Paraguay intensifies fight against illegal gambling in Amambay
The National Gambling Commission (Conajzar) has once again taken to the streets. The agency, under the National Directorate of Tax Revenues (DNIT), launched a series of raids in the department of Amambay, in northern Paraguay, as part of its offensive against clandestine betting and gambling operations outside the legal system. This is one of the first major interventions since the new institutional articulation scheme created by Law No. 7438/25 came into force.
The procedures were carried out by the Directorate against Economic and Financial Crimes of the National Police of Paraguay, in coordination with the Public Prosecutor's Office, based on complaints about alleged clandestine operations linked to sports betting and illegal exploitation of gambling. After preliminary verifications, Conajzar confirmed that the intervened premises did not have authorization or the corresponding license and presented various administrative irregularities.
During the raids, authorities identified structures set up to operate outside state control. Digital evidence, computer equipment, cell phones, and vehicles were seized, all placed at the disposal of the Justice Department for the advancement of investigations. The deployment marks a change of pace compared to the country's traditional schemes, where the oversight of illegal gambling had been criticized for its lack of coordination between forces and departments.
Law No. 7438/25 and its regulations were precisely designed to resolve this bottleneck. The new regulations strengthen coordination between state agencies, formalize complaint mechanisms, and optimize control procedures. Conajzar seeks to leverage this framework to expand the scope of operations, move away from a defensive approach, and advance against more complex networks that combine sports betting, slot machines, and electronic games in different areas of the country.
"The fight against illegal gambling represents a priority for the DNIT and Conajzar, not only because of its impact on revenue collection and the formal economy, but also because of the possible links of these activities with criminal acts such as money laundering and organized crime," explained the Commission itself. The message reinforces the political interpretation of the operation: gambling oversight is not only considered in terms of taxation, but also as a piece of the anti-money laundering scheme and control of illicit activity financing.
For the region, the Paraguayan move is part of a wave of operations that has been strengthening in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Peru. Most Latin American regulators have been coordinating with police, public ministries, and tax authorities to reduce clandestine offerings, in a market where digital flows facilitate money mobility and brand proliferation. Amambay, a hot zone due to its border with Brazil, is once again on the radar of a business that is being redrawn on a regional scale.
Tags: Paraguay, Conajzar, illegal gambling Paraguay, betting regulation LatAm, DNIT, iGaming money laundering