Paraguayan gambling collects US$32.3 million in ten months
Gambling revenue in Paraguay reached G. 197,121,115,839 between January and October—around US$32.3 million—representing a 6.28 percent increase compared to the same period in 2025, when the total stood at G. 185,476,085,077. The figures correspond to concession fees collected by the Comisión Nacional de Juegos de Azar and are published on the official portal of the Dirección Nacional de Ingresos Tributarios.
The month of October, however, presents two contrasting readings depending on the comparison. Year-on-year against October 2025, it grew by 5.51 percent, rising from G. 19,157,370,645 to G. 20,213,833,277. Month-on-month against September of this year, it dropped 1.11 percent, down from the G. 20,440,544,109 recorded in that previous month.
Looking at the full-year series, October's figure marks the second consecutive monthly decline. Revenue had been climbing from G. 18,715 million in January to its peak in August at G. 21,834 million, before sliding to G. 20,440 million in September and G. 20,213 million in October. The month finished 7.4 percent below the August peak.
The full monthly breakdown, in millions of guaraníes, was 18,715 in January; 18,022 in February; 18,316 in March; 19,301 in April; 19,632 in May; 19,549 in June; 20,837 in July; 21,834 in August; 20,440 in September; and 20,213 in October.
A methodological caveat is necessary before relying on the figures in US dollars. The conversion rates accompanying the monthly breakdown are inconsistent: the March figure implies an exchange rate close to 8,325 guaraníes per dollar, while April implies 6,226. Consequently, month-over-month foreign currency comparisons are unreliable, and performance tracking should be carried out in guaraníes. Taken together, the ten months of the breakdown total G. 196,859 million, roughly G. 262 million below the reported cumulative total—a 0.13 percent discrepancy attributable to rounding.
This growth arrives amid a debate that could alter who manages these concession fees. In October, an Executive Branch bill was submitted to Congress to establish the Dirección Nacional de Juegos de Azar, an agency with administrative and financial autonomy intended to replace CONAJZAR.
The proposed institutional framework centralizes powers that are currently fragmented. DINAJZAR would consolidate the authorization, concession, registration, oversight, and sanctioning of all gambling verticals under a single authority, while introducing new tools to combat illegal gambling and enforcing tighter control over both retail and digital operations.
The most tangible market shift concerns the licensing regime. The bill establishes a cap of three concessions per vertical—three for quiniela and three for sports betting—thereby predetermining the number of competitors allowed in each market and, as a result, defining license values prior to the bidding process.
The bill remains under review in the Senate, where it has already undergone a joint committee session involving the private sector, the Ministerio de Economía y Finanzas, DNIT, and CONAJZAR itself. Until legislative proceedings conclude, the agency responsible for revenue collection and regulatory oversight remains the Comisión Nacional de Juegos de Azar.
CONAJZAR is the regulatory body overseeing, licensing, and supervising gambling in Paraguay, and the fees represent the recurring payments made by concessionaires to operate each vertical, separate from the general taxes collected by the Dirección Nacional de Ingresos Tributarios. Last week, the regulator took part—alongside DNIT and the Ministerio Público—in an operation in Asunción that dismantled an illegal betting network handling approximately US$203,000 per month.
Tags: Paraguay, CONAJZAR, DINAJZAR, Revenue collection