The National Congress of the Dominican Republic is moving forward with a new regulatory framework for gambling that includes a special discount regime for operators’ outstanding tax obligations. The measure, included in Article 192 of the legislative text recently approved with amendments by the Chamber of Deputies, would benefit companies with overdue taxes and fees accumulated through December 2025.
To access the relief scheme, establishments and platforms would have to be formally regularized and registered with the relevant regulatory authorities. The applicable discounts would be governed by the parameters established under Law No. 30-26, as part of a government effort to clean up the industry’s tax history and encourage the formalization of the betting ecosystem in the Caribbean country.
The implementation and technical scope of these deductions would fall under the authority of the Directorate General of Gambling (DGJA), through a resolution issued by the Gambling Council. The agency would coordinate with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economy and the General Directorate of Internal Revenue (DGII) to determine the operating conditions for each case.
Although public debate has focused primarily on lottery and sports betting outlets, the bill expressly extends the benefit to gambling operators more broadly. This expands the scope of the measure to other segments of the industry, potentially allowing a larger number of companies to regularize their commercial status.
The initiative has not been without political and fiscal controversy. Various sectors have pointed to the lack of precise estimates of the fiscal cost the measure would represent for government coffers, as well as the absence of official figures on the total amount of accumulated debt that would fall under the discount regime.
Local media have also raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest in the legislative process, noting that several lawmakers from different political parties have declared commercial interests in the betting sector and participated in various stages of the bill’s discussion.
The bill will now continue its passage through the Senate of the Dominican Republic, where the Finance Committee will evaluate the amendments introduced before issuing a final decision.
Original article: https://www.yogonet.com/international/news/2026/08/25/126071-dominican-republic-new-gambling-bill-proposes-reducing-operators-outstanding-tax-debts
