Long regarded as the wild, wild west of online gambling, Costa Rica is looking to gain tighter regulatory control over its net betting sector.
The small Central American nation has played an integral part in the development of the online gambling industry, with many large operators, including Sportinget.com and BetonSports having based themselves there at some point in time. Today over 250 online gambling companies still call Costa Rica home according to the US State Department.
But presently, regulation of the industry is pretty loose. Aside from a law forbidding operators to accept bets from Costa Rican locals, operators are subject to little regulatory oversight, gaming taxes or licensing fees.
But according to a recent announcement from finance minister Guillermo Zuņiga this is all about to change. A new law to be debated before Parliament as early as this August, will introduce a new regulatory body, stricter probity controls and a gambling tax to be applied to online gambling operators. And much of the motivation for the new bill is fiscally based.
Costa Rica's government, like many around the world, is struggling to fill holes in a rapidly expanding budget deficit. The proposed measures are estimated to generate as much at $85 million in gambling taxes annually from both online and terrestrial operators which will both subject to the new laws. But as well as putting some cash into government coffers, the new regulations could go a long way to restoring Costa Rica's reputation as a legitimate licensing jurisdiction - luring back some of the big operators who have migrated to European based licensing jurisdictions.
Last year Antigua Barbuda toughened up its regulations and in so doing earned 'white listing' status from the UK Gaming Commission. Some reports are suggesting that Costa Rica's new regs may mirror Antigua's and open the door to a similar addition to the UK Government's list of white status jurisdictions.
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