Costa Rica Calls For Stricter Rules

When it comes to internet gambling in Costa Rica, the first thing that comes to mind is unlicensed operators policed by a corrupt government. Many operators, operating in the country are trying to improve their images by getting rid of the “bad online” tag.

Laura Chinchilla who heads the Costa Rican government has decided enough is enough and imposed stricter legislation to regulate the faltering internet gambling industry since it has become lax. Hopefully this will improve Costa Rica as a gambling jurisdiction and tarnished online gambling reputation. The question one has to ask will this help, since the online gambling industry has stagnated so much.

Past regulations imposed by the government have not been policed properly by it and as a result this has become a breeding ground for many rogue internet casinos, which have chosen Costa Rica as their internet gambling jurisdiction. In addition this could be ascribed to the fact the US has imposed strict laws to internet gambling in the US banning online internet in many states and as a result many casino operators opened offices in Costa Rica.

Casino operators who choose to continue with their underhand tactics are in for a nasty surprise, since the Costa Rican government decided to clamp down on rogue casino operators. In turn the Government will impose stricter regulations and a higher tax bracket which is more likely to scare the living daylights out of dishonest internet casino vendors. This being said, many operators are extremely unhappy about the government’s new proposed legislation and are threatening to leave the country. In the meantime the Costa Rican government is revising its new tax laws because of the aforementioned.

The Comisión Nacional Reguladora de Apuestas y Juegos de Azar is set to control and supervise internet gambling activities in Costa Rica, for both internet casinos and various other modes of internet gambling sites that are situated in Costa Rica. In addition, internet gambling operators have to declare their earnings or profits in order to pay the government’s share in tax revenue.

Strictly speaking the Costa Rican government is faced with a “catch 22” situation, if they do impose a too high tax bracket and licensing fees, this in turn might scare existing and potential internet casino operators to not invest in the country and would result in the loss of much needed revenue.