Simon’s Guide to Gambling in the Dominican Republic

Casino gambling is legal in the Dominican Republic and casinos require a gambling permit to operate legally. Casino licences are issued by the Casino Department of the Ministry of Finance. All land-based casinos must be incorporated in a hotel, and locals are also allowed to visit and play.

Currently there are about 50 casinos as well as slot machine halls in the Dominican Republic. The second largest casino in the Caribbean, the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Punta Cana is located in the Dominican Republic. Games on offer include roulette, blackjack, craps, baccarat and poker along with slot machines.

Online casino gambling is also legal in the Dominican Republic. While the regulatory framework for issuing online gambling licences has existed since 2006, the first and – so far – only licence was issued in 2011 to Amaya. There are also no restrictions against locals playing on international online casino sites.

Bingo is legal in the Dominican Republic, but the game is not exactly popular in the country, which means live bingo games may be hard to find. Some casinos do offer bingo nights, but it is still relatively rare.

Online bingo is much more freely available. Locals and tourists alike may choose bingo games provided by the only online gambling company licensed in the Dominican Republic, Amaya.
International bingo sites are also freely available.

Poker is legal in the Dominican Republic and may be played in the country’s many licensed casinos. Poker is most popular among American tourists. Games on offer generally include Caribbean stud but, interestingly, Texas Hold’em is missing from many casinos.

Online poker sites may be freely accessed from the Dominican Republic, as even unlicensed sites are not blocked, and playing on such sites is not against the law. Also, the country’s only licensed online gambling operator, Amaya, has owned PokerStars and Full Tilt since 2014.

Sports betting is legal and quite popular in the country. It is overseen and regulated by the Secretaria de Estado de Deportes, Educacion Fisica y Recreacion. While there are sports betting “corners” to be found in several casinos, these are usually rather small. Locals and tourists alike prefer the hundreds of individual betting shops located throughout the country.

Online sports betting has also been legal since 2006, though no online gambling licences were given out at the time. Today, however, there are several online sports betting opportunities offered by sites owned by Amaya, the country1s only licensed online gambling operator. Unlicensed foreign sports betting sites are also freely available in the Dominican Republic.

Lottery is legal in the Dominican Republic. The country’s national lottery, Lotería Nacional Dominican was started in 1882 by a Dominican priest. Lottery is not a monopoly in the Dominican Republic, and there are several lottery draws going on simultaneously. Games on offer include various numeric games as well as televised bingo.

Online play is also available at LEIDSA, the Lotería Electrónica International Dominicana, S.A. Locals may also freely participate in lottery draws on international online lottery sites available to them.

Bitcoin as a currency is legal in the Dominican Republic. Use of the virtual currency is actually rather widespread, with several traders exchanging the Dominican Peso to Bitcoin. The cryptocurrency is also accepted as payment at several establishments.

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Punta Cana is among these: not only do they allow the use of Bitcoin, the casino actually gives a discount to those paying with the cryptocurrency.*  There have been no online gambling licences issued to Bitcoin casinos, but locals are free to play on international Bitcoin gambling sites.