Panama

Panama has licensed online gambling for longer than almost anywhere in Latin America. The Junta de Control de Juegos, the executive secretariat inside the Ministry of Economy and Finance, has run games of chance and betting since Decree Law 2 of 10 February 1998, and Resolution 65 of 25 October 2002 brought juegos de suerte y azar a traves de Internet inside that framework. The JCJ authorises full casinos, Type A slot halls, bingo, sports betting agencies and racetracks alongside the internet licence, and the National Lottery sits outside its remit. The 2026 change is Law 527, promulgated on 23 May 2026, which recognises problem gambling as a public health issue, mandates biometric age verification on platforms and facial recognition in casinos, and gives the JCJ power to order internet service providers to block unlicensed sites.

Regulator

Gaming Control Board (JCJ)

Regulator type

Gaming board

Headline tax

Not yet verified

Licence required

Yes

Minimum age

Not yet verified

Tax base

Recorded only where it could be verified. Pardini states that an internet gaming operator pays a right of key of USD 40,000 and an annual state tax of USD 20,000, and that Resolution 65 applies the territoriality principle so that income and revenues produced in Panama are subject to Panamanian tax. The MEF publishes land-based percentages instead: a full casino pays 1,000,000 balboas key money plus 12 to 18 per cent of gross revenues, a Type A slot hall 500,000 balboas plus 18 per cent, and a bingo hall 15 per cent of gross revenues. A 10 per cent gross-gaming-revenue rate for online is widely quoted by commercial licence brokers but was not verified against the JCJ or the resolution, so no ggrTaxRate is recorded.

Capital

Panama City

Currency

PAB

Official languages

Spanish

Licence required

Yes

Application window

Not yet verified

Local establishment required

Not yet verified

Local server required

Not yet verified

Barriers to entry

Panama is one of the few genuinely open licensing routes in Latin America, which is both its attraction and its reputational problem: it has long been used as a base for operators serving markets other than Panama. Pardini records a right-of-key payment of USD 40,000 and an annual state tax of USD 20,000 for an internet gaming licence. Commercial licence-broker sites additionally quote a seven-year term and a 10 per cent tax on gross gaming revenue; neither figure could be confirmed against the JCJ or the resolution text at review and neither is asserted here. Law 527 of 2026 is the first real tightening in years and adds biometric verification and blocking powers.

Headline GGR tax

Not yet verified

Effective date

Not yet verified

Tax base

Recorded only where it could be verified. Pardini states that an internet gaming operator pays a right of key of USD 40,000 and an annual state tax of USD 20,000, and that Resolution 65 applies the territoriality principle so that income and revenues produced in Panama are subject to Panamanian tax. The MEF publishes land-based percentages instead: a full casino pays 1,000,000 balboas key money plus 12 to 18 per cent of gross revenues, a Type A slot hall 500,000 balboas plus 18 per cent, and a bingo hall 15 per cent of gross revenues. A 10 per cent gross-gaming-revenue rate for online is widely quoted by commercial licence brokers but was not verified against the JCJ or the resolution, so no ggrTaxRate is recorded.

Minimum age

Not yet verified

National self-exclusion

Not yet verified

Session limits

Law 527 of 2026 requires platforms to provide tools letting users set voluntary spending and time limits.

KYC requirements

Law 527 of 2026 requires online betting platforms to incorporate biometric identity and age verification systems to prevent access by minors under 18, and requires casinos and Type A gaming halls to integrate facial recognition into their surveillance to identify excluded persons.

Stake limits

Not yet verified

ISP blocking

Yes

DNS blocking

Not yet verified

Payment blocking

Not yet verified

App store takedowns

Not yet verified

Operator liability

Under Law 527 of 2026 the Junta de Control de Juegos may order the blocking, suspension or restriction of access to websites, applications, domains and IP addresses linked to betting or gambling operated without a current Panamanian licence, and telecommunications operators and internet service providers must execute those orders immediately. Reported fines run from 25,000 to 100,000 balboas, doubling for repeat breaches and carrying temporary suspension or permanent cancellation of the licence, with up to one million balboas for failing to comply with a blocking order.

Two things to watch. First, the implementing regulations for Law 527, which the Executive has six months to issue and which will determine whether the biometric and blocking obligations are real or nominal. Second, whether Panama tightens the internet licence itself. The licence has historically been an inexpensive, lightly conditioned route used to serve markets elsewhere, and as more Latin American countries build their own regimes, the value of a Panamanian licence to a serious operator depends increasingly on how seriously Panama supervises it.

Who licenses online gambling in Panama?

The Junta de Control de Juegos, the gaming control board inside the Ministry of Economy and Finance, under Decree Law 2 of 1998 and Resolution 65 of 25 October 2002.

What changed with Panama Law 527 of 2026?

It recognises problem gambling as a public health matter, requires biometric identity and age verification on betting platforms, requires facial recognition in casinos, and lets the JCJ order internet providers to block unlicensed gambling sites.

1. Secretaria Ejecutiva Junta de Control de Juegos

   Ministerio de Economia y Finanzas de Panama

   Tier 1Accessed 5 Aug 2026
2. Internet gaming in Panama

   Pardini and Asociados

   Tier 3Accessed 5 Aug 2026
3. Panama endurece controles sobre apuestas digitales

   La Estrella de Panama

   Tier 4Accessed 5 Aug 2026
4. Panama aprueba una nueva ley para reforzar la prevencion de la ludopatia y el control del juego online

   SoloAzar Latinoamerica

   Surfaced through search results rather than read in full. Reporting of the Law 527 penalty range differs: this source and La Estrella give 25,000 to 100,000 balboas for operators with up to one million balboas for ignoring a blocking order, while other trade reporting quotes a flat ceiling of one million balboas. The narrower range is recorded because two sources support it; the text of Law 527 itself was not obtained.

   Tier 3Accessed 5 Aug 2026