• A new, comprehensive Gambling Bill in the Dominican Republic is facing fierce opposition from the local industry, which has labelled the legislation as dangerously flawed.
• The bill, championed by President Luis Abinader, was reportedly rushed through without proper industry consultation and contains glaring inconsistencies and fiscal loopholes.
• The operators’ trade body, ADOBAD, warns that the poorly drafted law will fuel tax evasion, disorganised expansion, and criminal infiltration of the market.
• Specific clauses, like Article 75 and Article 97, have been heavily criticised for creating fiscal confusion and granting unfair advantages to certain sectors.
• The industry is now appealing to the National Congress to conduct a proper evaluation and amend the bill before it destabilises the entire market.

The government of the Dominican Republic is on a collision course with its domestic gambling industry over a new, sweeping Gambling Bill that operators have slammed as being riddled with errors and inconsistencies. The legislation, which is being fast-tracked by the administration of President Luis Abinader, has been met with a furious backlash from established franchises who warn it is a recipe for chaos.

President Abinader has pitched the bill as a bold and necessary reform to modernise the country’s sprawling gambling sector, raise much-needed tax revenue, and tackle social harms like underage betting. However, the industry argues that the bill has been drafted in a vacuum, without any meaningful consultation, resulting in a text that is unworkable and dangerous.

The Industry’s Verdict: A Recipe for Chaos

The country’s trade association for sports betting operators, ADOBAD, has led the criticism, arguing that the bill in its current form is so flawed that it risks achieving the opposite of its stated goals.

“The call should be precisely for legislators, senators, and representatives to fulfil their role,” warned gambling lawyer Raúl Martínez. “They should not limit themselves to uncritically approving this bill without proper evaluation, since it contains glaring errors, has a highly deficient institutional design, and will lead to extremely high levels of tax evasion and a disarray in the gambling market.”

The Devil in the Detail: Flawed Clauses

Operators have pointed to specific articles in the bill as evidence of its poor design. Central to the controversy are two clauses:

• Article 75: This clause reportedly grants horse racing agencies sweeping rights to operate virtual games and install gaming machines on their premises without paying the corresponding taxes, creating what critics are calling a massive fiscal loophole and an “expansion bias.”
• Article 97: This article, which sets out new taxation rules for lottery banks, is described as being so poorly worded that it will create “tremendous confusion” and will inevitably lead to legal disputes and tax arbitrage.

The industry contends that these flawed articles are a direct result of the government’s failure to consult with the sector during the drafting process.

A Plea to Congress for a Rethink

While operators say they aren’t against the principle of reform-acknowledging the need for stronger protections and a fairer tax system-they are pleading with the country’s National Congress to intervene. Their request is for legislators to pause the bill’s progress, engage in proper consultation, and amend the text to create a framework that is coherent, fair, and, most importantly, workable.

The bill’s fate now rests with Congress, which must decide whether to back the President’s ambitious but flawed vision or to heed the stark warnings from the very industry the legislation seeks to regulate.