Online Gambling License in Costa Rica

Updated: 2025

Costa Rica has long served as a major center for online gambling, sports betting and poker. A number of the biggest and most successful names in all of gambling are now or have been based in the country. There are call centers, headquarters, and even a few billionaires all associated with Internet gambling.

The funny thing is that Costa Rica has never had a licensing system. There are no licenses, permits or regulatory bodies that govern online gambling in this Central American country. All an operator has to do is run an online gaming business according to its own rules and regulations. And what governs them is quite simple: don't take bets from people who live in Costa Rica.

For a gambler, this might seem pretty scary. After all, anyone can set up shop in Costa Rica and ask for your money. But remember, there are still a number of reputable and very successful gambling sites operating out of Costa Rica. It's a beautiful little country with a relatively low tax rate, and their limited regulations are more business-friendly than our current national standards. So, not every site operating in Costa Rica is trying to take advantage of the licensing situation.

But yes, there are bad operators operating out of Costa Rica. If you're in the market for a gambling site, we recommend that you read our reviews instead of basing your decision on where the site is located or what licenses it has. Licenses don't tell the whole story. In some jurisdictions, licenses are issued so easily that they're just as useless as no license at all.

Data Processing License

Obtaining an official online gambling license in Costa Rica is not possible because the country does not have such a system. Consequently, all online gambling operations here apply for something else: a “data processing” license. Since San Jose City Hall grants these with virtually no strings attached, it has become a popular method for many in the online gambling industry. And after setting up a simple business structure around this license, with a corporation and a bank account, a company can effectively run an online gambling operation from Costa Rica.

In Costa Rica, it is difficult for gambling websites to do business because the banking system is heavily influenced by the United States. Even so, local banks want nothing to do with online gambling. There must be a way around this insoluble problem; I know there is.

In Costa Rica, companies don't have to pay taxes on profits they make in other countries. Since these same companies don't sell anything to people in Costa Rica, they make money without paying taxes to the Costa Rican government.

Numerous companies focus their business ventures on helping outsiders get up and running in Costa Rica. They engage in the following activities: 1. Helping to incorporate a company in Costa Rica 2. Setting up a banking solution 3. Assisting in obtaining the ever important data processing license.

A Proposal to Regulate E-Gaming

In 2013, President Laura Chinchilla stated that the government of Costa Rica was interested in regulating and licensing online gambling. The Ministry of Finance presented plans that would allow the government to license online gambling providers. The proposed fee for this license was an annual sum of $50,000.

The plan also included a proposal for a 0.5% tax on gross income and a 5% tax to curb any type of gambling-related criminal activity. As of this writing, nothing has changed. But it is at least worth noting that the idea is floating around. And so we will update this page if and when something changes.