Paraguay establishes new legal regime for gaming

President Santiago Peña has signed into law a bill that opens up the country’s gambling market.

Paraguay.- Gambling in Paraguay is now legal after President Santiago Peña promulgated Law 7.438, which amends several articles of Law 1016/97 to establish the Legal Regime for the Exploitation of Games of Luck or Chance.

With the new legal regime, the National Gambling Commission (Conajzar) becomes directly dependent on the National Directorate of Tax Revenue (DNIT). Also, changes introduced by the bill will allow Paraguay’s government to de-monopolise its gambling sector.

Carlos Liseras, president of Conajzar, said that the new regulations ratify the commitment to the modernisation, transparency and efficiency of public resources. “We had quite a long, arduous and heavy job, but we did not have the necessary operation to be able to comply with our legal obligation.

“Today, with Law 7438, Conajzar becomes dependent on the DNIT, which has sufficient operation throughout the national territory, the logistics, the trained technical personnel and the infrastructure to fully comply with what the law establishes.”

Reforms aim to replicate DNIT’s tax collection success by providing Conajzar with expanded resources, including 800 inspectors and improved legal and control functions. Under its management, Conajzar will be strengthened to combat illegal gambling with new powers. Measures include blocking clandestine gambling signals, particularly those from unauthorised online casinos and platforms, through coordination with the national computing centre and Conatel.

The bill also seeks to open the gambling market by removing existing monopolies and allowing unlimited licences for sports betting and other games. Measures introduce new competition in the lottery and sports betting sectors, expanding from one to three licensees. Additionally, it proposes regulations for online gambling and betting to keep pace with technological advancements.