Peruvian Congress passes gambling law amendments

Peru’s Congress has approved a series of amendments to close loopholes.

Peru.- The National Congress of Peru has approved amendments to its Gambling Law 2022 to close a series of loopholes. The amendments received 105 votes in favour and none against.

Peru’s Gambling Law still requires the signature of president Dina Boluarte. The latest amendments include a revision to article 40 to eliminate a loophole that could have allowed international companies to avoid paying the headline tax. Now both local and foreign gambling companies will be subject to the 11.76 per cent tax rate on revenue.

Meanwhile, the minimum financial guarantee required from operators has been increased from 200 Peruvian tax units (approximately $270,000) to 600 (+$500,000) or 3 per cent of annual gross revenue. Rules on player registration have been relaxed to allow non-Peruvians to register to gamble, and operators will now be able to use a variety of internet domains, not only bet.pe as proposed in the previous version of the bill.

Finally, the law makes a modification to the Peruvian Penal Code to make it a criminal offence for an operator to offer gambling without a licence. It imposes a penalty of one to four years in prison for those found guilty.

The changes were proposed by former Congress leader Lady Mercedes Camones (APP). She said the aim was to ensure legal equality for all operators and to “ensure tax collection, prevent money laundering, verify that customers participate safely in this activity and collect the corresponding tax”. 

National Vice Minister of Tourism, Madeleine Burns, has estimated that regulated gambling in Peru could generate around $160m a year for tourism, sports and health in the country. One concern that may remain for operators in the current grey market is the short timeframe given for implementation. The law grants a period of just 120 days for operators to transition to the regulated market.

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