Dominican Republic Bill Could Allow Gambling Operators to Reduce Tax Debts

During its passage through the Dominican Republic Congress, a bill was proposed that proposes a special mechanism to cut the backlog of outstanding tax and fee obligations for some gambling firms that have built up over the past six months, up until December 2025.

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The provision has been added to Article 192 of the proposed bill, which was approved, with alterations, by the Chamber of Deputies and will be sent back to the Senate for further consideration.

Special Discount Regime for Outstanding Debts

The measure, which it is proposed will be called a “Special Discount Regime,” would be handled by the Gambling Council, in consultation with the Ministry of Finance and Economy and the Directorate General of Internal Taxes (DGII), through a resolution of the Gambling Council to be passed to the Directorate General of Gambling (DGJA) for it to implement a mechanism to address outstanding fiscal obligations.

The regime would exempt debts due to late payment of taxes and fees and would not be restricted by any kind of gambling business. But the operators would first have to go through their regularization and registration processes and then avail the discounts.

The applicable percentage and conditions of the discount would be based on those provided for in Law No. 30-26 of 18 June 2026. The provision thus provides a mechanism that allows operators to resolve some outstanding liabilities at less than the face value of the debt.

Measure Could Reduce Historical Tax Liabilities

While Article 192 doesn’t necessarily mention forgiveness or waiver, the proposed mechanism could mean that some operators will be paying less on their outstanding tax bills.

The net effect on the tax would depend on the type of debt in question and the discounts created by the law mentioned in the bill. The provision is also general: it would not just apply to owners of betting shops.

The framework might therefore encompass various businesses within the gambling industry, such as companies and entrepreneurs engaged in lottery, sports betting and other gambling activities.

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Dominican Republic Moves Toward a New Gambling Framework

The debt-discount plan is part of a much larger process that the Dominican Republic is pushing to restructure the regulation of gambling. The bill aims to provide a new institutional structure for the sector, including the setting up of the Directorate General of Gambling.

Previously, Teófilo “Quico” Tabar, the coordinator of the regularization process, said that after the law establishing the new entity is adopted, he would ask for a “full” examination of “outside the decrees governing the regularization process” decisions.

Tabar also called on all industry stakeholders not to alter the status of their operations until the new regulatory regime is established. He said his comments reflect the government’s plans to revise the current system in line with the proposed system.

Bill Still Requires Further Legislative Review

It was approved by the Senate and modified and passed by the Chamber of Deputies. The bill then goes back to the Senate for final action on the bill.

The special regime is therefore not yet in effect. Its implications will be realized in its final form as approved by Congress and in future rules that would put in place how the discounts would be based and applied.

If implemented, it could be an effective part of the government’s regularization program, which includes the payment of past fiscal requirements and the enrollment of gambling companies under the new law.

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Source: SBC Noticias