Peru set to legalise online gaming and sports betting
Tax rate on operators to be 12% of NGR while industry oversight will fall under the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism
Peru has given the go-ahead for online sports betting and gaming after the parliament voted by 91 to zero in favour legalisation.
Regulation and oversight will be conducted by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism of Peru (MINCETUR), the South American country’s foreign trade body.
The law will go into effect 60 days after it is published in El Peruano, the government’s official daily journal.
MINCETUR has already announced that the tax rate on net gaming revenue (NGR) will be set at 12%, which will be collected monthly.
The NGR tax, according to MINCETUR’s Roberto Sanchez, will level the playing field for both offline and online gaming in Peru.
A ‘maintenance tax’ of 2% on an operator’s monthly income will also be collected.
From these collected taxes, 40% will be directed towards Peru’s treasury, split evenly between the central fund and the Ministry of Health, which will use the money to fund treatment for mental health services and gambling addiction prevention services.
Operators with the necessary licensing may provide bonuses for online gambling, provided that the bonuses cannot be converted into cash.
Operators that offer sports betting must post a notice that says, “excessive online sports betting can cause pathological gambling”.
This new legislation also allows sports betting venues to be established, which allows players to place bets on sports games on betting terminals.
A minor breach of this legislation could result in a warning, a fine of up to SOL200 (£42.79), a suspension of the licence for up to 10 years, or a permanent ban.
Additionally, MINCETUR has the authority to impose preventative actions on an operator, such as temporarily closing a business and seizing assets.
Several operators already offer their products in the region, and this new legislation will help them to increase their reach in Peru.
For example, Betsson agreed a sponsorship deal with the Peruvian Football Federation last year to rename the top tier of Peruvian football to Liga 1 Betsson.
Betsson also inked a deal in October 2021 to acquire Peruvian B2C operator Inkabet.
The only other country in South America with regulated online gambling is Colombia, along with Buenos Aires in Argentina, although Brazil is in the process of introducing legal sports betting.