Peruplans on charging more for online casino licenses. The country has approved amendments to the current rules and will now charge iGaming firms three times what it originally planned.
New rules have been approved by many notable institutions, including the Central Bank, Ministry of Finance and Finance Intelligence Unit, as well as the Congress of Peru. These organizations have amended law 31557 to create a new regulatory structure in Peru.
The original law, which was passed last year in South America, laid the groundwork for the regulation of gambling. The law was personally signed by President Pedro Castillo in August last year and set up the first regulatory framework for Peruvian iGaming. The law established the Ministerio de Comercio Exterior y Turismo as the regulator, and the first version of the local taxes regime.
Peru introduces changes to its taxation regime
Due to the new changes, companies must now pay 810,000 in order to obtain a license. Retail licenses were removed, and as a consequence, the points of sale must pay a warranty amounting to $6 715 in order to offer gaming.
The new rules also introduce a 12% consumption tax after APADELA (Peru’s sports betting organization) criticized previous versions of the laws. In its previous versions, Law 31557 only required foreign operators to pay the net win tax.
In terms of taxes, the amendments made earlier stated that the cash bonuses applied to iGaming or online sports betting would continue to be used as a guideline to calculate the tax.
Peru recently banned anonymity in iGaming
Other changes that have been discussed include the introduction to mandatory Know-Your-Customer rules, which will allow companies to only accept bets from customers. Customers could previously remain anonymous.
Operators regulated by the EC will also be required to sell their products in local domains. Included in this are:
- .bet.pe
- .bet
- .com.pe
- .pe
A decision was made to ban the construction of new gambling halls within 150 metres of schools or religious buildings. Existing casinos can continue to operate as normal.
Companies and individuals who do not comply with the law may be subject to a range of fines, and even jail time. Violators can be sentenced to up to four years of jail time, and companies may have their licenses suspended or revoked.
The new regulations are expected to come into force 120 days after the technical regulation has been finalized. They were introduced following recent consultations on the regulatory framework.
