TLDR
- Dominican Republic Congress is reviewing a bill with a new tax debt discount plan for gambling operators.
- The measure, in Article 192, would create a “Special Discount Regime” for unpaid taxes and fees built up through December 2025.
- The Gambling Council would run the program along with the Ministry of Finance and Economy and the DGII.
- Operators must complete regularization and registration steps before they can apply for the discount.
- The plan is part of a bigger effort to build a new regulatory body, the Directorate General of Gambling.
Lawmakers in the Dominican Republic are reviewing a bill that could change how gambling operators handle old tax debts. The measure would let some companies pay less than the full amount they owe.
The plan is included in Article 192 of a larger bill moving through the Dominican Republic Congress. The Chamber of Deputies approved the article with changes before sending it back to the Senate.
The article would create what the bill calls a “Special Discount Regime.” This regime would apply to debts built up through December 2025.
How the Discount Regime Would Work
Under the plan, the Gambling Council would take the lead role. It would work with the Ministry of Finance and Economy and the Directorate General of Internal Taxes.
The Gambling Council would pass a resolution to the Directorate General of Gambling. That office would then set up the process for handling the discounts.
The discount would apply to debts tied to late payment of taxes and fees. It would not be limited to one type of gambling business.
Companies would first need to complete their regularization and registration steps. Only after that could they apply for the discount.
The size of the discount and the rules around it would follow Law No. 30-26, passed on June 18, 2026. The exact savings would depend on the type of debt owed.
The bill does not use the words forgiveness or waiver. Even so, the plan could lower the amount some operators end up paying.
Part of a Larger Regulatory Overhaul
The tax debt plan is one piece of a wider effort to reshape gambling rules in the Dominican Republic. The bill would also set up a new institutional structure for the industry.
This includes creating the Directorate General of Gambling as a new office. The office would oversee gambling matters going forward.
Teófilo “Quico” Tabar leads the regularization process for the government. He said he would ask for a full review of past decisions made outside the current decrees once the new law passes.
Tabar also asked industry members to avoid changing the status of their operations. He said this would help keep things steady while the new system gets set up.
The bill has already passed the Senate once. The Chamber of Deputies then made changes and approved its own version.
The bill now goes back to the Senate for a final vote. Until then, the discount plan is not yet law.
Once approved, more rules would need to be written. These rules would spell out how the discounts get calculated and applied.
The government sees the plan as one part of its larger regularization program. That program also covers paying past fiscal debts and registering gambling companies under the new law.
