TLDR
- Illegal offshore platforms are undercutting licensed operators in Peru by avoiding taxes and regulations
- Licensed operators pay a 12% sector tax on gross gaming profit plus a 1% tax on every bet placed
- A sports integrity bill passed by Congress was vetoed by the Executive branch and awaits action
- Regulators are urged to focus on redirecting consumers to legal platforms, not just enforcement
- Peru is considering a tourism law amendment to formally register casinos as tourism service providers
Peru’s regulated betting market is growing, but two problems keep standing in the way: illegal operators and sports integrity risks.
That’s the view of Carlos Fonseca, a gaming law specialist and CEO of Gaming Law SAC, who wrote about the challenges in Peruvian newspaper El Peruano.
Illegal Platforms Tipping the Scale
Offshore betting platforms operating without a Peruvian license are a major problem, according to Fonseca. These platforms don’t face the same tax and compliance costs as licensed operators, giving them an unfair edge.
Licensed operators in Peru pay a sector-specific tax equal to 12% of gross gaming revenue. That works out to an effective burden of 11.76% of gross gaming revenue.
On top of that, Peru later added a Selective Consumption Tax of 1% on every single bet placed. Fonseca says this kind of tax pressure can push both operators and consumers toward the informal market.
He warned that if regulators place too many burdens on legal operators, businesses and bettors will have financial reasons to move to unlicensed platforms.
Fonseca argued that regulators should focus less on enforcement and more on making the legal market attractive. The goal, he said, should be redirecting demand toward authorized operators.
Sports betting demand in Peru is “persistent and relatively inelastic,” especially during major international sporting events, he noted. That makes a well-functioning legal market all the more important.
Sports Integrity Still Unresolved
Match-fixing and fraud are the other major concern Fonseca raised. Peru’s Congress passed a bill aimed at strengthening anti-match-fixing rules, but the Executive branch vetoed it. The bill is still waiting for further legislative action.
Fonseca called for ongoing cooperation between regulators, operators, sports organizations, and international bodies to protect the integrity of sport.
He also praised Law No. 31557, which was the first law in Peru to regulate remote gambling and betting. He described it as a turning point for the country’s legal framework.
Meanwhile, Peru is also looking at updating its tourism laws. A proposed Supreme Decree would bring casinos and slot machine operations under the General Tourism Law, regulated by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism.
The proposal wouldn’t expand where gambling is allowed. It would simply require gaming operators to register as official tourism service providers.
According to the official proposal, the casino and slot machine sector is already fully legalized and monitored using a real-time control system that tracks economic and tax activity online.
If passed, the amendment would formally add casinos to the national register of tourism operators under Law No. 32392.
