Legal casino gambling age in PanamaPanama treats games of chance as a state activity. The Constitution reserves their exploitation to the state, and the state exercises that right in two ways. The Lotería Nacional de Beneficencia, a public institution founded in 1914, runs the national lottery directly. Almost everything else, from hotel casinos and slot machine halls to sports betting and internet gaming, is operated by private companies under contracts and licences granted by the Junta de Control de Juegos (JCJ), the Gaming Control Board within the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Panama first authorised internet gaming in 2002, initially only for customers abroad, and widened the rules in 2020. In 2026 the National Assembly passed Law 527, which gives the JCJ power to block unlicensed gambling websites.
Key points
- Article 297 of the Constitution provides that the exploitation of games of chance may be carried out only by the state. Decree-Law No. 2 of 10 February 1998 restructured the JCJ and sets the framework for privately operated games.
- The JCJ, chaired by the Minister of Economy and Finance, authorises and supervises casinos, slot machine halls, sports betting, bingo, racing and internet gaming. The Lotería Nacional de Beneficencia keeps an exclusive right to lotteries.
- Internet gaming has been licensed by the JCJ since Resolution No. 65 of 25 October 2002, amended by Resolution No. 11 of 6 March 2020. Online wagers reached about USD 587 million in 2025, roughly a fifth of the market, according to figures reported by Infobae.
- Law 527 of 2026 lets the JCJ order the blocking of unlicensed gambling websites, apps, domains and IP addresses, requires platforms to offer spending and time limits and biometric age checks, and creates a problem gambling fund financed by 0.5% of operators’ annual revenue.
- A national self-exclusion register run by the JCJ covers casinos, slot halls, betting agencies, bingo, the racetrack and internet games. Exclusion lasts two years.
Last reviewed: 6 October 2026.
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Historical development
Lotteries came first. According to the organisation manual of the Lotería Nacional de Beneficencia (LNB), the institution was created by Law No. 25 of 5 December 1914. Its current organic statute is Cabinet Decree No. 224 of 16 July 1969, which states that its purpose is to help finance the state’s social development programmes. The LNB describes its position as an “exclusive right to exploit the game of lottery and other similar games” (LNB institutional report 2024–2025).
Casinos and other games developed under a separate regime. In 1998 the government restructured the gaming sector by Decree-Law No. 2 of 10 February 1998, published in Official Gazette No. 23,484 on 17 February 1998. The decree-law reorganised the Junta de Control de Juegos and moved the country from state-run casinos to a model in which private companies administer and operate games on the state’s behalf. Article 2 provides that games are exploited “in exclusive benefit of the State”, either directly or through contracts with third parties. The original text was hostile to remote gambling: Article 24 expressly prohibited electronic forms of betting at a distance where the source of the money could not be identified.
That position changed four years later. On 25 October 2002 the JCJ adopted Resolution No. 65, which regulated internet gaming for the first time. In an article in Panamá América on 5 November 2002, the JCJ’s Executive Secretary explained that it did not permit people in Panama to play with JCJ-licensed operators; the aim was to attract foreign operators serving customers abroad. On 6 March 2020 the JCJ adopted Resolution No. 11, which amended Resolution No. 65 (Official Gazette No. 28,985 of 20 March 2020). The Ministry of Economy and Finance described the 2020 resolution as authorising internet games of chance and skill in Panama and “providing new options to existing players” (MEF, February 2021).
Legal framework
Panama is a unitary state, and gambling is regulated at national level. The main instruments are:
- Constitution, Article 297. It provides that the exploitation of games of chance and activities that give rise to betting “may only be carried out by the State”. The Office of the Attorney for the Administration relied on this article in its opinion C-128-22 of 2 August 2022, which confirmed the JCJ’s authority to authorise and regulate bingo games.
- Decree-Law No. 2 of 10 February 1998, which restructures the JCJ, assigns its functions and regulates slot machines, casinos, horse racing, bingo, raffles and other games. According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, it has been amended by laws including Law No. 23 of 2000, Law No. 49 of 2009 (which changed Articles 49 and 61, among others), Law No. 71 of 2011 and Law No. 28 of 2012. Article references below are to the 1998 text.
- Cabinet Decree No. 224 of 16 July 1969, the organic statute of the LNB (LNB).
- JCJ Resolution No. 65 of 25 October 2002, the internet gaming regulation, as amended by Resolution No. 11 of 6 March 2020 (Official Gazette No. 28,985).
- JCJ responsible gaming resolutions, including Resolution No. MEF-RES-2021-2425 of 15 November 2021 and Resolution No. 5 of 3 June 2022, which underpin the self-exclusion register (JCJ self-exclusion form).
- Law 527 of 2026, on the prevention of problem gambling and the control of digital gaming platforms, described in detail below (La Estrella de Panamá).
We could not locate an Executive Decree dedicated to internet gaming. The sources we reviewed, including the 2002 statement by the JCJ itself and a note by the Panamanian law firm Pardini & Asociados, place online gaming under JCJ resolutions issued on the basis of Decree-Law No. 2.
Regulator and licensing model
The Junta de Control de Juegos is the regulator. Under Article 11 of Decree-Law No. 2, its board has three members: the Minister of Economy and Finance, who chairs it, the Comptroller General and a representative appointed by the Legislative (now National) Assembly. The board is supported by an Executive Secretariat and by directorates for gaming halls and for racetracks and other games.
Panama’s model is best described as a state monopoly operated through private contracts. The state keeps the legal right to exploit games of chance, but the JCJ grants that right to private companies by means of administration and operation contracts and licences. In return, operators pay the state a share of their revenue, which Panama calls the state’s “participation”. The main categories of business are:
- Full casinos (casinos completos), with gaming tables and slot machines. The 1998 text confines them to a defined “Designated Area” or to designated tourism development zones. New hotels in the Designated Area that wish to host a casino must have at least 300 rooms, a swimming pool, restaurants, 24-hour service and international luxury standards (Article 49). Outside it, casinos are allowed in new resort hotels (Article 47).
- Type A slot machine halls, which are stand-alone venues. A 2002 JCJ resolution published in the Official Gazette illustrates the terms: a contract for seven Type A halls in six provinces required at least 50 machines per hall and paid the state 10% of gross revenue.
- Type C machines, sports betting agencies, bingo halls, the national racetrack and charitable raffles and tombolas.
- Internet gaming licences (see the next section).
As enacted, Decree-Law No. 2 fixed the state’s participation at 10% of gross revenue for new operations outside the Designated Area (Article 61). For casinos in the Designated Area, it set a minimum annual participation calculated from a base of B/. 6.8 million with a 2% annual adjustment (Article 64), while operators selected in the 1997 tender pay rates fixed in their individual contracts (Article 62). The balboa (B/.) is at par with the US dollar.
The JCJ publishes a list of venues. Its list of gaming halls and their locations, updated to October 2020, showed 22 full casinos, 31 Type A slot halls, 45 sports betting halls and 3 bingo halls, 102 venues in all. A March 2026 report in La Prensa put the number of authorised gaming halls at more than 100. We did not find a more recent official count.
The scale of the market is substantial. Preliminary figures for 2025 reported by Infobae put gross wagers at about USD 2,938 million, 15% more than in 2024. Type A slot machines accounted for about USD 2,147 million (73%), internet gaming for USD 587 million (20%), casino tables for USD 146 million and sports betting halls for under USD 18 million. The LNB reported a further USD 846 million in gross sales. These figures are wagers, not gross gaming revenue (GGR, stakes minus winnings paid out).
Online gambling: what is permitted and how it is enforced
Internet gaming requires a licence from the JCJ. Under Resolution No. 65 of 2002, as described by the JCJ’s Executive Secretary in 2002 and by Pardini & Asociados, operators paid an initial fee of B/. 40,000 and an annual fixed fee of B/. 20,000. They had to keep reserve and custody accounts for players’ funds and give players a link through which they could complain directly to the JCJ. Pardini notes that bets on amateur sports, on events involving Panamanian institutions or teams and on elections were excluded. We could not read the full text of Resolution No. 11 of 2020, so we cannot confirm which of these terms it changed.
The original exclusion of Panamanian residents no longer reflects how the market works. After Resolution No. 11 was adopted, the then head of the JCJ, Manuel Sánchez, told Yogonet (July 2020) that four applications had been approved by the board, and that the licensed games included live casino, poker, blackjack, slots and sports betting, with up to five domains per licence. Official statistics now record online wagers as a category of the domestic market. Trade press citing the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC) reported online wagers of 379.75 million balboas in the first half of 2026, 59.8% more than a year earlier (SBC Noticias). We did not find a published register of licensed online operators, so readers cannot easily check whether a given website holds a JCJ licence.
Unlicensed operators and blocking. Until 2026 Panama had no specific legal tool for blocking gambling websites. Law 527 created one. According to La Estrella de Panamá and Yogonet, it allows the authorities to order the blocking, suspension or restriction of access to websites, applications, domains and IP addresses linked to operators without a licence. Telecommunications companies and internet service providers must comply. Yogonet’s English-language report says they have five days to do so. La Estrella reports fines of up to 1 million balboas for companies that ignore blocking orders; La Prensa, reporting on the bill in March 2026, gave a range of USD 300,000 to USD 1 million per infringement. We found no public data on blocking orders issued since the law took effect.
Advertising. Reports on advertising rules conflict. When the bill was approved in third debate in March 2026, Crítica reported that it banned gambling promotion in the media, on social networks and in sport, including the use of public figures and influencers. Later reports on the law as enacted, by La Estrella, Yogonet and G3, do not mention a general advertising ban. The scope of any advertising restrictions should be treated as unconfirmed.
Indigenous territory licensing claims. A guest post by a licensing consultancy on Yogonet (July 2026) promoted online gaming licences issued by an authority based in the Wargandí indigenous territory, KUNAISA. We found no evidence that the JCJ or the national government recognises such licences.
Position of players
Panamanian gambling law is directed at those who operate games. Decree-Law No. 2 provides fines of B/. 1,000 to B/. 50,000 for operating games illegally (Article 97), doubled for repeat offences (Article 98). Law 527 imposes duties and penalties on operators and on internet providers. None of the sources we reviewed makes it an offence for an adult to place a bet with an unlicensed website, and we found no record of players being prosecuted or fined for doing so. That does not make such play lawful or safe. Players on unlicensed sites have no recourse to the JCJ and none of the protections required by Law 527.
Several groups are barred from gaming venues. Under Article 86 of Decree-Law No. 2, minors may not enter, and operators must refuse entry to intoxicated persons, people under the influence of psychotropic substances, people carrying weapons and people on the exclusion lists. Law 527 adds biometric age and identity checks for online platforms to keep out anyone under 18.
Taxation
Operators
The main charge on operators is the state’s participation in their revenue, which is set by Decree-Law No. 2 and by each operator’s contract. As noted above, the 1998 text set 10% of gross revenue for new operations outside the Designated Area, and a 2002 slot hall contract applied the same rate (Official Gazette No. 24,522). Internet licensees paid fixed fees under Resolution No. 65 of 2002. According to the JCJ’s 2002 statement, income from internet gaming with customers abroad was not subject to Panamanian income tax, consistent with Panama’s territorial tax system, under which only income from Panamanian sources is taxed. Operators with domestic income pay ordinary corporate taxes. Law 527 adds a contribution of 0.5% of operators’ annual revenue to a new problem gambling fund (La Estrella).
Players
A 5.5% tax on winnings was introduced in 2015 to help finance increases in pensions. In September 2019 the JCJ announced that it would abolish the tax (MEF, 23 September 2019). Days later La Prensa reported that the exemption would apply only to table games in casinos in hotels with more than 300 rooms, and that the tax would remain on slot machines and sports betting, because a wider change to the Fiscal Code needed a law. In May 2026 English-language outlets, including The Tico Times, again reported that Panama would scrap the tax, but they gave no legal instrument or effective date and repeated figures from 2019. We could not verify from an official source whether the 5.5% tax currently applies to any type of winnings.
Consumer protection and responsible gambling
Resolution No. MEF-RES-2021-2425 of 15 November 2021 created a Responsible Gaming Section in the JCJ’s Executive Secretariat, staffed by a psychologist, a legal adviser and a secretary, as reported by Focus Gaming News. Its main tool is the self-exclusion register. The current self-exclusion form, issued under Resolution No. MEF-RES-2021-2425 and Resolution No. 5 of 2022, works as follows:
- Scope: full casinos, Type A and Type C slot halls, sports betting agencies, bingo halls, the Presidente Remón racetrack and internet games, meaning all activities regulated by the JCJ.
- Duration: two years from notification of the resolution.
- Application: with a copy of an identity document or passport and a recent colour photograph; Focus Gaming News reported that applications must be made in person.
- Limits: the form states that operators cannot fully guarantee compliance.
A 2023 report also refers to Resolution No. MEF-RES-2022-2900, which requires operators to handle self-exclusion requests and display information on the prevention of problem gambling. Law 527 goes further. Online platforms must offer voluntary spending and time limits, automatic alerts when risky patterns of play are detected and biometric age and identity verification. Full casinos and Type A halls must add facial recognition to their surveillance systems so that excluded persons can be identified (La Estrella).
Treatment is provided by the public health system. According to an undated release by the Ministry of Health, the Instituto de Salud Mental (INSAM) runs an outpatient programme for gambling-related impulse control disorders, and its Centre for Addiction Studies and Treatment (CETA) offers inpatient care. The ministry listed the telephone numbers 523-6815 and 523-6863. We did not find a dedicated national gambling helpline. The fund created by Law 527 is meant to finance INSAM’s addiction services. Our responsible gambling guide sets out general steps for keeping gambling under control.
Recent and upcoming developments
- 2024–2026: rapid online growth. Total wagers rose from USD 2,555 million in 2024 to about USD 2,938 million in 2025, and online wagers grew by about 82% (Infobae). In the first half of 2026 online wagers rose a further 59.8% (SBC Noticias).
- 19 March 2026: Bill 403 passes. The National Assembly approved Bill 403, sponsored by deputies Raúl Pineda and Crispiano Adames, in third debate (La Prensa). At that stage Crítica reported a 10% levy on operators’ profits for INSAM and wide advertising bans, while La Prensa described a 0.5% contribution (Crítica).
- May–June 2026: Law 527 enacted. La Estrella reported that the law was sanctioned on 23 May and published in the Official Gazette on 28 May 2026; Yogonet reported its promulgation on 2 June. As reported, the law sets the problem gambling fund at 0.5% of annual revenue, fines operators USD 25,000 to USD 100,000 (doubled for repeat breaches, with possible suspension or cancellation of the licence), and orders the Ministries of Health and Education to develop prevention material for schools (Yogonet; G3 Newswire). We could not compare the enacted text with the March reports.
- Late 2026: implementing regulation due. The executive has six months from promulgation to issue the regulation, which will cover biometric identification, payment controls and enforcement procedures. On the reported dates, the deadline falls in late November or early December 2026. We found no published regulation as of 6 October 2026.
- 5.5% winnings tax. Its abolition was announced again in 2026 in English-language media, but we found no legal instrument confirming it (see Taxation).
Casino listings for players in Panama
The listings below are generated automatically from our casino database. They do not by themselves show that an operator holds a licence from the Junta de Control de Juegos. Only operators authorised by the JCJ may lawfully offer gambling in Panama, and under Law 527 unlicensed sites can be blocked. Because the JCJ does not publish a register of online licensees, readers who want to check an operator’s status should contact the JCJ Executive Secretariat directly.
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Sources and further reading
- Government of Panama (MEF), Decreto Ley No. 2 de 10 de febrero de 1998, por el cual se reestructura la Junta de Control de Juegos (Gaceta Oficial No. 23,484) (1998).
- Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), Secretaría Ejecutiva, Junta de Control de Juegos (accessed 6 October 2026).
- Procuraduría de la Administración, Consulta C-128-22: facultad para autorizar la explotación de juegos de bingo (2022).
- Lotería Nacional de Beneficencia, Manual de Organización de la Lotería Nacional de Beneficencia (accessed 6 October 2026).
- Lotería Nacional de Beneficencia, Memoria Institucional 2024–2025 (2025).
- Junta de Control de Juegos, Executive Secretary (Panamá América), Panamá abre sus fronteras al “Juego On Line” (2002).
- Pardini & Asociados, Juegos de Internet en Panamá (accessed 6 October 2026).
- Gaceta Oficial de Panamá, Gaceta Oficial Digital No. 28,985 (Resolución No. 11 de 6 de marzo de 2020, que modifica la Resolución No. 65 de 2002) (2020).
- Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), Junta de Control de Juegos reduce procesos y trámites (2021).
- Yogonet, “Panamá ya puede competir en el mundo con una regulación robusta para los juegos online” (2020).
- Junta de Control de Juegos (MEF), Listado de salas de juegos y ubicación (actualizado a octubre 2020) (2020).
- Gaceta Oficial de Panamá, Gaceta Oficial No. 24,522 (Junta de Control de Juegos, Resoluciones No. 093 y No. 004 de 2002) (2002).
- Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), Junta de Control de Juegos eliminará impuesto del 5.5% en las mesas de juego (2019).
- La Prensa, Impuesto de 5.5% en las apuestas seguirá vigente (2019).
- The Tico Times, Panama Scraps Tax on Casino and Betting Winnings to Attract Tourists (2026).
- Junta de Control de Juegos (MEF), Formulario de solicitud de autoexclusión, Sección de Juego Responsable (accessed 6 October 2026).
- Focus Gaming News, La Junta de Control de Juegos de Panamá presentó un plan contra la ludopatía (2022).
- Panamá América, La legalidad de las casas de apuestas online en Panamá (2023).
- Ministry of Health (MINSA), Toda persona que juega no es ludópata (news release on gambling addiction treatment) (undated, accessed 6 October 2026).
- Crítica, Aprueban ley para frenar la ludopatía en Panamá (2026).
- La Prensa, Diputado Raúl Pineda: de impulsar los juegos de azar a regular la ludopatía (2026).
- La Estrella de Panamá, Panamá endurece controles sobre apuestas digitales (2026).
- Yogonet, Panamá promulga una ley que amplía los controles sobre el juego online y combate la ludopatía (2026).
- Yogonet, Panama approves new gambling law with website blocking powers, player protection measures (2026).
- G3 Newswire, Panama promulgates new law to prevent problem gambling and tighten controls on online betting (2026).
- Infobae, El negocio del juego de azar en Panamá roza los $3,000 millones en 2025 (2026).
- SBC Noticias, Las apuestas en Panamá crecieron un 16,5 por ciento en el primer semestre de 2026 (2026).
- Yogonet (guest post), Panamá obtuvo discretamente una segunda vía de licenciamiento dentro de KUNAISA (2026).
