Peru’s Congress has voted to legalize online gambling and sports betting in the country, establishing a new regulated framework for the sectors.
The approval came on 15 July, after a parliamentary debate. A law to approve the verticals received 91 votes in favor and zeroed opposing voices.
The new law will become the responsibility of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism of Peru (Mincetur), the country’s foreign trade body, which will also regulate its enactment in Peru.
The gaming tax will be set at 12% of each operator’s tax base – which is net income minus maintenance costs – and will be collected monthly.
Maintenance taxes will be 2% of an operator’s monthly income.
Sunat, Peru’s tax body, administers the tax.
Operators with the appropriate license will be allowed to offer bonuses for online gaming, as long as the prizes cannot be exchanged for money.
For sports betting, operators must display a warning message on all platforms: “excessive online sports betting can cause pathological gambling.”
The legislation also establishes remote sports betting rooms, wherein players can place bets on sports games using betting terminals.
If this law is broken, a minor infraction could result in a warning, a fine of up to SOL200 (US$51.24), a license disqualification of up to 10 years, or permanent disqualification.
Mincetur also has the power to impose preventive measures on an operator, which include temporarily closing an establishment and confiscating assets.
This legislation will come into force 60 days after it is published in the official gazette, El Peruano.
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