Online Casino Costa Rica

Costa Rica Online Casino Sites

As mentioned earlier, online casinos are allowed by law to operate from the country. But, they must not accept players resident in the territory.

For someone looking in from outside, the Costa Rican online gambling scene might not make perfect sense at first, especially when you consider that many of the major online gambling sites have a branch or their headquarters in the country.

So, you may wonder, if online gambling is illegal in the country, how come many Internet-based sites are pitching a tent in the country?

You see, to understand the Costa Rican gambling industry, you will need to take a look at the regulations in place.

First, aside from that one provision in the rule book that indicates residents are not allowed to engage in any form of online gambling, there is no other government policy to guide the industry.

So, in essence, the Costa Rican online gambling industry is effectively unregulated. Also, the Costa Rican authorities don’t sell licensing rights to online casinos to operate in the country.

However, online gambling companies in Costa Rica are required to obtain a ‘data processing’ license, which at closer scrutiny, is not the same as a gambling license.

Due to this lax in regulations, it is pretty easy for these online casinos to set up operations in the country. In fact, this is a major reason why Latin America and Costa Rica are evolving into a gambling hub.

A primary concern for many punters, however, is that, if there’s no robust regulatory framework in place, many of the companies registered in Costa Rica and offering online gambling services, may not be reliable and secure.

These concerns are valid for sure. The fact is, there are good, trustworthy top online casinos in Costa Rica. And of course, there are the rogues. Your responsibility as a player is to research each sports bookmaker thoroughly before committing your hard-earned salary and play for real money.

One way to ensure you play only with reputable websites is to check out their business registration information and audit history. But, most times, the process might be tedious, or you may not have the time and patience to go through the process.

Here’s where review sites come in. Usually, you will find several online casinos reviewed with authentic feedback from real users sharing their experience. By reading through, you can effectively sieve through the respectable online casinos in Costa Rica from the untrustworthy ones.

While surfing the Internet, you will come across several casinos that claim to have a Costa Rican Gambling license; you should be wary of them. The thing is, in Costa Rica, the process of registering an online casino is the same as when you register any other type of business in the country.

No special license is required to operate in the country. The government does not charge any corporate taxes. And gambling companies are only expected to pay their regular employee taxes. Businesses are required by law to pay this tax if they have up to 10 employees.

Online Gambling in Costa Rica: Laws and Regulations

Online gambling within the borders of Costa Rica is banned. Citizens and residents are prohibited from gambling. However, under the 1999 national ‘Legality of International Gaming in Costa Rican Law,’ online casinos are allowed to operate from the country.

The law argued that the physical location of a server is not where the crime of sports betting is committed. This effectively means foreign players who are not within the borders of Costa Rica are not committing any crime.

On the other hand, offshore companies offering betting opportunities to Costa Rica residents cannot be prosecuted since they are not within the borders of the country, even though residents are breaking the law through online gambling.

Interestingly, players and gambling companies ingeniously find ways to by-pass the law. For instance, while games such as Blackjack, with random outcomes, are banned, Costa Ricans invented another card game ‘Rummy’ that replaced the game.

Sports betting and lotto are two of the most popular gambling markets in Costa Rica. Players are expected to reach at least 18 years before engaging in any gambling activity.

Gambling History in Costa Rica

The 20th century is undoubtedly the golden age of the gambling industry. The Internet is spreading fast across countries. Many online casino entrepreneurs are springing up everywhere, and of course, money was circulating through the system.

During this time, countries like Antigua and Malta were fast building up their reputation as a gambling hub by selling gambling licenses to willing investors.

However, by 1999 things began to shift with the introduction of the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act into the U.S. Senate and its subsequent defeat in congress. Unfortunately, the damage has already been done.

Gambling companies across the world began to look for a haven to relocate to; that’s how Costa Rica, with a non-existent gambling law, came into the picture.

These companies, due to no strict regulator to harass them, no hefty licensing fee to pay, low entry barrier, drove in their hundreds into the country. At the height of its online gambling glory, Costa Rica had as many as 400 companies that were registered in the country.

Though playing on an online casino is banned in Costa Rica, the land-based casino is legal. However, unlike what you are used to in say Las Vegas, the casinos in Costa Rica are smaller and usually understated. They are often a part of a bigger hotel.

Most of these land-based casinos are located in and near San Jose, the country’s capital.

Casinos in Costa Rica carry most of the famous traditional games. You are also likely to find some other games with a local twist. For instance, Rummy is or 21 is a local version of Blackjack. The game has almost the same rules as Blackjack.

Just as when playing Blackjack, the goal is usually to get to 21 or as close as possible without going over. Depending on the card you are served, you can ask the dealer to increase your card count.

However, in Rummy, the twist comes when three of the first cards you are served are the same suit or a straight. The player is usually paid double their bet. If, however, the cards add up to 21, they are often paid out 5 times.

Another twist to the blackjack rule is that if a player receives cards that add up to 21 on deal and the dealer on their part also gets 21 with any amount of cards, then the game is called a push.

You can be sure to expect to see slot machines, table games like poker and other popular traditional casino games you are used to. Casinos in Costa Rica also carry local games you may never have heard of before, such as the Pai gow poker and Tute or Caribbean stud poker as the game is known elsewhere.

Roulette is another popular game, but when playing in Costa Rica, you will notice the numbers are pulled from a lottery pitcher instead of a roulette wheel.

The Future of Online Gambling in Costa Rica

Change is the only constant in life. Today, Costa Rica does not allow online gambling to take place from its border. But, that does not mean, in the future, things would not change.

To understand the likely future direction of online gambling in Costa Rica, you have to take a look at what’s happening in America.

Usually, the policies in the U.S. influence to a large extent what happens here. First, the liberalization of the online gaming space in America means Costa Rica will likely follow.

We might begin to see Costa Rica based online sports bookmakers openly advertise to the residents in mainland America. As the government strives to increase its tax base, it might decide to open up the gambling space to its citizens and residents.

In terms of technology trends, Costa Rica based online casinos will continue to adopt cutting-edge technologies as they become safe to do so in order to provide immersive gaming experience to their users.

Live or virtual gaming is becoming a major offer for these online casinos. This offering involves players playing table games online as if they are sitting in a land-based casino. From online slots machines to online baccarat, the biggest online casinos offer nearly every type of game today.

We can expect that when Virtual reality and augmented reality become accessible on a large scale for online casinos to be the first to adopt it.

That said, one can only expect the online casino in Costa Rica to continue to expand as technological advancement accelerates.

Costa Rica Casino Online FAQs (5)

• Is It Legal to Play on Online Gambling Sites in Costa Rica?

  The answer is Yes and No.

  Now, what makes it legal or illegal playing online gambling sites in Costa Rica is your location.

  If your location is within the borders of Costa Rica, it is illegal for you as a player to play at an online casino, even if the gambling sites are not based in Costa Rica.

  If you are on foreign soil, then it is legal to play gambling sites in Costa Rica.

• Do Costa Rica Authorities Allow for Online Sports Betting?

  First, Costa Rica does not have a regulatory body with the mandate to oversee the gambling industry as you have in other countries like the U.K. Gambling Commission (UKGC) in the U.K.

  Online sports betting is not allowed in Costa Rica, though both gamblers and companies have a way around this.

• Is Online Gambling Safe for Costa Rica?

  It depends on the gambling site a player is using. While there are many reputable and respectable sports bookmakers in the country, the unique regulatory environment of the Costa Rica gambling industry also attracts some companies with bad intentions.

  It is recommended that players do their due diligence before parting with their hard-earned money.

• Do Online Casinos offer bonuses in Costa Rica?

  Yes, Costa Rica based online casinos offer some of the most mouthwatering welcome and promotional bonuses in the industry.

• What are the available Deposit Methods?

  Online casinos in Costa Rica offer a wide variety of deposit and withdrawal options for their users. Some of the popular methods include:

  • Use of Credit cards both MasterCard and Visa are accepted.
  • MasterCard and Visa debit cards.
  • Allows Bitcoin, Lite coin and other major Crypto coins
  • Paypal, Neteller and Skrill, are accepted.
  • Entropay prepaid card deposits
  • PaySafeCard formerly Ukash
  • AstroPay Virtual prepaid card
  • Bank wire
  • Cheque/Check are also accepted payment methods.