International comparison: Cuba vs Dominican Republic (Cuba)

The Caribbean region is heterogeneous in relation to gambling. Cuba after 1959 adheres to the course of a complete ban on casinos and online gambling, while the Dominican Republic has built one of the most developed gambling ecosystems in the Caribbean: legal casino hotels, national lottery/lottery consortia, bookmaking, online games from licensed operators. Let's compare the two models in key parameters.

1) Legal treatment and regulation

Cuba: no licensing, no commercial gambling. There is no specialized regulator, the criminal legal framework suppresses the underground.

Dominican: casino licensing at hotels and gaming halls; developed lottery system; regulation of bookmaking and the online segment; profile norms, fiscal rules and supervision apply.

Conclusion: Cuba - "zero tolerance"; Dominican - "regulated accessibility."

2) Offline sector (casino, gaming halls)

Cuba: casinos are closed, gambling infrastructure does not function in the legal field.

Dominican Republic: dozens of casinos at resorts (Punta Cana, Santo Domingo, Puerto Plata, etc.), gaming halls/bingo, integration with the hotel and event segment.

Effect: Dominican Republic monetizes tourist flow; Cuba is losing premium "night" demand.

3) Online gambling and betting

Cuba: no legal framework → de facto ban; offshore sites - outside the protection of the law, high risk for players.

Dominicana: regulated operators, local and international brands, payment control and responsible play; gradually growing online share.

4) Taxes and budget

Cuba: no gambling revenue; resources are concentrated in government priorities outside the gambling sector.

Dominican Republic: fiscal revenues from licenses, GGR taxes/fees, indirect revenues through tourism, employment and supply chains.

5) Tourism and connection with the hospitality industry

Cuba: bet on cultural/historical tourism, beach holidays and national events; "night package" without casino.

Dominican: "integrated offering" - hotel + casino + gastro scene + golf/events; all-in-one marketing for the US/Europe/Latin America.

6) Payments and fintech

Cuba: no legal operators → no formalized payment rails for gambling; the high role of cash in the shadows, risks and conflicts.

Dominicana: acquiring, local wallets/banks, cards, partly digital wallets and controlled alternative methods; KYC/AML are built into onboarding.

7) Social policy and risks

Cuba: the ideological and legal barrier against the commercial game reduces the scale of ludomania at the legal level, but underground creates criminal and domestic risks without mechanisms to protect the player.

Dominican: ludomania risks are managed through mandatory responsible play practices, limits, self-exclusion; some of the problems go into the "white" plane of help.

8) Employment economics and multiples

Cuba: No jobs in legal gambling sector; employment is shifting to hotels, culture and state programs.

Dominican Republic: thousands of jobs (croupier, IT, marketing, security), multiplier on F&B, transport, events, construction.

9) Prospects to 2030

Cuba: no public signals of liberalisation. The basic scenario is to keep the ban; shadow activity by foci, priority - suppression and prevention.

Dominican Republic: gradual digitalization (growth of the online segment), deepening the "casino + resort + events" link, tightening AML/responsible play by international standards.

10) SWOT comparison (with focus on effects for country)

Model	Strengths	Weaknesses	Opportunities	Threats
Cuba (prohibition)	Low visibility of ludomania in a legal field; ideological consistency	Loss of taxes and employment; underground growth without player protection	Development of leisure and cultural tourism alternatives	Criminalizing "gaming," leaking currency and conflicts in the shadows
Dominican Republic (regulation)	Taxes and employment; tourist multiplier; risk control	Soc. gambling costs, need for strict supervision	Development of integrated resorts, esport/online, MICE	Money laundering, illegal operators, reputational risks

11) Table of key differences

Parameter	Cuba	Dominican Republic
Casino licenses	No (prohibition)	Yes (resort model)
Online gambling	No legal framework (de facto ban)	Licensed/Regulated
Lotteries	Commercial not functioning	Developed public/private forms
Regulator/Supervision	No specialized	There are specialized bodies
Taxes from gambling	0	Significant budget item
Link with tourism	Neutral/Cultural	Strong hotel + casino integration
Payments/ACC	No legal rails	Banks/wallets/KYC/AML
Social policy	Prohibition and suppression of the underground	Responsible play as standard

12) What it means for stakeholders

For the State (Cuba):

A strict ban preserves the ideological line, but the shadow does not disappear; programs of financial education, addiction prevention and alternative leisure are useful.

For business (international operators):

Cuba - closed jurisdiction (no legal entry).
Dominican Republic - open, but requiring strict compliance: license, KYC/AML, responsible game, local partnerships with resorts and banks.

For players:

In Cuba, participation in gambling is a legal risk without the protection of funds.
In the Dominican Republic, access to legal products, dispute mechanisms and self-control tools.

13) The bottom line

Cuba and the Dominican Republic represent two opposing trajectories. Cuba is a long-term strategy of complete prohibition, minimizing the legal appearance of gambling, but creating space for underground. The Dominican Republic is a regulated legalization that turns the gambling sector into part of the tourism economy, subject to strict control. For a reader studying the region, this is a visual case: from the "zero" to the "resort-integrated" approach - with fundamentally different economic and social results.