Haiti vs Dominican Republic

Comparison with neighboring Dominican Republic

1) Regulators and institutions

Haiti. Gambling Supervision - Haiti Lottery (LEH); in 2025, the regulator announced that from October 1, 2025, only LEH POS terminals (grace period until January 1, 2026) are allowed for lotteries. This is about offline retail and cash transparency, not online licenses.

Dominican Republic. Responsible for the industry is the Dirección de Casinos y Juegos de Azar of the Ministry of Finance (Hacienda); the service has public services and "marco legal" (archive of norms).

2) Online mode (iGaming)

Haiti. There is no separate law/regime for online casinos and online betting; LEH publishes "AVIS" and focuses on offline lotteries.

Dominican Republic. Resolución Núm has been operating since April 2024. 136-2024, which regulates the issuance of licenses for games on the Internet (online casino/betting): permission from the Ministry of Finance is required, technical requirements and supervision are spelled out.

3) Licenses and fees

Haiti. Regulatory vector - "regularization" of lotteries through POS LEH; online licenses are not provided.

Dominican Republic. According to the industry summary: basic one-time license fees for online (benchmarks) - about RD $20.47 million for online casinos and RD $15.36 million for online bets; the license term is 5 years with the possibility of extension. (Confirmed by the industry publication on the details of the application of the resolution.)

4) Supervision and enforcement

Haiti. LEH communication - through public NOTICE/AVIS (including the transition to POS and targeted - to unlicensed projects).

Dominican Republic. The Ministry of Finance and DCJA have available forms, registers and services for checking inspectors, publishing resolutions and circulars - an institutional "showcase" of a working model.

5) Tourism and cruise effect

Haiti. Cruise "anchor" Labadee 2024-2025 removed from routes; in September 2025, Royal Caribbean confirmed the cancellation of calls until spring 2026, which hits the evening demand for casino services in the capital.

Dominican Republic. A stable tourist flow and many resorts support both offline casinos and interest in the regulated online segment (there is already a formal base for growth - Resolución 136-2024).

6) Where markets are heading (conclusions for business and government)

Haiti: Digitization of Lottery Retail (POS LEH) and Increased Collection Rate Near Term; online remains a vacuum. For investors, this means a focus on capital offline and lotteries; for the state - complete regularization by 01. 01. 2026 and build transparent reporting.

Dominican Republic: has already moved to a full-fledged iGaming circuit: there are basic licensing requirements and an oversight body; can scale the market with a focus on compliance and Responsible Gaming.

Brief table of differences (abstract)

• Haiti: no separate license; offline digitalization of lotteries via POS.
• DR: Rules apply for Resolución 136-2024 (licenses, tech-requirements).

• Haiti: LEH (ads/AVIS, POS platform).
• DR: Dirección de Casinos y Juegos de Azar + portal of norms and services.

• Haiti: none (no online mode).
• DR: benchmarks - RD $20.47 million (online casino), RD $15.36 million (online betting), term 5 years.

• Haiti: Labadee withdrawn until spring 2026 → less solvent flow.
• DR: sustainable resort and MICE segment supports demand.

The main difference: Haiti is now at the stage of putting things in order offline (lottery) and does not have separate legislation for online; The Dominican Republic has already launched regulation of iGaming with licenses and technical supervision. For business, this means: in Haiti - the strategy "Offline + Compliance LEH (POS)" and careful assessment of the tour; in DR - work on formal online rules and a more predictable tourist background.