Market Control (Honduras)

Who controls the market (Ministry of Finance/local authorities)

💡 The gambling system of Honduras is decentralized and partially informalized. At the state level, there is no single body like the Gaming Commission. Supervision is distributed between the Ministry of Finance (tax control, lottery licenses) and municipal authorities, which in practice regulate the operation of small casinos and gaming halls.

1) Central level - Ministry of Finance (Secretaría de Finanzas)

The Ministry of Finance of Honduras (Secretaría de Finanzas, SEFIN) oversees the financial and tax aspect of gambling activities.

It controls:

receipts from lotteries and state draws;
lottery licenses and fees;
financial reporting and accounting of cash transactions when participating in international agreements (for example, with CAFTA-DR).
SEFIN does not issue separate casino licenses, but oversees their tax discipline through accountable authorities and inspections.
In terms of online activities, the Ministry performs only fiscal functions (reporting on transfers and controlled PSPs), but does not have a regulatory framework for issuing online licenses.

2) Municipal level - local permits

The main practical control over land casinos and gaming halls is carried out by the municipal authorities (Alcaldías Municipales).

Each municipality defines:

opening hours of establishments;
safety and cash discipline requirements;
local fees and taxes;
sanitary and social restrictions (e.g. distance from schools/churches).
In large cities - Tegucigalpe and San Pedro Sula - it is the municipal administrations that issue permits for hotels and entertainment complexes where there are small casinos with several dozen machines or electronic tables (ETG).

3) Lotteries and state draws

Lotteries are under the central control of the Ministry of Finance and the National Lottery Directorate (Lotería Nacional de Beneficencia).

These structures keep a log of licenses, approve circulation rules and monitor the transparency of draws.

Part of the revenue from the national lottery goes to social programs and health care, and accounting control is carried out by Auditora del Estado at SEFIN.

4) Online marketplace and regulatory vacuum

There is no national regulator of online gambling.

The Ministry of Finance does not have a licensing tool for Internet platforms; operators operate from abroad (Malta, Curaçao, etc.).

Control is possible only through financial transactions - monitoring of payment gateways and PSP reporting.

In 2024, an initiative was discussed to create a specialized unit under the Ministry of Finance to oversee online operators and crypto payments, but the bill has not yet been adopted.

5) Why the market is decentralized

Historically, casinos and slot machines were regulated locally - through a system of commercial permits, and lotteries were controlled by the state.

As a result:

there is no single database of establishments;
cash reporting standards vary;
there are no uniform requirements for Responsible Gambling and AML/KYC.
The Ministry of Finance formally has the right to control cash flows, but does not have a mechanism for operational supervision of casino activities.

6) Vectors of possible reforms

1. Creation of a national register of operators (offline and online) under the auspices of SEFIN.

2. Introduction of unified reporting forms for payments and taxes (GGR, cash receipts).

3. Transfer of casino licensing to the central authority level while maintaining local permits for small halls.

4. Pilot program for online registration of operators using electronic payments and cryptocurrencies.

5. Integration with tourist supervision (Instituto Hondureño de Turismo) to check the safety and reputation of the sites.

7) Practical recommendations

To players

Choose establishments at hotels or with visible permissions from the municipality.

Keep checks (compromantes) about payments.

Make sure that the site or hall has visible rules and contact details of the administration.

To operators

Pay local and tax fees on time through SEFIN.

Place a copy of the permission prominently.

Maintain bilingual documentation (ES/EN) and implement transparent Responsible Gambling procedures.

8) Key bodies involved in surveillance

Level	Body	Functions
Central	Secretaría de Finanzas (SEFIN)	Tax control, reporting, lottery management
Central	Lotería Nacional de Beneficencia	Regulation and conduct of state lotteries
Municipal	Alcaldías Municipales	Permits, local taxes, casino supervision
Government expenditure control	Tribunal Superior de Cuentas	Audit of lotteries and government revenue

The control of the gambling market in Honduras is based on a two-tier model:

Ministry of Finance (SEFIN) - responsible for taxes, financial reports and lotteries;
Municipalities - issue permits for offline casinos and gaming halls.

The online sector remains outside direct government oversight, although initiatives to regulate it are being discussed. Future reform is likely to combine fiscal control, licensing registry and player protection mechanisms under SEFIN, while retaining the role of local authorities for land-based establishments.