Online gambling Nicaragua

Online gambling: allowed or gray sector? (Nicaragua)

Brief conclusion

As of October 2025, Nicaragua does not have a separate transparent licensing regime for private online gambling operators. The regulation introduced for casinos and gaming halls in 2011 (Ley 766) and redistributed by the 2014 reform under the control of the Ministry of Finance (MHCP) focuses on the ground segment. Online products of the state (e.g. lotteries) can work officially, but private online casinos with a local license are not issued, so the market de facto operates in the "gray zone": players use offshore operators, and local supervision is limited to financial monitoring and general prohibitions on unlicensed activities.

What the laws say

Basic Act: Ley Nº 766 (2011) - "Special Law on the Control and Regulation of Casinos and Gaming Halls." It created the Casino Control and Regulation Board and established licensing arrangements for offline establishments. The law does not introduce a direct, detailed regime for online casinos of private operators. The consolidated text is available in the Assembly database.

Reform 2014: Ley Nº 884 transferred industry control to the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (MHCP) and established the Casino and Gaming Halls Office as an executive oversight body.

By-law 2015: Decree No. 06-2015 assigned the functions of applying the law to the Casino Office under the MHCP. This confirms the profile of the "terrestrial" direction of regulation.

Practical conclusion: the regulatory design describes the control of casinos and halls as a physical infrastructure; there is no separate, detailed online license for private traders. This is confirmed by industry reports/reference books: the state does not issue local online licenses to private operators, and the official online segment is actually limited to state products (for example, lottery sites).

Who regulates today

MHCP (Ministry of Finance): Curator of the sector after the 2014 reform; its documents and budget feature the functions of "functioning and control of casinos and gaming halls."

Casino Control and Regulation Board: A "second-instance" rulemaking body created by Ley 766.

Approach to online: the regulator does not publish special public procedures for issuing private online licenses; the market is described as unresolved/unformed, which correlates with industry reviews 2024-2025.

Grey sector: how it works in practice

1. Offshore access. Residents of the country have technical access to international gambling sites; such sites do not have a local license and are not subject to direct MHCP oversight.

2. Financial controls. At the compliance level, there is monitoring of AML/CFT operations and requirements (through the national UAF), but this is not a replacement for a full online license.

3. Government online products. State lotteries and sister channels can operate online officially; this is sometimes interpreted as "online gambling is allowed," but de jure private B2C operators remain outside local licensing.

Risks for players and operators

Lack of local rights protection. Offshore site disputes do not fall under the jurisdiction of MHCP; protection depends on the license of the country of registration of the operator.

Payment restrictions. Banking and payment channels are under AML supervision; transactions can be blocked if violations are suspected.

Liability for unlicensed activities. For local companies, trying to operate online without a legal framework carries the risk of sanctions as "unlicensed gambling activity."

Taxes and compliance (in general terms)

For land-based casinos, fees and VAT are provided for by fiscal standards; permissive part - through MNSR/Casino Office.

For private online operators, a local tax regime has not been formed, since there is no licensing: there is no basis for direct taxation of B2C online within the country. This is the marker of the "gray zone."

Regulatory outlook

International trends (Peru, Brazil, Colombia) show that countries in the region are consistently introducing online licensing. For Nicaragua, the likely vector is the addition of an online chapter to the existing MHCP regime: registration, local servers/representation, GGR taxation, responsible play, payment gateways, KYC/AML. But official projects on a full-fledged online license for private traders on the date 09. 10. 2025 is not publicly recorded.

Best Practices (Content-Oriented Block)

Players: choose sites with respected foreign licenses (MGA, UKGC, ONJN, Colombia, etc.), check deposit/withdrawal limits, KYC terms, availability of locally working payment methods and responsible play tools. (General prudence in gray access.)

Operators/affiliates: take into account that there is no local B2C license in Nicaragua; dealing with targeted traffic requires strict AML payment screening, correct geo-targeting, access clauses, and compliance with hosting jurisdiction license rules.

Policy/regulator: if you want to take the market out of the "gray zone" - develop a separate online register, GGR taxation, server/data requirements, advertising restrictions and responsible game trustees.

Legally, Nicaragua has built control of the terrestrial gambling industry (MHCP + Casino Office), but has not created a transparent mechanism for local licensing of private online operators. As a result, online gambling for private companies remains de facto "gray": players use offshore sites, and government supervision is limited to financial monitoring and general bans on unlicensed activities. Before a separate online license appears, it is premature to talk about "full resolution" of private online.

• Consolidated text Ley Nº 766 (2011) and control structure.
• Ley Nº 884 (2014): transfer of oversight to MHCP and creation of the Casino Office.
• Decree No. 06-2015: consolidation of the functions of the Casino Office under the MHCP.
• MHCP documents on casino/gaming hall control functions.
• Nicaragua profile: no private online licenses; access to offshore sites.

Note: There are conflicting statements in open sources that "online gambling has been legalized since 2011." In primary legal texts, this is not supported by a separate online private licensing regime; therefore, it is more correct to interpret such formulations as a hybrid: offline regulation + permissible state online lottery, in the absence of a transparent scheme for private online operators.