The scale of Panama's industry

The scale of Panama's gambling industry

1) Market snapshot: What "scale" consists of

The Panamanian gambling sector is a combination of land-based venues and online operators operating under the supervision of the Junta de Control de Juegos (JCJ) and the historic Lotería Nacional (lotteries). Ground sites account for the lion's share of offline turnover, and the online channel (iGaming) has been growing steadily since the 2020s thanks to clear rules and fintech infrastructure.

Key scale blocks:

Casino at hotels and in the mall (tables, slots, VIP rooms)
Arcades and bingo halls
Sports Betting/Racecourse Betting
Online games (slots, live casino, bingo/keno, betting) under JCJ licenses
Lotteries (state monopoly)
Content/platform providers and payment providers (B2B segment)

2) Geography and concentration

Panama City is the center of gravity: the largest casinos under JW Marriott, Hilton, Marriott, Sheraton, Sortis; high volume of tourist and business traffic.

Colon - port area (cruise passengers, free economic zone), compact sites of "quick visits."

David (Chiriki) - regional casinos and halls with moderate limits; traffic "traveler + local."

Resorts of the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean - small halls at hotels, focus on slots and e-bingo.

3) Economic role: where scale is "visible"

Employment: casino front office, dealers/croupiers, security, F&B, hospitality staff, IT/compliance; around - outsourcing, events, taxis, retail.

Tourism and MICE: Casino anchors evening activity; increase the RevPAR of hotels, extend the average length of stay.

Fiscal revenues: license fees/shares of gross operator income, taxes on lottery prizes; the online segment pays fiscal deductions from GGR.

Fintech movement: turnover on USD cards, e-wallets and bank transfers; some operators have turns in stablecoins (with AML control).

4) Demand structure: who plays and what

Guests of 4-5 hotels - tables (roulette/blackjack/baccarat), live shows, VIP options.

Local players - slots and e-bingo, evening sports betting.

Online audience - mobile sessions: slots with frequent promotions, live roulette/blackjack, instant/crash games.

Lotteries are a broad-based "cultural" product; regular circulations and special plays.

5) Growth Drivers of Scale (2025-2030)

Omnichannel: synchronization of loyalty cards of hotel casinos with online accounts (uniform statuses/computers).

Content and events: tournaments, prize-drops, live shows, local stories (carnival, Panama Canal, Bokete coffee).

Payments: high conversion of USD cards + fast e-wallets; a number of operators have stablecoins as a high-speed design layer.

Technologies: personalization of offers and anti-fraud models; convenient limits and reminders of responsible play.

Tourist flow: business tourism + cruises support the evening turnover of the capital's casinos.

6) Risks and constraints

Payment restrictions (banking policy/PSP risks), the need for multi-channels.

Tightening AML/KYC and rising compliance costs.

Competition of the region (Costa Rica, Curaçao, Caribbean) for B2B and traffic.

Cyber risks: DDoS, account hacks, mirror phishing.

7) Contribution to responsible play and reputation

The scale is stable when trust grows: for licensees - KYC, deposit/time limits, self-exclusion, transparent rules of bonuses and conclusions, verifiable reporting for JCJ. This reduces reputational risks and keeps payment rails open.

8) Method of "quick assessment" of scale (without closed data)

If you need guidelines for a business plan or media overview, use a simple calculator:

A. Land-based casinos

Visitors per day × an average check per game × days per year → gross bet turnover

Apply Average Return Rate (RTP/Payout) → Ground Segment GGR Estimate

B. Vending/bingo halls

Average load of machines/places × hours of operation × rates/hour × days → turnover

Less payout → GGR machines/bingo

C. Onlay̆n

Active players per month × ARPU (deposit/bet) → monthly turnover

Apply medium RTP → onlay̆n -GGR
Take into account the difference between weekends/holidays and seasonality

D. Code

Add GGR by blocks → "scale" of gross gaming income

Apply the structure of fiscal deductions/fees → estimate the contribution to the budget
Add employment multipliers (direct + indirect jobs) → employment estimate

💡 The advantage of the approach is transparency of assumptions: by changing attendance, ARPU and RTP, it is easy to build basic/optimistic/conservative scenarios.

9) Profile KPIs for scale monitoring

GGR by Channel: Ground/Online/Bingo/Betting

ARPU and session frequency (online)

Loading tables and machines (offline)
TtW (time-to-within) and share of payout approvals
Share of tourism in the evening turnover of metropolitan sites
RG metrics: limit/self-exclusion coverage, support response rate

10) What it means for market participants

Operators: the scale is growing due to the omnichannel, fast payments and content "with a local accent."

Hotels and MICE: the casino increases the load, "lengthens" the evening and the check for the guest.

B2B providers: demand for certified content (slots/live), payment gateways and anti-fraud stack.

Government agencies: digital reporting and proactive oversight support sustainable growth without compromising RG.

The scale of the gambling industry in Panama is shaped by a combination of a strong land base (hotel casinos, halls, bingo), a growing online segment under JCJ licenses, and the tourist drive of the capital and port areas. Stability of scale is ensured by: clear rules, fintech accessibility, localized content and responsibility to the player. In the horizon until 2030, Panama will maintain a reputation as a comfortable and regulated jurisdiction, where gambling is part of the country's urban economy, service and tourist attractiveness.