Industry size El Salvador

Article text

Brief summary

El Salvador's gambling market is small by Latin American standards and relies structurally on the state-run National Charity Lottery (LNB), several small land-based casinos, and emerging products in the online segment under the LNB umbrella. According to the local press, LNB revenue in 2024/early 2025 increased from about $18.8 million to $61.3 million (according to the latest published reports), which indicates the scaling of lottery and electronic products. The rest of the segments are clearly smaller and worse disclosed in official reporting.

Institutional framework and current developments

Historically, Ley de Juegos de Azar (2001) sets the legal framework: licensing and supervision for casinos, betting, lotteries and online products. The role of the licensing/supervisory authority in different sources is associated with the Ministry of Finance and/or LNB (in terms of its own products and gaming areas).

LNB is an active state player and showcase of the industry (official website, circulation/product announcements).

In 2024-2025. the country revised the rules for using Bitcoin: after agreements with the IMF, parliament made the adoption of BTC voluntary, retaining its legal status, but removing the obligation - this affects UX payments in iGaming (wallets/crypto deposits remain an option, but not "mandatory").

Actual datum points (what we know for sure)

• Publication Diario El Mundo (August 26, 2025): LNB revenue growth to $61.3 million (previously $18.8 million). This is the most transparent and fresh industry figure from officially cited sources.

• According to open catalogs/directories - a very small number of objects (1-3 establishments, including Colonial/Monte Carlo/Siesta, etc.; lists diverge, which is typical for small markets). It is impossible to draw a conclusion about the exact revenue, but it is obvious that the contribution of the segment is noticeably less than the lottery.

• LNB promotes electronic formats (e-lotería, etc.), and regulatory initiatives for online games and betting (2021 +) were also discussed. The gross revenue (GGR) data for the online segment is fragmented in the public domain.

Cautious Market Size Estimation (GGR) and Methodology

• Base: We accept LNB revenue ≈ $61 million as the lower reference point for the measurable government segment.
• Land casinos: for 1-3 small objects with a limited line of games with mid-Latam metrics (low tourist flow outside the peaks, limited number of tables/slots) we will add approximately $8-15 million GGR (the range is built on comparison with similar mini-markets in Central America and modest density of sites).
• Sports betting/online games under the auspices of LNB and/or operators: in the absence of public GGR revenue and taking into account the early stage/regulatory transformations, carefully add $10-20 million (electronic lotteries/bets/online products with local check-site).

Total operating range 2024-2025: ~ $79-96 million GGR/year.

This is an estimate, not an official statistic; when the consolidated annual accounts appear, the tolerance for the range may narrow.

Growth Drivers 2025-2030

LNB electronic products (instant/digital circulations, wallet integration) are an already confirmed scaling channel.

Simplified payments (card, e-wallet, optional - crypto wallets without the requirement of BTC) improve deposit conversion and retention.

Tourism and event flow (Surf City, etc.) indirectly supports casinos and bets during peak seasons.

Regulatory certainty (the role of the LNB as a "single window") reduces risks for investors and partners.

Conservative scenario: average annual growth of + 5-8% due to digital LNB products and gradual "digitization" of rates.

Optimistic scenario: + 10-12% with active launch of new e-products/partnerships and improvement of the tourist season.

Risks and limitations

Statistical opacity by non-lottery segments (partially closed tax information).

The small scale of the casino network and high transaction costs in a small market.

Fluctuations in crypto payment policy (change in BTC mandatory mode → voluntariness): it is important to monitor updates so as not to distort UX payments.

What to track next (practical checklist)

1. LNB annual reports (revenue, share of electronic channels).

2. Publications on reformatting online gaming/betting regulation (LNB role, regulations, taxation).

3. Travel metrics (flights, hotel loading at San Salvador/La Libertad) as a proxy for seasonal casino traffic.

To date, the most measurable part of the market is the lottery (LNB) with ≈$61 million in annual revenue; in total, the El Salvador gambling market can be cautiously estimated at $80-100 million GGR with the potential for moderate growth on the horizon until 2030. The key to scaling is electronic products and stable rules of the game under the auspices of the LNB, while the share of land-based casinos will remain limited by the demand structure and small tourist window.

Note on the quality of sources: figures for LNB are taken from the local business media with reference to the financial statements of the organization; data on the number of casinos - from profile directories/catalogs (may lag behind the fact). For management decisions, we recommend additionally requesting official aggregated indicators from the LNB/Ministry of Finance and tourist panels for San Salvador/La Libertad.