Online gambling: "grey area" (Guyana)

Online gambling: Guyana's' grey zone'

Shortly

Guyana does not have a standalone, modern law that explicitly permits and regulates online casinos and online betting. The legal field is based on the historical prohibition act for offline and point exceptions (gosloterei, casino at hotels, horse racing/sweepstakes). Online, this gives rise to a "gray zone": players - a minimum of local guarantees, the state - a shortage of taxes, business - compliance risks.

1) Where does the "gray zone" come from?

Basic offline "skeleton." Guyana has historically banned "common gambling houses" and public lotteries unless they fall under special exemptions.

Offline exceptions:

State/concession lotteries are legal in a separate mode.
Hotel casinos - under two licenses (per room and per operator) through the Gaming Authority.
Races/bets (pool betting) - allowed in the prescribed manner.
Online - not separately allocated. There are no separate B2C licenses, domain registry and rules for remote gambling services. The result is that residents can access foreign sites, and local operators do not have a clear "digital" roadmap.

2) What it means for players

There is no local dispute jurisdiction. Conflicts with offshore sites are resolved according to the rules of their license/country.

Consumer protection is limited. Refunds, payment terms, account frieze - depend on the operator's practices, not on the Guyanese regulator.

Risk of aggressive advertising and "bonus traps." Without local marketing rules, promo terms can be opaque.

CUS/privacy. Data passes through foreign platforms; it is important to read the privacy policy and the terms of the CSC/conclusions carefully.

Safety practice for the player

1. Play only with operators with a recognized license (Malta, Gibraltar, etc.).

2. Set time and deposit limits; use "timeouts."

3. Check actual withdrawal dates (TATs) and pre-deposit fees.

4. Do not share one-time codes/keys with anyone other than official support on the site.

3) What it means for business

Local advertising at risk. Any activity within the country (events, offline promo, payment integrations) may conflict with the prohibitive framework if there is no clear license.

Payment bridges. Banks/PSP are careful about iGaming traffic without a local framework; crypto/stablecoin channels are allowed only through licensed VASP and with hard AML.

Compound compliance. In order not to close your path in the future, it is advisable to introduce voluntary standards now: eKYC + liveness, sanction and behavioral screening, WORM magazines, Responsible Gambling panel.

4) Payments and compliance in the "gray zone"

Fiat: Cards/transfers are often filtered by banks; delays/failures are possible.

Crypt/stablecoins: technically convenient (USDT/USDC, BTC/ETH), but do not replace the license; correct operation requires travel-rule, address analytics, limits, and Source-of-Funds/Wealth for high rollers.

Anti-fraud: multi-accounts, bonus abuse, chargeback schemes - frequent cases. We need device-fingerprinting, pattern scoring and manual checks.

5) Social optics: risks and protection

For society: impulsive play, youth vulnerability, misinformation in advertising.

Mitigation tools: centralized self-exclusion (if introduced), "default" limits, transparent bonuses, youth targeting ban, help lines and information in the interface.

6) If the country decides to "leave the gray zone": an outline of the law

License Categories

B2C: Casino (RNG/Live), Betting (sports/virtual/esports), Mixed.

B2B: Platforms, content studios, payment and verification providers.

Key elements

1. Registry of domains and applications + "white lists" of communication providers.

2. Payments: list of allowed PSP/VASP, travel rule, limits, reporting on AML incidents.

3. KYC/eKYC: age control, liveness, SoF/SoW for VIP; sanction/PEP screening.

4. Responsible Gambling: "default" limits, timeouts, "reality checks," centralized self-exclusion API.

5. Advertising: prohibition of misleading messages and youth targeting, disclosure of bonus chances/conditions, audit of creatives.

6. Security: ISO approach, WAF/DDoS, segmentation, bug bounty, pentests, WORM logs, incident-response.

7. Reporting and audit: monthly report GGR/RTP/RG/AML incidents; annual independent audit.

Fiscal model (benchmarks)

Moderate tax on GGR (start 12-18% with subsequent KPI revision).

License fees: one-time + annual (gradation by size).

Target allocation of 0.5-1% GGR to the responsible play fund.

7) Roadmap (24-36 months)

Phase	Period	What to do	Result
Preparation	0-6 months	Public draft law, consultation with banks/PSP/VASP, draft RG standards	Transparent design
Pilot (sandbox)	6-12 months	3-5 online licenses, default limits, whitelisting domains, GGR/RG reporting	Controlled start-up
Scaling	12-24 months	Full B2C/B2B registry, advertising rules, AML monitoring, centralized self-exclusion	Growth in the share of legal online
Optimization	24-36 months	Correction of rates/fees for KPI, ML-anti-fraud/RG, integration with tourism and MICE	Sustainable taxes and player protection

KPI for revision

The share of legal online turnover ≥ 60% after 24 months.

Average output TAT <12 hours for standard amounts.

The share of accounts with limits ≥ 50%; self-exclusion ≥ 1% of active base.

AML incidents <3 per 1,000 active players/sq, 100% investigated.

8) Checklist for players and businesses "here and now"

To players

Choose internationally licensed operators; set limits; check TAT and commissions; Keep screenshots of bonus terms.

To business

Do not conduct local advertising without a legal framework.

Implement voluntary standards: eKYC, RG panel, logging, sanction screening, SLA by conclusions.

Build a payment matrix (fiat + stablecoins through the appropriate providers) with transparent limits and reporting.

Conclusion

The "gray zone" of online gambling in Guyana is not the absence of a market, but the absence of a direct digital framework. Until it is created, the offshore wins, and the risks fall on the player and on the reputation of the jurisdiction. Phased legalization with a moderate fiscal burden, domain/payment registry, strong KYC/AML and responsible play tools can turn gray practices into a transparent, safe and socially useful sector, while maintaining a balance between the interests of the state, business and citizens.