Costa Rica casinos are legal, but they are small hotel amenities rather than resort destinations: the law only allows them inside first-category hotels rated four stars or better. The Ministry of Public Security authorizes each table and slot machine, and the casinos pay monthly taxes on their income and equipment. Online gambling aimed at Costa Rican residents is not authorized, even though the country has long been a base for betting companies that serve players abroad.

Costa Rica gambling at a glance

Item	Status
Land-based casinos	Legal, only in first-category hotels rated four stars or more
Who authorizes tables and machines	Ministry of Public Security
Who collects casino taxes	Ministry of Finance (Dirección General de Tributación)
Main law	Law 9050, the tax law for casinos and electronic betting call centres
National lottery	Run by the Junta de Protección Social (JPS)
Online gambling for residents	Not authorized; no online gambling licence exists
Last checked	November 2026

How casinos work in Costa Rica

Costa Rica sits in Central America between Nicaragua and Panama, and most visitors come for its beaches, volcanoes and rainforest rather than gambling. Casinos exist to serve hotel guests and locals. They are not on the scale of Las Vegas, and a typical floor is a room of slot machines plus a handful of table games.

Law 9050 sets the rules that shape every casino in the country:

A casino can only be authorized inside a first-category hotel rated four stars or more by the Costa Rican Tourism Institute.
The casino may take up no more than 15% of the hotel’s floor area.
The Ministry of Public Security authorizes each gaming table and slot machine.

Because tables and machines are taxed one by one, owners keep the number of games tight. House rules also vary from one casino to the next, so ask the dealer how a game is played before you buy in, especially for blackjack, Caribbean stud poker and other poker-based games.

How Costa Rica taxes casinos

Tax under Law 9050	Amount
Casino net income	10% each month
Each authorized gaming table	60% of one base salary each month
Each authorized slot machine	10% of one base salary each month
Betting call centres, up to 50 employees	57 base salaries a year
Betting call centres, 51 to 99 employees	85 base salaries a year
Betting call centres, 100 or more employees	113 base salaries a year

The “base salary” is a reference figure set by Costa Rican law and used to calculate fines and fees, so the colón amounts change from year to year.

Casinos in Costa Rica

Costa Rica has no public register of casinos, so counts quoted online are estimates. Casinos are found mainly in hotels in and around San José and in beach areas such as Guanacaste and the central Pacific coast around Jacó and Quepos. Gamboool has reviews of these venues:

Hours, games and opening status can change, so check with the hotel before you plan a night around its casino.

A short history of gambling in Costa Rica

Costa Rica became independent from Spain in 1821 along with the rest of Central America. Casino gambling grew as part of the tourism business, and the government has largely handled it as a tax and policing matter rather than through a gaming regulator.

Costa Rica’s bigger role in gambling has been offshore. Because the country never created an online gambling licence, sportsbooks and online casinos serving players in other countries set up offices and call centres there under ordinary business permits. Many of the offshore sites that take bets from the US have used Costa Rica in this way. Law 9050 brought those betting call centres into the tax system, charging them a flat annual tax based on staff numbers.

Online gambling and sports betting

Costa Rica has no regulatory framework for online gambling and issues no online gambling licence. Companies can get a municipal data processing licence, but that is not a gambling licence and only covers services aimed at users outside Costa Rica. Online casinos and sports betting aimed at Costa Rican residents are not authorized.

Under Law 8718, only the Junta de Protección Social could authorize online gaming for residents, and it would first need formal regulations and a national bidding process. The JPS runs the national lottery, the main legal form of gambling for locals outside the hotel casinos.

The JPS is pushing bill 25.057, introduced in June 2025, to toughen penalties for illegal lotteries, sports betting and electronic gambling and to bring apps and websites under the law. A legislative committee approved a substitute text in November 2025, then voted 5 to 3 against the bill in January 2026, sending it to the full Legislative Assembly with a negative report.

For US readers: offshore sites that operate from Costa Rica are not licensed by Costa Rica as gambling operators and are not licensed by US state regulators. Read our offshore online casino reviews before you deposit anywhere.

Costa Rica casinos FAQ

Is gambling legal in Costa Rica?

Yes, in hotel casinos and through the national lottery. Casinos must be inside four-star or better hotels, and the Ministry of Public Security authorizes their tables and machines.

Does Costa Rica have a gaming commission?

No. There is no dedicated gaming regulator and no online gambling licence. A site that claims a “Costa Rica gaming licence” is describing a business or data processing permit, not a gambling licence.

Can people in Costa Rica gamble online?

Online casinos and sportsbooks aimed at residents are not authorized. Only the JPS could approve them, and it has not done so.

Where are the casinos in Costa Rica?

Mostly in hotels, in and around San José and in beach areas such as Guanacaste and the central Pacific coast.

Gamble only with money you can afford to lose. If gambling stops being fun, call or text the National Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-MY-RESET.