Costa Rican government intends to charge 2% tax to Casinos and Sportsbooks

The government is proposing a bill to the Congress, a proposal that will be analyzed starting on August 3rd, 2009. The plan is oriented towards regulating and controlling the operation of Costa Rica casinos and Costa Rica online betting centers by the creation of a National Commission, that will regulate the Costa Rica gaming companies activity. Such Commission would be formed by the Ministers of the Presidency, Security and Finance, the Executive President of the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT), the General Attorney, the Director of Judicial Investigations (OIJ) and the General Superintendent of Financial Institutions.

The bill wants to charge a 2% tax on the gross income of Costa Rica casinos, sports books and Costa Rica gambling companies in general, in order to become an important source to reduce the fiscal deficit, since this increase would generate at least eighty million United States dollars per year.

The Vice president of the Costa Rican Casino Association, Jorge Hidalgo, considers this increase is excessive as casinos have been affected by the world financial crisis, and it is not the correct timing.

The Minister of Finances of Costa Rica affirms that all of these ideas respond to a need of finding new resources of income based on a loss in the fiscal revenues due to a decline in the expected production of the country.

In the opinion of attorney at law and expert in Gaming Law Mr. Augusto Arce, this measure is almost identical to a previous gaming license that was granted by the Costa Rican government in a similar fiscal crisis in the year 2003. In that year the entire Costa Rica offshore gaming industry was shocked by the government with an emergency gaming license that raised a significant amount for Costa Rica and attempted to regulate this gray area in Costa Rican Law. It is also his belief that the new law can be positive towards regulating and not prohibiting and industry that is legal in many jurisdictions around the world, he also mentioned that there are many aspects to discuss and that it will be very interesting to see how the complicated legal structures that these companies use can be approached from a payment point of view.

Moving to Costa Rica: Main Reasons to do so…

Costa Rica is a country recently classified as the Happiest Place in the World for living, according to the Happy Planet Index of the 2009. What puts Costa Rica on top of this rank?

 Natural beauties and its comfortable climate both contribute to a peaceful environment, which makes it an attractive location to move to.
 Stable government, the fact of abolishing the army makes our country a non hostile environment, providing peace among its people.
 Low incidence of violent crime. The fear that moves people to carry a gun or any other weapon to defend themselves on the streets compared to aggressive countries seems, is not part of the lifestyle in Costa Rica.
 Strong national health care system, with highly trained doctors from national institutions and abroad. The World Health Organization describes Costa Rica as one of the countries in the world with one of the highest life expectancies.
 Well-structured educational system, which increases our literacy rate and strengthens our workforce. A good level of education such as the one in Costa Rica also includes the learning of different languages, that facilitate the communication with foreign cultures and makes it easier for newcomers to move and get used to the place.
 Business Opportunities in a developing economy, that have been a focus of attraction in the past years
 Affordable real estate


All of these reasons provide a good lifestyle, and some of the expats living in Costa Rica refer to it as “fantastic, at a very reasonable cost”. These reasons have given Costa Rica the place within some of the highest life satisfaction scores. Advantages such as these have motivated people around the world to move to our country, creating a multicultural atmosphere, pleasant for anyone looking for a comfortable and interesting way of living.

Contact GLC to guide through the moving process and aftereffects.