Costa Rica Regulatory Organisation: Increasing Attractiveness
Costa Rica has been a popular destination for online gambling institutions. The Costa Rica gambling license happens to be one of the favorite licenses for an online casino, as more than 300 institutions are running with this license. Online gambling is legal in Costa Rica if the institution does not bring any money from overseas into a bank account in Costa Rica.
Compared with other licenses, the gaming license issued by Costa Rica is considered relaxed in terms of norms and regulations. Only a decade ago, this license had developed a reputation for not being excellent in several ways. Given this, the authorities in Costa Rica have imposed stricter rules in recent years. Even then, Costa Rica happens to be one of the most natural places to get a gaming license.
Regulatory Organisation in Costa Rica
The Industria y Comerciao is responsible for issuing the licenses and taxing the companies. They are the official arm of the Ministerio de Economia, Industria y Comercio. Even though there is no such organization as the Costa Rican Gaming Commission, some online gambling institutions claim that such license increases their attractiveness. There is not much reason to think twice about joining a casino with this license, as Industria y Comerciao is a valid government organization in Costa Rica.
San Jose, Costa Rica Commerce 10.216-1000
Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce
Telephone: +506 235 2700
Email: uie@meic.go.cr
Website: www.meic.go.cr
Requirements for Costa Rica Gaming License
The license from the Costa Rican government for the running of an online gambling institution can be obtained by paying a fee of $15,000. This is the basic fee required to obtain a license, but the institution will have to come up with a $1,500 fee in each quarter to keep the license active.
There were proposals to increase the annual fee to $50,000 – to eliminate the institutions that are attracted to this license due to the low regulation being carried out by the authorities – along with a 5% tax.
Now companies do not pay any taxes since the revenues are counted on foreign shores. Online casinos will have to fork out around $100,000 to obtain other significant licenses.
The lower initial cost, extremely low fee required to keep the license active and the 1-2 months application process are positive factors in favor of the Costa Rican gaming license. Changes made to the license structure mean that Internet gaming or gambling activities now come under the classification of business activity. The ease of doing business continues to remain a major factor behind online gambling institutions beginning in huge numbers to obtain this license.
Options for Resolving Disputes
A good indication of an online gaming license is the ability to solve customer issues and resolve disputes. However, the government does not solve the disputes of players outside of Costa Rica.
Those casinos operating in Costa Rica do not get much in the way of benefits in areas other than license cost – especially the dispute resolution and complaint section. The gaming companies will have to take care of their problems. This means that the players will be dealing with an individual operator if there is a complaint or dispute.
Even though this may raise a couple of red flags before starting the license, it should not be much of an issue considering that the costs saved through the license can be applied elsewhere. Furthermore, the ease of doing business with the Costa Rican gaming authority is also significantly higher which may be a key requirement for a new gaming company with little experience in this industry.
Key Attributes of Having a Costa Rican Casino License
The biggest thing to remember when signing up with an online gambling institution that has a license from Costa Rica is that any issues or disputes will lead to the player negotiating with an individual gaming operator rather than the regulator. If the online gambling institution is a trusted entity, it can be trusted with the funds. Even then, any disputes are likely to end up in favor of the gambling institution rather than the player. The Costa Rican government has a policy that the player’s location is the basis for solving any disputes or addressing any complaints rather than the location of the gambling institution’s servers.
Good gambling institutions are performing under this license. New players should look at the reputation of the institution – rather than the license – before considering a sign-up. A good sign of a reputable institution would be those that voluntarily sign up for the regulatory services provided by the likes of Costa Rica. There are gambling institutions that possess a license merely based on the location or the major location of their customers. Investing money in a casino with a license from Costa Rica must be done carefully, but it should also not be avoided altogether.
In short, caution is required when it comes to dealing with an online gambling institution possessing a Costa Rican gaming license. It is important for players to make sure that they are joining up with an institution that has an active and legal license from Costa Rica.
