Paraguay's gambling sector gains new trade body with CAJEPY launch
More than 20 companies have backed the formal establishment of the Chamber of Electronic Gambling of Paraguay. In May 2026, Paraguay’s gambling sector gained a new institutional voice with the formal constitution of the Cámara de Juegos Electrónicos de Azar del Paraguay, known as CAJEPY. Within its first week of operation, the body had already secured a meeting with the national regulator to present its agenda. SiGMA News spoke exclusively with Javier Balbuena, the organisation’s legal representative, about the chamber’s launch and priorities.
Paraguay’s gambling market gains a new industry voice
The sector in Paraguay had long been represented across several bodies, including the Paraguayan Association of Gambling Operators APOJA, Paraguayan Chamber of Gaming CPJA and the Paraguayan Association of Gaming Entrepreneurs APEJA, each covering different segments of the gaming market. CAJEPY has been created to fill a specific gap, primarily representing operators of slot machines and online gambling platforms, though its statutes leave the door open to other participants. Any company operating a licensed gambling activity in Paraguay may, in principle, apply for membership.
Leadership of the new body was distributed as follows: Raúl Caviedes as president, Miguel Báez as secretary and Emilio Módica as treasurer. The chamber’s legal representative is Javier Rodrigo Balbuena Estigarribia, a lawyer who also serves as its primary spokesperson. Founding members include Ozio S.A., Entretenimientos e Inversiones Antares S.A., and Vikingos S.R.L., with the full founding membership now comprising 20 companies.
‘Our aim is to protect the legal certainty of formal investment,’ says Javier Balbuena
CAJEPY’s legal representative outlined the concrete commitments the body intends to bring before the Comisión Nacional de Juegos de Azar del Paraguay (CONAJZAR), Paraguay’s national gambling regulator, and local government authorities in the coming months.
Balbuena stated that having an organised industry body gives the sector considerably stronger standing when engaging with CONAJZAR or municipal authorities. In the near term, he said, the priorities would be securing regulatory adjustment periods that provide financial certainty for operators and establishing technical working groups to assess the real impact of local licensing fees.
“With the institutional backing of more than twenty founding companies, our aim is unequivocal: to safeguard the legal certainty of formal investment, reduce the competitive distortions caused by unlicensed operators, and demonstrate to international markets that rigorous public and private sector collaboration is the only means of building a regulated, competitive industry with a genuine commitment to social responsibility,” Balbuena told SiGMA News exclusively.
The meeting with CONAJZAR: four requests on the table
The newly constituted CAJEPY arrived at the meeting with CONAJZAR with four specific requests:
Regulatory transition periods. The body asked the regulator to establish realistic timelines allowing companies to achieve compliance without being forced to cease otherwise viable operations.
A technical working group on municipal levies. CAJEPY called for a dedicated forum to assess the weight of municipal licensing fees on operators’ cost base, a long-deferred discussion with a direct bearing on the profitability of licensed operators.
Member compliance. The body committed to ensuring that each of its members fulfils its legal, accounting and tax obligations in full and on time.
Joint enforcement against unlicensed operators. CAJEPY requested coordinated action with CONAJZAR to target unlicensed operators competing in the market without paying taxes or meeting any regulatory standards.
The cost of unlicensed competition
Every active unlicensed operator in Paraguay represents revenue that never reaches the municipality, employment that goes undeclared and competition that bears none of the costs borne by licensed operators. Balbuena placed that argument at the centre of CAJEPY’s case, not as background context.
The request was specific: joint supervisory action between the industry body and CONAJZAR, not another study committee, but an operational framework with defined timelines and designated responsible parties.
That the issue was included on the agenda of CAJEPY’s first official meeting with the regulator speaks volumes about the body’s priorities in seeking to change the market conditions that have worked against licensed operators.
Next steps for operators considering membership or formalisation
The presentation to the regulator was the first step, not the conclusion. CAJEPY still has to open dialogue with municipal authorities, which have until now set their own fee structures without an organised, technically informed industry counterpart with which to negotiate.
CAJEPY’s doors are still open to operators who haven’t joined yet. The statutes also allow companies running other types of licensed gambling to come on board, so the body could end up covering more ground than its name suggests. Operators already complying with the rules now have a new institutional channel through which to present their concerns. For those that have yet to formalise their operations, the message is clear: both the regulator and the organised sector intend to encourage movement in that direction.
This article was originally published on the Spanish SiGMA News page on 29 May 2026.
The fuse is lit in Mexico City. SiGMA North America hits Mexico City, 01–03 Sept 2026. Three days of deals, insight, and startup sparks. The most serious stage of the Spanish-speaking sector. Lead from the front and book your spot.
