Peru fine-tunes gambling rules: what MINCETUR is signalling to the industry
The relationship between a regulator and the gaming industry it oversees is never a monologue; it is, rather, a constant back-and-forth of guidance, adjustments and responses from both sides. In Peru, that dialogue with the casino, slot machine, remote gaming and sports betting sector became clearer than ever, with data, technical criteria and a roadmap that both existing and prospective operators can use to understand what is expected of them.
That message came into focus in recent days, when Peru’s Vice Minister of Tourism, Aracelly Laca, took part in an industry event and used the occasion to explain the direction of the country’s gambling and sports betting policy.
Regulation as state policy
Vice Minister Laca made the point while speaking on stage at the Peru Gaming Show in Lima, the city that was once the heart of the Inca Empire and today is increasingly a hub where the region debates the rules for gambling. For MINCETUR (Peru’s Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism, which oversees the country’s gambling sector), regulating casinos, slot machines, online gaming and sports betting is also a matter of economic policy, based on a straightforward calculation: regulation that is “modern, technical and balanced” gives legal certainty to authorised operators and, in turn, opens the door to greater investment.
According to MINCETUR, properly supervised gambling activity contributes to the formal economy, generates employment, attracts investment and raises revenue that the state channels into other purposes. Here, a notable point is one that often goes unnoticed: tax revenue generated by casinos and slot machines ultimately provides resources, through the Technological Innovation Centres (CITE, the Spanish acronym for Centros de Innovación Tecnológica), for technical assistance to Peruvian artisans; in other words, tax revenue from a slot machine could end up funding technical training for Peruvian craftspeople.
MINCETUR makes it clear that online gaming and sports betting have their own set of laws and regulations, but it does not specify whether these funds are allocated to the same programme.
The gaming authority every operator in Peru should know
The General Directorate of Casino Games and Slot Machines (Dirección General de Juegos de Casino y Máquinas Tragamonedas), part of MINCETUR, is the authority every operator in Peru should know and whose decisions should be followed closely. It formulates, proposes, supervises and enforces compliance with the non-tax administrative rules governing both “remote gaming and sports betting” and “casino games and slot machines.” Its director general, Yuri Guerra, was present at the event, alongside Fernando Calderón, president of the National Gambling Society (Sociedad Nacional de Juegos de Azar, known as Sonaja): a regulatory conversation that, in Peru, is increasingly taking place with the industry association at the same table.
Online gaming and sports betting: rules already in place
One of the most significant points made by Laca concerned the segment that has grown the most in recent years: online gaming. Peru already has a specific regulatory framework for remote gaming and sports betting, with clear rules, defined authorisation procedures and concrete technical requirements. MINCETUR describes it as a system that is already operational, with active enforcement mechanisms in place.
What does this framework aim to achieve? Among other goals, it aims to protect users, promote a regulated market and curb illegal gambling. In an operator’s day-to-day practice, these three objectives translate into authorisation procedures that must be completed before operating, technical requirements that must be maintained over time, and supervisory visits that can occur at any moment to ensure everyone operates under a uniform legal framework.
IMGL recognises Peru’s gambling regulation
In 2025, the Peruvian regulator was named “Regulator of the Year” by the International Masters of Gaming Law (IMGL), an international association of lawyers and gaming law specialists that evaluates industry regulators in different countries each year. The award recognised the country’s leadership in building a comprehensive regulatory framework for gambling, sports betting and online gaming, describing it as one of the most advanced regulatory frameworks in the region.
This recognition is an advantage for any operator weighing whether to invest in Peru; however, it sits alongside the same underlying enforcement framework: controls against illegal operations, up-to-date technical requirements and valid authorisations. To enter a regulated market of this kind, an operator needs an operating model that meets these requirements from the outset. That, ultimately, is what separates a productive, profitable investment from one that stalls halfway.
Responsible gambling and the fight against informality in Peru’s gaming market
Responsible gambling protocols form part of what the authority examines during enforcement. According to MINCETUR, that enforcement includes active measures against the illegal market, in addition to reviewing licensing applications.
Securing authorisation requires more than completing a form: it calls for concrete technical testing, audits and, above all, an open line of communication with the General Directorate of Casino Games and Slot Machines, the authority with which operators should maintain regular contact. In a market already regarded internationally as the most advanced in the region, the advantage does not come from simply meeting today’s requirements, but from anticipating, with a degree of foresight, what will be required next year.
MINCETUR set out its plans, touching on several fronts at once: formalisation of the market, taxation of the sector, protection of users and tackling the illegal market. None of these fronts operates in isolation from the others; behind player protection lies, almost always, the same question that underlies the fight against informality: in a market without controls, who is accountable when something goes wrong?
This article was first published on the Spanish SiGMA News page on 20 July 2026.
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