– The legal gambling age in Costa Rica is 18 years, similar to most countries.
– Costa Rica is one of the few countries to completely lack a gambling or gaming authoritative body or commission. Therefore, there is nothing like a gaming or gambling license or regulation in any part of Costa Rica.
– To get licensed in Costa Rica, gambling operators buy business or data processing licenses. Each license is worth about $5,000, and can be renewed with the same amount yearly.
– The Costa Rican government is very unconcerned about the opening of gambling facilities as long as $5000 is paid for the license and annually. So, opening a gambling facility in Costa Rica is simply easy.
– Costa Rica has a defined tax system for gambling facilities, which states that casinos and gaming parlours must pay 10% of their net profits. Betting call centres, on the other hand, have to pay their tax according to the number of employees.
– Betting call centres with 50 or lesser employees have to pay ¢20.5 million (57 times a basic salary). Betting call centres with 51 to 99 employees have to pay ¢30.6 million (85 times a basic salary). Betting call centres with 100 or more employees have to pay ¢40.6 million (113 times a basic salary).
– In August 2010, Costa Rica declared they were increasing the tax from 10% to 15%. Accordingly, no press release has been released to follow that release.
– More than 3,000 employees were put at risk of losing their jobs when Costa Rica regulated casinos to run only from 6 PM to 2 AM. The rule made it illegal to offer gamblers free alcoholic beverages. Also, casinos must stay clear of the street and be absent in hotels with rooms up to 60. That rule became effective in 2008.
– In 2013, the Finance Ministry announced the development of a gaming control board. However, nothing is developed yet in 2017.
– There is a total number of 53 casinos in Costa Rica, with 19 in San José alone.
– Fiesta Casino – Alajuela is the biggest casino in Costa Rica, with 14+ table games and 300+ gaming machines.
– San José is the largest gambling city in Costa Rica, with 19 gambling institutions, 168+ table games and 1,136+ gaming machines.
– About 50% of electronic gambling businesses in the world is between Costa Rica and Aruba, and generates $14+ billion annually.
– Costa Rican indigenes are forbidden to participate in any form of online gambling (sports betting, bingo, poker and lottery).
– Games with a random outcome are forbidden in Costa Rica. As a result, gambling is a very confusing activity in Costa Rica. Some casinos classify blackjack as illegal while some happily offer it.