Panama Licensed Casino Reviews

The Junta de Control de Juegos (JCJ), in English the Panama Gaming Control Board, is the central authority responsible for the regulation, supervision, and control of all gambling activities in Panama. The JCJ sits within the Ministry of Economy and Finance (Ministerio de Economía y Finanzas) as the Secretaría Ejecutiva Junta de Control de Juegos and exercises authority over both land based and remote gambling.

The JCJ is one of the oldest gambling regulators in the Americas. It was created by Decree Law No. 19 of 8 May 1947 and assumes, in representation of and for the exclusive benefit of the State, the operation, control, authorisation, supervision, and oversight of all games of chance and activities that originate betting carried out in or from the Republic of Panama. The State of Panama issues all authorisations, contracts, and gaming licences directly through the JCJ.

The legal framework

The JCJ’s regulatory regime has evolved across several key statutory instruments:

• Decree Law No. 19 of 8 May 1947. Created the Junta de Control de Juegos and established the State’s monopoly over the operation, control, and authorisation of games of chance.
• Decree Law No. 2 of 10 February 1998. Reorganised the modern Panamanian gambling framework, expanded licensing categories, and updated the JCJ’s powers for the contemporary commercial gaming industry.
• Resolution No. 65 of 25 October 2002. Opened online gambling and made Panama one of the earliest licensed online gambling jurisdictions in the Americas.
• Resolution No. 11 of 6 March 2020. Updated the operational rules for online games of chance via the internet.
• Resolution No. MEF-RES-2021-2425 of 15 November 2021 and Resolution No. 5 of 3 June 2022 (Pleno). Created the Sección de Juego Responsable (Responsible Gaming Section) and the corresponding Responsible Gaming Programme.
• Resolution No. 25 of 2022. Modernised the online gambling framework, updating advertising and marketing rules, licensing requirements, player warnings, and reporting obligations on remote operators.

Licence categories

The JCJ’s published portfolio of regulated gaming activities, in the regulator’s own taxonomy, is:

• Hipódromos. Racetracks and pari mutuel betting on horse racing.
• Bingos Televisados. Televised bingo.
• Clubes de Mercancías. Merchandise clubs (prize promotional schemes).
• Salas de Máquinas Tragamonedas. Slot machine halls.
• Casinos Completos. Full casinos offering table games, slots, and live gaming on premises.
• Agencias de Apuestas de Eventos Deportivos. Sports betting agencies, both retail and online.
• Salas de Bingo. Bingo halls.
• Salas de Máquinas Tipo “C”. Type “C” machine rooms (a specific JCJ classification of machine venues).
• Juegos de Suerte y Azar a través de Internet. Online games of chance, the umbrella category that covers online casino, online sportsbook, online poker, and online bingo.

Online licences are valid for up to 7 years subject to ongoing compliance, which is one of the longer initial validity periods in any major regulated market and provides operational stability for licensees.

Application and annual fees

The headline online licence fees consistently published by Panamanian licensing services and trade press are:

• USD 40,000 initial application and licence fee
• USD 20,000 annual renewal fee
• Mandatory financial guarantees, the amount of which scales with operator footprint

Standard processing time from a complete application to licence decision is approximately 2 to 3 months, during which the JCJ may request additional documentation or clarification. Land based licence fees and obligations differ and are set by separate categorisation. The JCJ publishes its current fee schedule and operating procedures via the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the official Gaceta Oficial. We recommend operators verify current fees with the JCJ Secretariat at the time of application, as fee schedules are periodically updated by resolution.

Tax treatment

Licensed gambling operators in Panama are required to pay 10 percent of gross gaming revenue (GGR) as a monthly gambling tax to the State of Panama. Tax is reported and paid on a monthly basis, due within the first 10 days of the month following the gaming activity. Operators are also subject to ordinary Panamanian corporate income tax and other applicable obligations under the Panama tax code; gambling tax is treated as an industry specific levy on top of those general obligations.

Panama uses the Balboa (PAB), which is pegged 1:1 with the United States dollar, and the US dollar circulates as legal tender alongside the Balboa. Government fees and the gambling tax are typically denominated in US dollars.

Operating requirements

Licensed operators must satisfy a set of substantive presence and governance requirements:

• Incorporation of a Panamanian company that holds the licence
• A real local office in Panama with operational presence
• At least three directors, with documented identity and good standing
• Designated compliance and AML officers
• Detailed reporting on player deposits, wagers, account balances, and game outcomes
• Anti money laundering controls, KYC and customer due diligence at registration and for material transactions
• Player protection tooling: deposit limits, time limits, self exclusion, and information about gambling risk
• Segregation of player funds in accordance with licence conditions

Why this matters

Gamblers Connect maintains this Panama section of our Casino Directory as a licence filtered industry reference. We do not rank operators or publish “best casino” lists. Operators reviewed above are independently assessed against the JCJ public register and, where applicable, undergo Proof of Play testing and scoring under our 12 criteria Responsible Gambling Index. Many Panama licensed operators also hold MGA, ADM, DGOJ, or Latin American national licences for the markets in which they actively serve players, and our reviews record those secondary licences. Negative findings are published.