Criminal penalties of 1 to 2 years of minor imprisonment and a fine of three to six public sector minimum wages are established for those who operate gambling games “of any nature”, including raffles without the corresponding license.

Santo Domingo.- Charitable and non-charitable raffles, carried out by natural persons or legal entities must have a license issued by the Gambling Council, as contemplated by the Gambling Bill that the Chamber of Deputies sent to the Senate of the Republic.

In article 112 of the draft, it is established that: “Charitable and non-charitable raffles shall be carried out by natural or legal persons authorized by a license granted by the
Gaming Council for the duration of the raffle”.

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In plain terms, this means that not just any person or company will be able to legally organize a raffle on their own, even if the purpose is charitable, thereby breaking with the custom of companies, churches, and individuals conducting raffles for various purposes without any type of regulation or guarantees.

In that sense, article 113 also establishes that the fees, requirements, and conditions for the granting of the charitable and non-charitable raffle license will be established through a resolution approved by the Gambling Council.

Said administrative fee must be paid to the National Treasury no later than fifteen calendar days, counted from the date the raffle is held; otherwise, the applicant must pay a
late fee of five percent (5%) of the amount due, for each month that passes without payment being made.

Sanctions

The law establishes severe administrative, civil, and criminal consequences for any natural (individual) or legal person (such as churches or organizations) that conducts charitable or non-charitable raffles without the proper license or authorization.

Since raffles are classified within the legal definition of “games of chance” (Article 4, numeral 51), those who organize them informally are exposed to the immediate closure of the physical establishment where they are organized and the blocking of the digital platform or website if the raffle is promoted or sold online.

The law provides for custodial sentences for individual organizers (natural persons):

• Article 162, numeral 1 imposes a criminal penalty of 1 to 2 years of minor imprisonment and a fine of three to six minimum wages of the public sector on those who operate gambling games “of any nature,” including raffles without the corresponding license.
• Article 163, numeral 4 increases the penalty to 2 to 5 years of imprisonment and a fine of nine to fifteen minimum wages for those who sell tickets or products related to raffles or gambling games in physical locations that operate without authorization or in an ambulatory manner.
• Article 165 dictates that if the criminal offense is committed by a legal entity (for example, an incorporated church or an NGO), it will be sanctioned directly with the payment of the equivalent fines established for each crime.

The National Congress opened last Sunday, August 16, the Second Ordinary Legislature of the year 2026 and in this stage the Senate must focus on reviewing the modifications made by the deputies to the piece for its subsequent approval and submission to the Executive Branch for its promulgation.

The fundamental purpose of this bill is to organize, modernize, and unify the regulation of the entire gambling and betting industry in the Dominican Republic, which has experienced accelerated growth and has tens of thousands of betting shops and online platforms operating within the national territory.