Hiding the true owner of a betting business will no longer be a simple administrative breach, but a criminal offense
Santo Domingo.- Front men or intermediaries will face drastic criminal prosecution measures in accordance with what is established in the Gambling Bill that the Chamber of Deputies sent to the Senate of the Republic, this as a mechanism to combat a common practice in the sector to hide the true beneficiaries of operating licenses.
According to the legislative text, individuals who lend their names or use third parties to circumvent State controls will face judicial consequences of extreme severity.
Article 164, numeral 3 of the draft explicitly classifies as a very serious criminal offense the conduct of: “Whoever uses an intermediary or straw man to obtain a license or any other authorization in the different modalities of gambling or Responsible Administration indicated in this law, to hide the actual beneficiary and defraud the General Directorate of Gambling (DGJA) and the Ministry of Finance and Economy”.
You may also be interested in: Charitable and non-charitable raffles will require a license, according to the Gambling Bill
The penalties for individuals who engage in this practice range from 5 to 10 years of major imprisonment, in addition to fines ranging between 10 and 20 minimum wages of the public sector.
This measure responds directly to the mandate to strengthen mechanisms for the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing, aligning gambling legislation with Law No. 155-17. The legislator has emphasized the need to apply “due diligence” processes so that authorities have real-time access to the updated and actual identity of the ultimate beneficial owners of betting shops, casinos, and online gambling platforms.
Hiding the true owner of a betting business will no longer be a simple administrative breach, but a criminal offense that will be prosecuted ex officio or upon a report by any citizen or authorized operator to the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
The law does not limit punishment solely to individual persons acting as front men. If the fraud is committed using the structure of a commercial company, church, foundation, or any legal entity (legal persons), the weight of the law will fall upon the organization with forceful sanctions contemplated in Articles 165 and 167.
If the company or foundation was used as a means, cover, or facade to commit the crime of front-man operations (testaferrato), the courts may order its definitive dissolution. The entity may be subjected to a judicial control and surveillance regime for a period of up to 5 years.
More Read
With this new regulatory framework, the Dominican State seeks to definitively close the door to capital of dubious origin in the gaming industry.
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.
