Costa Rica Crypto Casino License
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An Affordable, Flexible Global iGaming License – Perfect for Launching Your Online Crypto Casino
What is a Costa Rica Crypto Casino License?
A “Costa Rica casino license” is not a traditional gambling license issued by a gaming authority, but a business structure commonly used by online operators. In practice, it usually means setting up a Costa Rican company that offers online gaming services to players abroad and obtaining a local municipal business (data-processing) permit for that activity.
Because Costa Rica applies a territorial tax system and does not have specific online gambling legislation, this model can offer relatively low set-up costs and light regulation, while still allowing operators to run international casino and betting platforms—provided they do not target Costa Rican residents (or residents in the United States or in the European Union) and they implement their own robust compliance, AML/KYC and responsible gaming procedures.
Starting an Online Casino in Costa Rica
To start an online casino in Costa Rica, you typically form a local company (usually an S.R.L. or S.A.) with an object covering online gaming services for foreign players, register it with the tax authorities, and obtain a municipal business license classified as data-processing / online services.
You must geoblock Costa Rican residents (along with other players residing in countries where gambling requires a local license - e.g., from the USA or the EU), host your platform and payment processing for non-Costa Rican customers, and implement your own internal compliance framework (KYC/AML, responsible gaming, and technical controls), because Costa Rica does not issue a formal online gambling license or supervise the gaming side the way regulated jurisdictions like Malta or Rota (CNMI) do.
Costa Rica Tax Framework for Online Casinos
Costa Rica applies a territorial tax system, so companies are taxed only on Costa Rican-source income. For online casino operators structured as Costa Rican companies, this usually means that wagers and gaming revenues from foreign players are treated as foreign-source income and fall outside Costa Rican corporate income tax, provided the activity is genuinely aimed abroad and payment flows are organized accordingly.
In practice, many iGaming operators using Costa Rica as a base incur only modest fixed local costs (such as standard municipal fees and basic corporate compliance), while achieving a very low or near-zero effective tax rate on their global gaming revenues.
However, online sportsbooks operating out of Costa Rica – even if they serve only foreign (non-Costa Rican) bettors – may still fall within the scope of Law 9050. In that case, the operator is treated as an “empresa de enlace de llamadas de apuestas electrónicas” and must pay a fixed annual tax based on the number of employees engaged in the sports betting operation. Law 9050 looks at what the Costa Rican entity actually does in Costa Rica, not where the players are located. So careful corporate structuring is required in order to avoid being within the scope of Law 9050.
In practice, many offshore sportsbooks structure their Costa Rican company as a generic “data processing” or back-office service provider and take the position that they fall outside the narrow 9050 definition, relying instead on the territorial income-tax regime (with foreign player revenue treated as foreign-source). But this is a defensible position, not an automatic exemption: the authorities could still re-characterize the activity as an “empresa de enlace” if the local entity is clearly receiving or processing betting transactions. The Junta de Protección Social has also stressed that Law 9050 is only a tax law and does not itself authorize online betting, so a tailored local legal/tax opinion is essential before assuming your structure is safely outside its scope.
AML / KYC & Compliance for Costa Rica Casinos
For online casinos and sportsbooks in Costa Rica, KYC and compliance obligations arise mainly from the country’s anti–money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) framework, rather than from a dedicated iGaming regulator.
Operators set up as data-processing or betting “enlace” companies are expected to implement robust KYC procedures, including verifying player identity, keeping detailed customer and transaction records, monitoring for unusual or suspicious activity, and filing reports with the competent financial-intelligence authorities under laws such as Law 7786 (AML) and its amendments, Law 9449 and the beneficial-ownership register rules. I
n practice, banks, PSPs and serious B2B partners will also require written AML/KYC policies, internal controls, and evidence that the operator blocks Costa Rican residents, maintains Spanish-language books and records, and can provide an audit trail of bets and payouts for several years, so that the business aligns with both Costa Rican law and FATF/GAFILAT standards—despite the absence of a formal “online gambling license.”
Access to PSPs & Financial Institutions
From a payments perspective, the main limitation of a Costa Rica “gambling license” (i.e., data-processing setup) is that banks and mainstream PSPs don’t treat it as a real regulated gaming license. Local banks are generally reluctant to touch gambling-related transactions, and opening a corporate account for an iGaming company is described even by service providers as difficult, with many banks either refusing service or heavily restricting transaction flows.
Because there is no formal online gambling regulator, top-tier card acquirers and popular PSPs (Visa/Mastercard rails, major fiat gateways) often require a “proper” license from jurisdictions like Curacao, Isle of Man, Malta, etc., so the Costa Rica data-processing registration is frequently not accepted as sufficient gambling authorization, forcing operators to look offshore for banking and high-risk payment solutions.
This is where crypto comes in: Costa Rica is marketed as crypto-friendly, and several advisors highlight that operators may use Bitcoin, Ethereum and other digital assets for deposits and payouts or even pay part of staff compensation in crypto. In practice, that means Costa Rica sportsbooks and casinos often rely on specialised or high-risk crypto payment gateways, on-chain wallets and aggregator solutions (some platforms advertise 200+ payment methods including crypto) rather than mainstream fiat PSPs.
However, even crypto processors increasingly apply their own risk and compliance standards, so access is easier than with fiat but still not “automatic”—operators should expect enhanced KYC/AML checks and, for the more reputable crypto PSPs, continued pressure to eventually migrate to a more strictly regulated gambling license.
Robust Self-Regulation and External Audit as Key to Success
Because Costa Rica has no dedicated online gambling regulator, self-regulation and independent external audits become your “license of trust.” A Costa Rica online casino that voluntarily adopts strict internal rules—covering fair gaming, player fund segregation, KYC/AML and responsible gambling—and backs them up with regular audits by reputable third-party firms can demonstrate to players, payment processors and business partners that it meets (or exceeds) international standards. This proactive approach is often the difference between being treated as a risky, unregulated website and being seen as a serious, well-governed iGaming business that banks, PSPs and high-value players are willing to work with.
How Much Does a Costa Rica Online Casino License Cost?
Strictly speaking, Costa Rica does not issue a classic “online casino / sportsbook license.” The lowest-cost route is to set up a local company (S.A. or S.R.L.) and obtain a simple municipal data-processing / call-center permit, which many operators then market as a “Costa Rica gaming license.” This structure involves standard company-formation and municipal fees rather than high, sector-specific licensing charges, so overall entry costs are relatively modest compared to fully regulated gambling jurisdictions.
Usually, launching an online casino in Costa Rica costs around USD 7,000. This typically covers the incorporation of a local Costa Rican company and the data-processing permit from the relevant municipality, which is the key authorization used by most iGaming operators in the country.
Get in Touch and Obtain your Costa Rica Casino License
Ready to launch your Costa Rica or offshore online casino, but unsure about tax, licensing, or payment-processor risks? Andrea Ricci, CPA helps iGaming operators structure their businesses in a compliant, tax-efficient way—covering Costa Rica data-processing setups, Law 9050 exposure, KYC/AML, and U.S. & international tax implications.
Get in touch with Andrea Ricci CPA to get all the information and advice you need to start your successful online crypto casino in Costa Rica.
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