Poker in the Dominican Republic: licensed, including online poker

The Dominican Republic is one of the few countries in the Caribbean that licenses online poker specifically — and one of the few anywhere where table-game winnings are not taxed at the player's end.

The legal position

Gambling in the Dominican Republic is overseen by the **Dirección de Casinos y Juegos de Azar (DCJA)**. The framework dates back to 1964 and was modernised in 2024, and it licenses casinos, online casino gaming, sports betting and **online poker** as recognised categories.

That puts the DR ahead of most of its neighbours. Costa Rica issues no gambling licence at all; Ecuador bans casinos outright. Here there is a regulator, a licensing regime, and a named place for poker inside it.

The minimum age is 18 across all verticals.

Tax — the detail that matters for poker

Lottery and sports betting prizes above DOP 100,000 are taxed on a tiered scale from 10% to 25%, and slot winnings carry a flat 10% withholding.

**Table game winnings are typically untaxed at the player level.** Poker sits with the table games rather than the slots or the lottery, which is a materially better position than a player faces in most of the region. Worth confirming against your own circumstances — this is general information, not tax advice.

Live poker

The Dominican Republic has a long-established casino industry serving Santo Domingo, Punta Cana and Puerto Plata, built around the resort trade. That gives the country more live table poker than its size would suggest, and more than most of Central America.

The player

Elvyn Bello Santos is the first Dominican player to build a serious international record: $1,906,935 in earnings and **224th on the Global Poker Index**, a ranking that reflects current form rather than career length. He was runner-up in the 2025 Los Angeles Poker Classic Main Event for $300,000 and took fifth in a WPT Championship event at the Venetian that July.

Like most Caribbean and Central American professionals, he is based in the United States — the nearest place to find regular fields of that size.