Is online gambling legal in Ecuador?

1. 1Decreto Ejecutivo 445 (Registro Oficial, 6.º Suplemento 323, 10 July 2026) — replaces art. 235 of the Reglamento General a la Ley Orgánica del Deporte (Decreto 422)
2. 2Ley de Régimen Tributario Interno (LRTI) — SRI codification, última reforma 2026-04-01

Gambling with crypto: Banned.

• Minimum age: 18. Age of majority under the Civil Code; a minor's account is cancelled and prizes withheld ↗

You must be 18 to gamble online in Ecuador. 18 for licensed online sports betting: the Civil Code sets majority at 18, and a licensed site must verify your identity and age before your account opens. Land-based: casinos and gaming halls are banned.

• Prize tax: 15%. Withheld by the operator from each prize, no tax-free threshold ↗

The operator withholds 15% of every prize before paying it, prize by prize and event by event. Unlike ordinary lottery prizes, there is no tax-free amount for sports-betting wins.

Always verify a casino holds a valid Ministerio de Educación, Deporte y Cultura (ente rector del deporte) licence before depositing.

Ministerio de Educación, Deporte y Cultura (ente rector del deporte)'s website

If a site isn't on the regulator's licensee register, ask the regulator before you play: an unlisted site is usually not licensed here (a register can lag behind a new licence). An unlicensed site is outside the regulator's supervision, so you cannot complain to the regulator about it.

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  Check for the sport authority's licence

  Only licence holders may offer sports betting in Ecuador, and no licence covers online casino games. A licensed site runs on a domain ending in .com or .ec that the operator owns or holds exclusively.

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  Prices in US dollars, site in Spanish

  Licensed platforms must show every value in US dollars and all content in the official language.

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  15% taken from prizes

  A licensed operator withholds 15% of each prize, event by event, before paying it.

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  Only four ways to pay

  Bank accounts and debit cards, credit cards, prepaid cards backed by a supervised bank, or cash at the operator's own points. A site that takes cryptocurrency or other channels is outside the rules.

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  Look for the licence number and official seal

  A licensed site must show its licence number and validity and the sport authority's official seal on every channel, and every ad must carry the licence number.

• Bank or debit card deposit: USD 1,000 a deposit. Also USD 1,700 a day and USD 19,500 a month ↗
• Credit or prepaid card deposit: USD 350 a deposit. Also USD 550 a day and USD 6,100 a month ↗
• Cash deposit: USD 500 a deposit. Only at points the operator authorises; USD 5,000 a day and USD 9,900 a month ↗
• Session clock: Always visible. The site must show your elapsed session time and let you set limits on stakes or session length ↗
• Withdrawal time: 3 business days. Once your identity is verified; if the site needs more information it must tell you within the first business day ↗
• Your own deposit limit: Asked at sign-up. Daily, weekly or monthly; a lower limit applies at once, a higher one only three days after you ask ↗

Compare with other countries →

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   1. Complain to the operator

   Every licensed operator must run a complaints channel open 24 hours a day, logging when each complaint arrived and when it was answered; the sport authority can audit those records.

2. 2

   2. Report the operator to the sport authority

   There is no complaints service at the authority itself, but a licence can be revoked on a third party's report, for example for refusing without reason to pay a prize. On a complaint the authority can order the operator to pay what it owes within 48 hours, and collect it from the operator's guarantee if it does not.

• Myth

  Any betting site that accepts Ecuadorian players is legal.
  Reality

  Only holders of the national sport authority's licence may offer sports betting in Ecuador, and no licence covers online casino games.

• Myth

  Tax is only taken from my monthly profit.
  Reality

  Since 15 June 2026 the operator withholds 15% of the prizes you win on each event before paying you. The withholding counts towards your income tax, and prizes go in your annual return.

• Myth

  I can fund my account any way I like.
  Reality

  Licensed sites may take only bank accounts and debit cards at supervised banks, credit cards, prepaid cards backed by a supervised bank, and cash at the operator's own points, each with limits per transaction, day and month.