Operating in El Salvador: 25% tax and compliance
Online casino games and sports betting can be licensed in El Salvador by the Lotería Nacional de Beneficencia (LNB), which is both the regulator and an operator; lottery is the LNB’s own business. Unauthorised gaming is illegal, including sites run from abroad, and the LNB can have their domains blocked; even so, foreign sites that are not on its list, such as Stake, BC.Game and 1xBet, loaded from a San Salvador connection on 22 October 2026, and the LNB had published no block. As of 22 October 2026 the LNB lists 13 authorised brands.
Product by product
Every online applicant must use a specific .sv website, redirect Salvadoran connections to it, and keep a physical domicile in El Salvador.| Product | Status | Licensed by | Tax | Key restriction | Advertising |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sports betting (virtual included) | Licensable | LNB: permit, then operating licence for sports betting (probabilidades deportivas) | Canon: up to 25% of previous year's gross income less prizes, monthly from year 2 | Exclusive LNB business that third parties may run by licence; .sv website and redirect of Salvadoran connections; guarantee set per operator. How operators sell it: listed brands from .sv sites under LNB wording (Betcris: an LNB licence for 'juegos en línea y probabilidades deportivas', 6 June 2025 to 5 June 2035); Stake, BC.Game, 1xBet, 22Bet and Melbet, not on the list, sell in Spanish to San Salvador connections with no block page, none on .sv (22 October 2026). What the LNB has said: a system to detect unauthorised platforms, announced 22 September and 21 October 2026; no blocking order or sanction against a named site published | No ban; marketing must carry responsible-gambling content |
| Online casino and slots | Licensable | LNB: permit, then operating licence for online games (juegos en línea) | Same canon as sports betting | Covers bingo, keno, slots, card games, roulette and instant games; game plan and technology approved (homologated) by the LNB; poker and live casino are not named. How operators sell it: Emperatriz prints 'Licencia N.º 007-UCF-LNB-2025'; Betpro and Ganaplay, on the LNB's list, print a Curaçao or an Anjouan licence and no LNB licence on their own pages; Stake (Curaçao company), BC.Game (Anjouan ALSI-202410011-FI1, crypto), 1xBet, 22Bet and Melbet, not on the list, sell casino, live casino and slots in Spanish to San Salvador connections with no block page (22 October 2026). What the LNB has said: as for sports betting | As for Sports betting (virtual included) |
| Lottery | State monopoly | The LNB itself; third parties only with LNB authorisation | — | Lottery is the LNB's exclusive business; municipalities may authorise only cardboard lotteries (loterías de cartón). How operators sell it: BC.Game, 1xBet, 22Bet and Melbet, not on the LNB's list, show lottery games beside sport to San Salvador connections (22 October 2026). What the LNB has said: nothing on these games specifically; no blocking order published | — |
| Games and platform supply (B2B) | Unregulated | No supplier licence | No levy on supplier revenue | Supplier software and systems are listed in the operator's game plan and approved by the LNB; licensed games must be run directly by the licensee, and the licensee may not transfer, lease or hand over their operation to a third party | — |
How does the LNB now supervise licensed online operators?
On 21 October 2026 the LNB announced that a supervision system built with Sharp Vision is fully operational. It tracks authorised operators' commercial activity continuously and in real time, detects unauthorised offers and manages the licence life cycle. The LNB says it also detects patterns of risky behaviour, and that the tool produces evidence for proceedings to block unauthorised platforms. No interface or data format has been published, so ask the LNB what an operator must connect.
Regulator and player protection in El Salvador
Heads-up for operators
1 item
AML regulation, UIF instructive and LNB technical rules
Due under D.L. 426/2025 (arts. 56, 60); none had been published as of 22 October 2026, so the 2000 regulation and the earlier UIF instructive stay in force (art. 61).
Source: 1
Not yet in force: drafts, laws adopted without a start date, and sections of the law still to be commenced. An item moves to the timeline below on the day it takes effect.
Getting licensed: apply to the LNB
Gambling tax: Up to 25% GGR (LNB canon, from year 2)
The headline operator levy is Up to 25% GGR (LNB canon, from year 2).
There is no separate gambling duty on stakes or GGR; the gambling-specific charge is the LNB canon (Ley art. 52; Reglamento art. 14, as reformed by D.E. 31/2023): US$100,000 for an initial investment up to US$2,000,000, US$200,000 up to US$5,000,000 and US$250,000 above, paid against the payment order issued with the permit, before the licence resolution (Ley art. 67); then, from the second year, a monthly payment of up to 25% of the previous year’s gross income less prizes paid, the exact percentage written into each licence. Renewal costs US$25,000, payable within 10 business days of notification of the resolution granting renewal (Reglamento art. 19). Corporate income tax is 30% of taxable income, 25% for taxable income up to US$150,000 (ISR art. 41), with a monthly payment on account of 1.75% of gross income for domiciled companies (Código Tributario arts. 151-152); IVA is 13% on services (IVA law art. 54).
- Land-based
- some municipal tariff laws add a monthly tax per permitted game or device (US$5 to US$30 for a coin-operated electronic device in Ilopango, Tonacatepeque and Tecoluca).
El Salvador's gambling tax next to neighbours and nearby markets
Each bar is the headline operator tax as that country's own page states it, for El Salvador, the nearest other markets (marked “nearby”) that tax gross gaming revenue. Hover or tap a bar to see what it is made of.
Which foreign licences El Salvador accepts
El Salvador recognises none of these 8 foreign licences.
Not recognised: gaming without the LNB’s authorisation is illegal, including games run wholly or partly from abroad and accessible in El Salvador (Ley Orgánica de la LNB art. 47), and the LNB may have SIGET order internet providers to block the IP addresses and domains of foreign entities that offer games without authorisation (arts. 16(l), 104; Reglamento art. 26). The LNB had published no block as of 22 October 2026. In practice foreign sites that are not on the LNB’s list, such as Stake (a Curaçao company), BC.Game (an Anjouan licence), 1xBet, 22Bet and Melbet, loaded in Spanish from a San Salvador connection that day with no block page; the LNB presented a system to detect unauthorised platforms on 22 September 2026 and said on 21 October 2026 that it was fully operational.
Malta (MGA) · United Kingdom (UKGC) · Gibraltar (GRA) · Isle of Man (GSC) · Kahnawake (KGCB) · Alderney (AGCC)
Curaçao (CGB)
Betpro, a brand on the LNB’s list, prints only a Curaçao licence (OGL/20223/121/0086, Games & More B.V.) on its home, terms and about pages (operator’s statement, 22 October 2026).
Anjouan
Ganaplay, a brand on the LNB’s list, prints an Anjouan licence (ALSI-132405045-FI3, VS Services Ltd) and no LNB licence on its home and terms pages, beside the name of Grupo Empresarial Tecnoplay S.A. de C.V., which its terms say is registered in El Salvador; BC.Game, not on the list, prints Anjouan licence ALSI-202410011-FI1 (operators’ statements, 22 October 2026).
Bonus rules: welcome bonuses allowed
El Salvador’s gambling law has no bonus rules. Promotions fall under the Ley de Protección al Consumidor, and all gambling marketing must carry responsible-gambling content (Ley Orgánica de la LNB art. 39(m)).
- Welcome bonus
- Allowed
- VIP schemes
- Allowed
- Loyalty schemes
- Allowed
- Cashback
- Allowed
No wagering cap. Promotion terms must be clear, in good faith and fairly balanced, abusive clauses are excluded, and doubt is resolved in the consumer’s favour (Ley de Protección al Consumidor arts. 16-17).
- Penalties
Fines in monthly urban minimum wages for commerce and services: 3 to 30 (light), 31 to 150 (serious), 151 to 300 (very serious) (Ley art. 102).
Repeated infringements can lead to suspension of the permit and licence, and to termination after repeated very serious ones (Ley art. 103).
No wording is prescribed for the responsible-gambling content (Ley art. 39(m)). Conditions, restrictions and validity dates must appear in the same medium as the promotion (Ley de Protección al Consumidor art. 30), and advertising that can mislead about the conditions of an offer is unlawful (art. 31(b)); no list of banned words exists.
How El Salvador enforces against unlicensed operators
No fine, suspension or block decided by the LNB is published: its transparency statement signed on 13 August 2026 records no executed resolutions for 1 April to 31 July 2026. The tools exist in the Act: fines in three bands of 3 to 30, 31 to 150 and 151 to 300 monthly urban minimum wages for commerce and services (Ley art. 102), suspension and termination of licences (arts. 62, 103), and blocking of IP addresses and domains through SIGET (arts. 16(l), 104).
- On 21 October 2026 the LNB announced a supervision platform built with Sharp Vision that tracks authorised operators in real time and detects unauthorised offers, producing the evidence for blocking proceedings.
- An unpaid fine is enforced against the operator’s guarantee (Reglamento art. 55).
Enforcement cases in El Salvador: 1 recent
Material regulator actions, court rulings, and high-profile fines from 2016–2026 against operators serving El Salvador. Each entry includes the technical failure and a one-line read-across for other operators in the market.
- December 2020
Lotería Nacional de Beneficencia (LNB) / Tenlot El Salvador S.A. de C.V.
LicensingCivil suit to nullify the contract (Fiscalía General de la República, 3 Dec 2020)The Fiscalía argued that the July 2020 contract let Tenlot administer and operate the new national lottery system through a digital platform, while the LNB’s law of the time reserved the lottery to the LNB alone.
Read-across: Under the 1998 law the lottery could not be run by a private company; the 2021 Ley Orgánica now in force keeps the national lottery with the LNB and licenses other games to authorised operators.
Traps operators hit in El Salvador
Specific operational risks that have caught new entrants in this market. Each item is country-specific. Generic gambling-ops issues (KYC, RG tools) are not included unless they have a local twist.
The regulator is also your competitor
The LNB regulates games "en tanto operador y regulador" (Ley art. 1). Among the grounds it weighs on an application is whether the applicant would compete directly with a game or lottery the LNB sells itself (art. 50(j)); a licence is a revocable privilege, and a refusal, grant, condition or restriction admits no administrative appeal (art. 50).
Sources2
A .sv site and a redirect, or a very serious infringement
Online games must be offered on a specific .sv website, and connections from Salvadoran territory or Salvadoran accounts to any other domain of the operator or its group must be redirected to it (Ley art. 40). Breaching either is a very serious infringement, fined 151 to 300 monthly urban minimum wages for commerce and services (arts. 98(r)-(s), 102).
Sources2
A change of control needs a new licence
Changes in composition, domicile, capital and shareholdings must be reported within 10 business days (Ley art. 38); a change in the majority of ownership or control (50% or more) needs a new licence application and payment before it takes place (art. 57), and licensed games may not be transferred, leased or handed to a third party (art. 33).
Sources2
Foreign company or Salvadoran subsidiary: ask first
The Act allows foreign applicants (Ley art. 34), but the Reglamento’s company file is written for companies organised under the Código de Comercio with a Salvadoran NIT and NRC (art. 12), and online operators need a physical domicile in El Salvador (Ley art. 94). Ask the LNB’s Departamento de Cumplimiento y Fiscalización ([email protected]) before structuring.
Bitcoin is not an approved gaming payment by default
Players pay in legal tender, in cash or its electronic representation, or by other means the LNB approves (Ley art. 47). Since D.L. 199 of 29 January 2025 Bitcoin is legal tender with voluntary acceptance, and the LNB had published no approval of Bitcoin for gaming as of 22 October 2026.
Timeline: rules in force
- 22 Oct 2026
For each electrical or electronic device that operates by coin deposit or touch, slot machines permitted by law, will pay an annual license of two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00). Audio or video jukeboxes
Source: 8
- 21 Oct 2026
In Lottery we consolidate ourselves as referents in Latin America after concretizing strategic alliance with Sharp Vision
The Lotería Nacional de Beneficencia (LNB) has formed a strategic alliance with Sharp Vision to deploy an integral, state-of-the-art supervision system for online gaming and sports betting. This system will enable continuous, real-time monitoring of authorized operators, detection of unauthorized pl
Source: 9
- October 2026
LNB supervision platform with Sharp Vision
Announced on 21 October 2026: real-time supervision of authorised operators, detection of unauthorised offers and the licence life cycle.
Source: 6
- October 2025
New AML law: the LNB supervises online gaming
D.L. 426/2025 makes casinos and games-of-chance businesses obliged entities and the LNB the AML supervisor of online games of chance (arts. 7, 11-12).
Source: 1
- January 2025
Bitcoin acceptance made voluntary
D.L. 199 of 29 January 2025 keeps Bitcoin as legal tender but makes its acceptance by private persons voluntary.
Source: 7
- December 2024
Cabañas Oeste municipal ordinance on casinos and gaming halls
The Concejo Municipal of Cabañas Oeste (department of Cabañas) issued an ordinance on casinos and similar establishments dedicated to games of chance (Decreto No. 2 of 19 November 2024; Diario Oficial No. 243, Tomo 445, 19 December 2024): a municipal licence fee of US$1,600 and US$120 a year for each gaming machine (art. 20), in force eight days after publication (art. 22). Land-based.
Source: 10
- July 2022
Reglamento of the Act
D.E. 16 of 29 June 2022 (D.O. 22 July 2022): the games catalogue, application documents, canon, guarantees, certification and the sanction procedure.
Source: 4
- 2022
First Licensed Online Platform 'Dale.sv' Launches
Dale.sv goes live as the first and only online gambling platform operating with a local license, in partnership with the LNB.
Source: 11
- December 2021
Ley Orgánica de la LNB
D.L. 251 of 21 December 2021 (D.O. 22 December 2021) makes the LNB regulator and operator of lottery, sports betting and online games, able to license third parties, and replaces the 1960 law.
Source: 2
Operator myths vs reality in El Salvador
Common assumptions about gambling licensing that turn out to be wrong in practice.
- MythEl Salvador’s regulator is an independent body.Reality
The LNB is regulator and operator at once (Ley art. 1), and the Act lets it weigh whether an applicant would compete directly with a game it sells itself (art. 50(j)).
Sources2
- MythA municipal permit is enough to run gaming.
- MythOffshore operators are tolerated.Reality
Gaming without LNB authorisation is illegal, including games run from abroad and accessible in El Salvador (Ley art. 47); the LNB may have SIGET order IP and domain blocks (arts. 16(l), 104), and on 21 October 2026 it announced a tool that detects unauthorised platforms. No block or fine was published as of 22 October 2026, and that day Stake, BC.Game, 1xBet (served as an El Salvador edition on sv1xbet.com, with a +503 support line), 22Bet and Melbet loaded in Spanish from a San Salvador connection with no block page, none on the .sv domain art. 40 requires.
Markets that work like El Salvador
Compared on what our records hold for each country: whether online casino, betting, poker and lottery are licensed, state-run or banned, the licensing model, what the operator tax is levied on and its band, how most advertising channels are treated, and how foreign licences are treated. A point we hold for only one of the two countries counts for nothing.
- DenmarkIn review
Online casino, betting and poker licensed; lottery state-run; licensed market; most ad channels allowed.
- BahamasAI overview
Online casino, betting and poker licensed; licensed market; most ad channels allowed; foreign licences mostly banned.
- United Arab EmiratesReviewed
Online casino, betting and poker licensed; lottery state-run; licensed market; foreign licences mostly banned.
- Saint Kitts and NevisAI overviewGrenadaAI overview
Online casino, betting and poker licensed; licensed market; most ad channels allowed.
Methodology & sources
The research behind our El Salvador coverage
Counted across every El Salvador page, not this page alone.
compiled 2 Nov 2026
Across every El Salvador page on this site: players, operators and the licence guide. The research report behind them cites official sources: the law, the regulator, the gazette, the courts and each platform’s own published advertising policy. Page sections not yet rewritten from the report may cite other sources.
The same research as a 82-page El Salvador report: every one of the 201 checklist questions, each answer cited to the instrument behind it.
Request the El Salvador reportOur Deep AI Scan took El Salvador through all 201 questions of our regulatory checklist, from 51 official documents, read on 2 Nov 2026. Our research team then traced every figure on this page to the document and sentence that states it. The full research report is reviewed by a named legal expert (2 Nov 2026). Where a fact rests on a press report or a law-firm summary rather than an official document, the page says so.
Documents cited on this page
- 1AML law, D.L. 426/2025 (Ley Especial para la Prevención, Control y Sanción del Lavado de Activos …), UIF
- 2Ley Orgánica de la Lotería Nacional de Beneficencia, D.L. 251 of 21 December 2021 (Asamblea Legislativa)
- 3Ley de Protección al Consumidor, D.L. 776 of 18 August 2005 (Asamblea Legislativa)
- 4Reglamento de la Ley Orgánica de la LNB, D.E. 16 of 29 June 2022, as reformed by D.E. 31/2023 (Transparencia)
- 5LNB 'Acta de inexistencia de información: Resoluciones ejecutoriadas', 13 August 2026
- 6Lotería Nacional de Beneficencia: supervision of online games with Sharp Vision (21 October 2026)
- 7D.L. 199 of 29 January 2025, Reformas a la Ley Bitcoin (Asamblea Legislativa)
- 8Source
- 9Source
- 10Source
- 11Source
- 12Ley General Tributaria Municipal, D.L. 86 of 17 October 1991, consolidated text (Asamblea Legislativa)
- 13Ley de Impuestos Municipales del Municipio de Ilopango, D.L. 356 of 20 June 2019 (Asamblea Legislativa)
- 14Lotería Nacional de Beneficencia, Operadores Autorizados
Other documents this page relies on
- Ley Orgánica de la Lotería Nacional de Beneficencia, Decreto Legislativo N.° 251 de 21 de diciembre de 2021 (D.O. N.° 244, Tomo 433, 22 de diciembre de 2021), Asamblea LegislativaLaw
- Reglamento de la Ley Orgánica de la LNB, Decreto Ejecutivo N.° 16 de 29 de junio de 2022 (D.O. N.° 139, Tomo 436, 22 de julio de 2022), con las reformas del D.E. N.° 31 de 18 de julio de 2023 (D.O. N.° 150, Tomo 440, 16 de agosto de 2023); consolidated copy on the Portal de TransparenciaLaw
- Ley Especial para la Prevención, Control y Sanción del Lavado de Activos, Financiamiento del Terrorismo y Financiamiento de la Proliferación de Armas de Destrucción Masiva, Decreto Legislativo N.° 426 de 7 de octubre de 2025 (D.O. N.° 190, Tomo 449, 9 de octubre de 2025), UIF copyLaw
- Ley de Protección al Consumidor, Decreto Legislativo N.° 776 de 18 de agosto de 2005 (D.O. N.° 166, Tomo 368, 8 de septiembre de 2005), Asamblea Legislativa, text with reform marksLaw
- Código Tributario, Decreto Legislativo N.° 230 de 14 de diciembre de 2000, texto consolidado, Asamblea LegislativaLaw
- Instructivo de la UIF para la Prevención, Detección y Control del LDA/FT/FPADM, with the reforms of September 2023 (UIF)Regulator
- Lotería Nacional de Beneficencia, Preguntas FrecuentesRegulator
- Ley de Impuesto a la Transferencia de Bienes Muebles y a la Prestación de Servicios (IVA), Decreto Legislativo N.° 296 of 24 July 1992, D.O. 143, T. 316, 31 July 1992, consolidated text (Asamblea Legislativa)Law
- Lotería Nacional de Beneficencia, Marco Institucional (Marco legal y formativo)Regulator
Also cited on this page
- Ley de Impuesto sobre la Renta, D.L. 134 of 18 December 1991, consolidated text (Asamblea Legislativa)
- Lotería Nacional de Beneficencia, news item of 21 October 2026: alliance with Sharp Vision for the supervision of online games
- Lotería Nacional de Beneficencia, news item of 22 September 2026: Lotería y Sharp Vision
- Emperatriz (emperatriz.sv), casino page (operator's own statement)
- Betcris El Salvador (betcris.sv), home page (operator's own statement)
- Betpro (betpro.sv), home page (operator's own statement)
- Ganaplay (ganaplay.sv), home page (operator's own statement)
- Betpro (betpro.sv), Términos y Condiciones (operator's own statement)
- Ganaplay (ganaplay.sv), Términos y Condiciones (operator's own statement)
51 documents in all. Request the full research report for every source, answer by answer.