How to get a gambling licence in El Salvador: fees and steps

The LNB is an autonomous public-law institution seated in San Salvador. The Act regulates it “en tanto operador y regulador de juegos” (art. 1), and art. 6 makes it the highest national authority for regulation, control, supervision and sanction of games in every form, online included.

• Art. 7 reserves the lottery, sports-forecast and online-game business to the LNB, which may authorise third parties by permit, licence, agreement, contract, concession or public-private partnership where there is a general interest.
• Licensing has two steps: the Junta Directiva first approves, refuses or conditions the permit and sets the canon; once the canon is paid it issues the resolution granting the licence (art. 67).
• The LNB publishes only the Act, the Reglamento, two requirement lists, the application forms and a know-your-customer form. No technical standard, game regulation or fee schedule issued under its rule-making powers is published.
• No amendment to the Act was found as of 22 October 2026, and no gambling bill or consultation was found.

Laws that apply

• Ley Orgánica de la Lotería Nacional de Beneficencia, Decreto Legislativo 251 of 21 December 2021 (Diario Oficial 244, Tomo 433, 22 December 2021)
• Reglamento de la Ley Orgánica de la LNB, Decreto Ejecutivo 16 of 29 June 2022, reformed by Decreto Ejecutivo 31 of 18 July 2023 (Diario Oficial 150, Tomo 440, 16 August 2023)
• Ley Especial para la Prevención, Control y Sanción del Lavado de Activos, Decreto Legislativo 426 of 7 October 2025, with the UIF Instructivo as reformed in September 2023
• Código Tributario · Ley de Impuesto sobre la Renta · Ley del IVA · Ley General Tributaria Municipal
• Ley para la Protección de Datos Personales (Decreto Legislativo 144 of 2024, with the reforms of Decreto Legislativo 659 of 2026) · Ley de Protección al Consumidor · Ley de Comercio Electrónico
• Código Penal, arts. 280, 281 and 397 no. 4

An operator needs a permit (permiso) and then an operating licence (licencia de operación) for each type of game and each operation, including each internet platform (art. 49). The Reglamento lists five game types (art. 4).

• No separate supplier (B2B) licence class exists. Suppliers are inside the Act’s scope (art. 4(b)) and are dealt with in the supplier section below.
• A licence is needed for each type of game. Within an authorised type, a licensee adds games by filing only the rules of each new game (Reglamento art. 14).
• Whether one licence can cover several brands or domains is not stated. The LNB lists 13 authorised brands as of 22 October 2026 without saying which belong to the same holder. Ask [email protected].
• No numerical cap is set. The Junta Directiva weighs market demand, effect on gambling addiction, public revenue, the investment and the interest of citizens (art. 45), and a licence is a revocable privilege that gives no acquired rights (art. 50).
• The Act also covers gaming establishments (land-based) and requires a licence for each (art. 49). This guide covers online and B2B only.

The Act lets natural or legal persons, “nacionales o extranjeras”, run games once authorised (art. 34). A company applicant must have as its social purpose the organisation, marketing and exploitation of games.

• A Salvadoran company is written into the dossier: the Reglamento describes companies organised under the Código de Comercio with a Salvadoran NIT and NRC (art. 12). Whether a foreign company can meet this directly or must form a Salvadoran company is not stated; ask the Departamento.
• An online operator must keep a physical domicile in El Salvador (art. 94), and the form asks for a notification address there. No size or staffing standard is set.
• A legal representative signs the application (Reglamento art. 11). No residence or nationality condition and no local director rule is stated.
• No minimum share capital is set, and no local bank account is required.
• A final conviction in the four years before the application for fraud, organised crime, computer crime, money-laundering or offences against the public administration or finances bars a person (art. 35). LNB staff, their relatives and persons insolvent with the tax administration are also barred.
• The LNB must refuse an applicant with criminal and police records, false information or a failed eligibility test (art. 53), and weighs the compliance record “en cualquier otra jurisdicción” (art. 50(c)).
• A refusal, grant, condition or restriction of a licence admits no administrative appeal (art. 50). A court route is not addressed; confirm with local counsel.

There is no application window. Step one is an email to [email protected], which returns the form and the list of indispensable documents. No online filing portal is mentioned.

• Documents are filed in original and copy (art. 63). The LNB may ask for any other document (Reglamento art. 12).
• No regulator pre-approval exists. Technology is inspected and homologated only after the application is admitted (art. 64).
• Platform and game certification must come from “una entidad certificadora competente y reconocida a nivel internacional” (Reglamento art. 21). No laboratory is named. Whether the certificate is filed with the application or before homologation is not stated.

The Act sets deadlines for each stage but no overall period, and the LNB states no typical timeline. The stages are not added up here because the Act mixes working days and days.

• Waiting for information or inspections the Junta Directiva asks for suspends the period for the final decision (Reglamento art. 20).
• An application not cured after queries is closed with no appeal (art. 63).

No application fee is set. The first charge is the canon, fixed by the size of the initial investment and set in the Junta Directiva’s resolution approving the permit (art. 67).

• The guarantee is lodged within the period for paying the initial canon, renewed or updated every year within 10 working days after each licence year, and runs at least 410 calendar days for each year (Reglamento arts. 15 to 17).
• The LNB returns the guarantee 15 working days after expiry once the legal representative swears all prizes were paid (art. 18).
• The Act caps the canon formula at 30% (art. 52). No floor is stated for the revenue share, and no annual minimum.
• No separate responsible-gambling levy is imposed. A new type of game or platform means a new licence process and canon. Whether a second brand under the same holder pays its own canon is not stated.

As of 22 October 2026 no separate gambling duty on stakes, turnover or gross gaming revenue is set. The recurring charge is the canon, and the texts call it a canon, not a tax. The general taxes also apply.

• For a domiciled individual the 15% withholding is the definitive tax and the prize is not declared. Remittance is due 10 business days after the period.
• The texts do not say how gross income is measured for online products or whether bonuses reduce it. They do not say whether a win credited to an account is “acreditado” at credit or at withdrawal. Ask the LNB and the Dirección General de Impuestos Internos.
• Municipalities charge fees on acts such as raffles, draws and signs; none of the three municipal tariff laws read names online gambling. The tariffs of other municipalities were not checked.

Online operators must use a specific website under the “.sv” domain and redirect Salvadoran connections to it (art. 40). Games and technology are approved by the LNB, not by the supplier.

• Domain: failing to use the .sv site or to redirect is a very serious infraction (art. 98), fined 151 to 300 monthly urban minimum wages for commerce and services (art. 102).
• Homologation: the LNB inspects and homologates only the technology in the game plan (art. 64). Using non-homologated technology is a very serious infraction (art. 98(b)).
• Monitoring: a homologated monitoring and control system must record every required operation and be monitorable from El Salvador by the LNB, whatever its location (arts. 70 to 72). The LNB announced on 21 October 2026 that its supervision platform, built with Sharp Vision, is fully operational and tracks operators in real time. No interface or data format is published.
• Servers and cloud: no El Salvador hosting rule, mirror-server rule or cloud rule was found. The licence names the authorised places where gaming equipment is stored (art. 58(c)).
• Data: no data-localisation rule was found. Personal data may leave the country only to a country meeting the principles of the data-protection law, with the data subject’s consent and a contract.
• Retention: no gambling-specific period. AML records are kept at least 15 years, tax records 10 years.
• Game design: no RTP, autoplay, spin-speed, bonus-buy or demo rule was found for licensees. The licence sets the prize conditions, and the Junta Directiva approves maximum amounts for each game type (arts. 16(e), 58(f)).
• Incidents: no incident-reporting duty to the LNB is set. A data breach is notified within 72 hours under the data-protection law (art. 25).

All regulated actors must protect minors and prevent their access to games (art. 2(e)), but no numeric age is stated in the Act or the Reglamento. Ask the LNB whether licence conditions state it.

• Payments: legal tender in cash or its electronic representation, or means the LNB approves (art. 47). Goods, securities and shares cannot be accepted as payment (art. 41(d)). The Act and Reglamento do not mention cryptocurrency.
• Complaints: players may complain to the LNB. For an unpaid prize the LNB admits the claim within 20 business days, the operator then has 10 business days to pay or prove payment, and otherwise the LNB executes the guarantee and opens a sanction procedure (Reglamento art. 10).
• No internal complaints procedure and no independent ADR body is required. Players can seek a refund where fraud by the operator is proven (art. 42(c)).
• Player verification: the monitoring system must guarantee participants’ identity “en los términos que reglamentariamente se establezcan”, and no such terms exist. Whether a player may deposit before verification is not stated.

Gambling advertising is permitted for authorised operators. The LNB regulates it as part of its general power, and there is no separate advertising regulator.

• Marketing and advertising material must include responsible-gambling content or other information the LNB considers beneficial to protect players (art. 39(m)).
• The Junta Directiva may order the withdrawal or suspension of advertising as a provisional measure (Reglamento art. 44(d)). No approval or notification is required before advertising.
• No channel rule was found for television, radio, outdoor, online, social media, influencers or sports sponsorship. No watershed or live-event restriction exists.
• Bonus and promotion terms, validity dates and conditions must be shown clearly (Ley de Protección al Consumidor art. 30); misleading advertising is unlawful (art. 31). No gambling-specific limit on wagering requirements exists.
• No provision makes an operator liable by name for its affiliates’ advertising. Collaboration in running unauthorised games is a grave infraction (art. 99(d)).

Casinos and businesses running games of chance are obliged entities under the AML law (art. 7). For online operators the LNB is the AML supervisor (art. 12).

• Duties: register with the supervisor and the UIF, a risk-based approach, annual training plans, transaction monitoring against customer profile and source of funds, and internal and external audit (art. 9).
• Due diligence applies when the relationship starts; for casinos and games of chance the UIF Instructivo ties it to financial transactions of US$3,000 or more (Instructivo art. 77).
• A compliance officer and an alternate are required (art. 20). The Instructivo says the function must be exercised by a person resident in the country (art. 72); the 2025 law is silent on residence.
• Suspicious operations are reported to the UIF within 24 hours after the analysis is finished, and analysis may take up to 15 business days from detection. Regulated operations are reported within five business days (arts. 24, 25).
• Records are kept at least 15 years (art. 26). The 2000 AML regulation and the earlier Instructivo stay in force until the new ones issue; none had been published as of 22 October 2026.
• Penalties: grave infringements 50 to 500 monthly commerce-sector minimum wages for legal persons, very grave 501 to 1,000 (arts. 34, 35).

A licence runs for up to ten years as the applicant asks and the LNB decides (art. 51). The Act also says it is renewed annually on payment of the canon, after a full investigation (art. 60).

• Renewal is a new filing: apply within the 30 working days before the licence ends, with the previous year’s financial statements, interim statements endorsed by an external auditor, an updated organisation manual, the rules of new games, an updated IT report and the shareholder list. The LNB raises queries within 5 working days, the operator has 10 to answer, and the Junta Directiva decides within 10 working days of the opinion (Act art. 62(2)).
• Changes in composition, domicile, capital or share ownership are notified within 10 business days (art. 38). A change in majority ownership or control, or a significant change or transfer of control, needs a new licence application and payment before the change (art. 57).
• A licence is not transferable, and licensed games must be exploited directly by the licensee: transfer, lease or hand-over to third parties is prohibited (art. 33).
• Fines are in monthly urban minimum wages for commerce and services. Grave infractions carry 31 to 150 and very serious ones 151 to 300 (art. 102). Repeated infractions bring suspension of up to six months, and then of six to twelve months (art. 103).
• The Junta Directiva may order internet providers to block IP addresses and domains, with SIGET for foreign entities (arts. 16(l), 104). No power to block payments is given.
• Players: the Act names no infraction aimed at players. The Código Penal punishes taking part in a game of chance not permitted in a public place with a fine of 5 to 30 días multa (art. 397 no. 4). Its reach over online play is not stated.
• No fine, sanction or suspension decided by the LNB is published. Its transparency statement of 13 August 2026 records no executed resolutions for 1 April to 31 July 2026.

No supplier licence, registration or approval class exists. Suppliers are inside the Act (art. 4(b)), and their software and systems enter through the operator’s file.

• Game developers, aggregators, platforms, live studios and odds feeds are treated as software, systems and equipment the operator lists in its game plan and the LNB homologates (arts. 64, 69). No provider-level approval exists, and no list of approved suppliers, games or certified systems is published.
• Whether the LNB asks suppliers to register is not stated in any LNB document found; ask [email protected].
• A foreign supplier licence is not recognised and does not shorten the process. Foreign compliance counts only as a suitability factor, and foreign certification is an input to local homologation (art. 50(c); Reglamento art. 21).
• White-label or turnkey operation under another company’s licence is not permitted (art. 33). A supplier may provide platform, content and services to a licensed operator, who keeps the regulatory responsibility.
• Supplying an unauthorised operator: gaming without authorisation is illegal “de parte del proveedor” (art. 47), a term the Act does not define. Collaboration is a grave infraction (art. 99(d)), and possessing gaming equipment made or sold in breach of the Act is a very serious one (art. 98(p)). No article names a B2B supplier serving such an operator, and none requires a supplier to check an operator’s licence.
• No fee is set for suppliers. Payments by a domiciled payer to a non-domiciled supplier for services used in the country carry a 20% definitive withholding, 25% for low-tax jurisdictions (Código Tributario arts. 158, 158-A). Software and revenue-share payments are not named, so confirm the classification with the tax authority.
• Payment providers need no LNB licence; electronic-money providers answer to the Superintendencia del Sistema Financiero and digital-asset providers to the Comisión Nacional de Activos Digitales.

The online operator route, in the order the Act and the Reglamento set. Start with the email to the Departamento, because the form and document list come from it.

1. 01

   Request the form and document list

   email [email protected]

   The LNB returns the official form and the list of indispensable documents. Ask at the same time how a foreign company is expected to meet the Salvadoran company dossier and whether several brands can sit under one licence.

2. 02

   Prepare the company and the file

   Reglamento arts. 11 to 13

   Form a company with a gaming corporate purpose, a Salvadoran NIT and NRC and a legal representative. Prepare the ten-year feasibility study, the operating programme with the game plan, the AML and responsible-gambling controls, the shareholder documents and the KYC form. Arrange a physical domicile in El Salvador.

3. 03

   File with the Departamento

   original and copy; no application fee

   File the signed form and documents. The Departamento reviews within 10 working days and may raise queries, which you answer in 5 to 20 working days.

4. 04

   Admission, inspection and homologation

   inspection within 10 days of admission, up to 10 days

   After admission the LNB inspects and homologates the technology listed in the game plan. Certification from an internationally recognised body is presented for software, equipment and systems.

5. 05

   Permit decision and canon

   US$100,000, 200,000 or 250,000

   The Departamento gives its opinion within 10 working days and the Junta Directiva decides within 10 days. If it approves the permit it sets the canon and issues a payment order. There is no administrative appeal against a refusal.

6. 06

   Pay the canon, lodge the guarantee and receive the licence

   guarantee amount set per operator

   Once the canon is paid the Junta Directiva issues the licence resolution, for a term of up to ten years. Lodge the guarantee within the period given for paying the canon.

7. 07

   Operate on a .sv site

   revenue share monthly from year 2

   Offer games only on the .sv site, redirect Salvadoran connections to it, run the homologated monitoring system, pay up to 25% of the previous year’s gross income less prizes each month from year 2, renew the guarantee each year, and renew the licence in the 30 working days before it ends for US$25,000.

Tier-ordered: official government first, then practitioner, then trade media. Every primary figure was read from the in-force text on 23 Oct 2026.