Dominican court drops case against former gambling regulator after restitution and cooperation deal

The former head of casinos and gambling in the Dominican Republic, Oscar Arturo Chalas Guerrero, has been freed from prosecution after repaying RD$20m and providing evidence in a major corruption probe involving ex-ministers.

A judge in the Dominican Republic has ruled that Oscar Arturo Chalas Guerrero, former director of Casinos and Juegos de Azar, will no longer face criminal prosecution after the court accepted a so-called “criterio de oportunidad” (criterion of opportunity) requested by prosecutors. This legal mechanism, available under Dominican criminal procedure, allows proceedings to be terminated when the accused offers substantial restitution and meaningful cooperation in uncovering more serious crimes.

The decision was handed down by Judge Altagracia Ramírez of the Fourth Court of Instruction of the National District, who agreed to the Public Prosecutor’s request after concluding that Chalas Guerrero had provided relevant and useful information to clarify alleged corruption schemes and identify other high-level participants.

As part of the agreement, the former regulator returned RD$20m (around US$340,000) to the state. Court documents cited by local media indicate that this included RD$17m in certified cheques plus two luxury vehicles – an Audi Q7 and a Volvo XC90 – valued at roughly RD$3m, all of which have been transferred to public ownership.

In sworn testimony, Chalas Guerrero linked the irregular collection of payments from unlicensed betting shops directly to former finance minister Donald Guerrero. He told the court that illegal betting outlets were charged between RD$3,000 and RD$6,500 per month to continue operating, describing the arrangement as a “mafia structure”. According to his statement, an initial attempt to dismantle this system was reversed after a drop in revenues, and the previous collection scheme was reinstated on ministerial orders.

With the court’s ruling, all precautionary measures against Chalas Guerrero — including a travel ban — have been lifted, formally extinguishing the criminal action against him. The wider investigation, however, continues. Other prominent figures named in the same corruption case include former ministers Gonzalo Castillo, José Ramón Peralta and the aforementioned Donald Guerrero, who are accused of participating in a broader network of illicit payments and influence around the regulation and taxation of betting operations.

For the Dominican gambling sector, the outcome underscores how former regulators are being drawn into corruption probes that extend beyond gaming and into the heart of public finance and political decision-making. It also highlights how cooperation agreements and restitution are increasingly being used by prosecutors to build cases against higher-ranking officials in alleged graft schemes linked to betting and lotteries.