Dominican Republic opens public consultation on cruise-ship casino licences, with fees up to DOP 1.5m

Draft rules from the Ministry of Finance and Economy would bring “first-category” cruise casinos under a licensing, AML, and responsible-gaming framework similar to land-based operations.

The Dominican Republic’s Ministry of Finance and Economy has published a draft resolution for public consultation that would require “first-category” cruise ships operating a casino while docking, anchoring, or sailing in Dominican national waters to obtain an official licence via the Directorate of Casinos and Gambling. The ministry frames the move as a risk-management step, citing concerns that cruise casinos can be exploited for money laundering and terrorist financing if left outside a clear supervisory regime.

Under the draft, “first-category” is defined as cruise ships designed to carry 2,000+ passengers, and licensing would be conditional on, among other things, a minimum six-hour itinerary in national waters and access controls limiting the casino strictly to registered passengers. Operators would also need a DOP 20m (RD$20,000,000) performance bond, renewed annually, and a responsible-gaming program with identity-verification mechanisms before starting operations.

The proposed licence issuance fee is tiered by passenger capacity: DOP 1m for ships carrying 2,000–3,499 passengers and DOP 1.5m for ships with 3,500+ capacity. The draft also introduces annual operating fees based on the number of gaming tables (DOP 600k / 700k / 800k) and sets a cap of 15 entries per year into Dominican waters, with an additional DOP 15k charge per extra entry. Fees would be indexed annually to the country’s consumer price index.

Focus Gaming News reports the consultation window as 20 business days, from January 22 to February 19, 2026, giving cruise operators and stakeholders a short runway to comment before the rules are finalised. If adopted, the framework would formalise compliance expectations for cruise lines calling at Dominican ports and tighten oversight of a tourism-linked gambling segment that regulators increasingly view through an AML and consumer-protection lens.