Costa Rica is a really unique jurisdiction. Essentially, all work of offshore organisations is regulated by Commercial and Civil codes. Setting up of gambling business, as well as providing gambling games is not restricted at the legislative level, but at the same time in the country there is not a law that would regulate the opening and licensing of the companies which are working in the internet gambling sphere. So this business is not controlled by anyone, and there is not an regulator which would license the casinos and bookmakers.

It turns out that in the country is not presented a gaming licence without which the gaming companies would not have the possibility to operate legally. So each licensed casino that is working on the territory of this jurisdiction must get a Data Processing licence. It is enough to register the company on the territory of the country, get this licence and that is all, you can place a bet or open casino that is working online absolutely legally. Except for the players from Costa Rica will not have the possibility to visit your institutions, because it is restricted according to the laws of the country.

Licensed casino: the cost of Data Processing

The cost of this permission constitutes 15000 US dollars, in addition there is the quarterly fee in the amount of 1500 dollars. In the case the operator does not provide gaming services on the territory of the country, he gets the status of self-regulating. That means he is tax-free. According to the average data, this permission can be obtained during a month.

Licensed online casino in Costa Rica: what will be necessary to provide for getting it

The Data Processing can be obtained at any municipal corporation of the state. In order to obtain the licence it is enough to purchase an office (you can also rent it), and hire local employees. It is also important that foreign operators who opened an office in Costa Rica are obliged to appoint a local resident as a legal representative.

One more difference of this jurisdiction from any others – for getting the Data Processing it is not necessary to provide a business-plan considering all risks, provide struggle measures with gambling addiction, have a further capital in the amount of some millions and other such requirements. This is possible only because it is restricted by local laws to Costa Ricans to play at casinos or bookmakers.

Essentially this is the only restriction which you will meet. The licensed online casinos which get the Data Processing must work outside Costa Rica. Moreover, the organisation`s servers and all technical equipment also must be located outside the state.

Furthermore, in the country are not presented any requirements to the soft that is established on the casino or bookmaker website. It is not necessary to regularly provide the financial statements, open up the access to servers, provide information about the founder and management of the company, to open an account in the local bank. Yes, the owner’s identity will be checked, but only formally. All these facts made this jurisdiction an attractive variant for opening a gambling business. The only critical disadvantage is that the banks from Costa Rica do not agree to process the transactions. It makes the obtaining of a corporate account in the local bank practically unreal. But this is not surprising, since the banking sector of the country is absolutely controlled by the United States. So it will be necessary to process all transactions beyond Costa Rica. That means you will have to open an offshore bank account.

The main advantages of this jurisdiction:

•  There is not a controlling body in the country, as well as there are not any laws that regulate the work of the gambling sphere. So your business will not be checked by anybody, you will not have any announced checkings, testing of the equipment, etc.
• The economy in Costa Rica is stable and well-established.
• Costa Rica is not considered an offshore jurisdiction. So the operator can securely work with the contracts from the United States or EU.
• Longstanding history of gambling companies work on the territory of Costa Rica.
• Fast obtaining of the licence and moderate licence cost.
• There are not any express prohibitions for gambling activities.
• No necessity to replace your servers on the country’s territory. 
• No need to pay regularry for licence renewal.
• It is not necessary to regularly test the software established on the website.
• No taxes to the income received outside the country.

The disadvantages of the casino licensed on the territory of Costa Rica

• Data Processing granted by the administration of the country is not a specialized state license intended for legalisation of gambling business.
• You cannot open an account in the Costa Rica banks. So the processing of all payment transactions is more difficult.
• It can seem that the absence of strict rules and control over the casino work is an advantage, but in reality it has legal consequences. Thus the casino established in the local jurisdiction cannot provide services to the citizens of the states that have strict government regulations. For example, Russian Federation, United States, EU, Switzerland, Canada, etc.
• The necessity to rent an office and hire local employees.
• Player`s low trust of the casino and bookmaker that are licensed in Costa Rica.