Online casinos operate in a complex legal environment in El Salvador, where gambling laws have undergone significant changes in recent years. Since December 2021, the Lotería Nacional de Beneficencia de El Salvador (LNB), or National Lottery, has served as the principal regulatory authority for all gambling activities, including online gaming and sports betting (1). Prior to this centralization, gambling regulation was fragmented, with local mayors issuing casino licenses under a 1983 Municipal Code, leading to ongoing disputes between municipal authorities and the central government over jurisdictional control of the gambling industry.
The current regulatory framework was established when El Salvador's Ministry of Finance presented comprehensive gambling legislation to the Legislative Assembly in December 2021, which was passed on December 31, 2021. Under this new law, the LNB has been granted authority to both oversee and operate sports betting and online casino games nationwide through third-party operators via permits, licenses, agreements, contracts, concessions, or public-private partnerships (1). The legislation provides the LNB with the ability to regulate, monitor, supervise, organize and run these games, with licenses valid for ten-year periods and additional revenue directed toward health and social welfare programs.
"The LNB may authorise third parties to operate the newly authorised games which would be carried out by means of a permit, license, agreement, contract, concession, or public-private partnership" (1).
While online gambling is now technically legal under the LNB's oversight, the regulatory framework is still developing, and most international online casinos serving Salvadoran players continue to operate under licenses from established jurisdictions such as Malta, Gibraltar, or Curaçao (2). The LNB has comprehensive powers to supervise, inspect, and enforce compliance across all gambling sectors, with operators required to register within 90 days of the law taking effect and obtain proper authorization within six months or face immediate closure. El Salvador's unique position as the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender in September 2021 has also made cryptocurrency transactions fully legitimate for online gambling, adding another dimension to the evolving digital gaming landscape in the country.
Source:
https://g3newswire.com/el-salvador-ministry-of-finance-submits-online-gambling-bill/
https://legalpilot.com/country/el-salvador/
Last updated: 24-07-2025 Disclaimer: This article does not provide legal advice. If you need legal advice, please contact an attorney directly.
