The Dominican Republic has intensified its offensive against illegal gambling operations after authorities seized unauthorized slot machines in Santo Domingo Norte and Monte Plata, in a coordinated enforcement action targeting tax evasion, unlicensed gaming activity and cash flows operating outside the country’s regulated gambling framework.
The operation was carried out over the weekend by the Policía Nacional Dominicana led by General Andrés Modesto Cruz Cruz, the Santo Domingo Norte Regional Directorate and the Dirección Central de Inteligencia Delictiva (DINTEL) led by Francisco Pérez Encarnación, which confiscated multiple slot machines installed inside commercial establishments operating without government authorization. The enforcement action was based on Law No. 29-06, which regulates slot machine operations in the Dominican Republic, together with Law No. 351 of 1964, the country’s foundational legal framework governing casinos and games of chance.
Claudia Álvarez Troncoso
Under Dominican law, slot machines must operate with official licensing, state registration, tax compliance, administrative authorization and technical inspections supervised by the Dirección de Casinos y Juegos de Azar led by Claudia Álvarez Troncoso, operating under the Ministry of Finance of the Dominican Republic.
José Manuel Vicente
The Ministry of Finance is currently led by José Manuel Vicente, while the Dirección de Casinos y Juegos de Azar continues overseeing licensing, inspections, gaming compliance and regulatory enforcement across the country. Authorities detected machines operating outside licensed casinos and regulated gaming circuits, particularly inside informal businesses, a practice the government considers a direct threat to fiscal control, consumer protection and financial traceability within the gaming sector.
The crackdown also responds to growing concerns related to money laundering risks and unmonitored cash circulation, as many illegal slot machine operations function entirely outside the formal banking system.
The Dominican Republic is now moving toward stronger territorial enforcement, increased inspections, licensing reviews and tighter oversight over slot machine activity, while the government simultaneously advances broader regularization efforts across gaming operators, betting shops and gambling establishments under new sector formalization policies announced in 2026.
