Peruvian Casino and Card Room Gaming

Casinos and slot halls are both legal in Peru. In December 2006, the Peruvian government passed the Reorganization and Legalization Law. The law set up a gaming commission under the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism as the enforcement agency for the casino industry and imposed a stricter 12% tax on casino revenue. Only about 40 legal casinos and slot halls paid taxes prior to this legislation. The new law was designed to regulate and tax an estimated 900 illegal properties in the country. Failure to comply with the law through a mandatory registration process resulted in criminal prosecution. By December 2008, the Ministry had received over 700 slot hall applications from about 250 companies seeking to register.

For decades, slot machines were only permitted in movie theaters. This changed in 1994, when casinos and slot halls became legal. They are required by law to be least 150 meters away from schools, medical centers, living quarters and religious establishments. In the provinces of Lima and Coallo, they can only operate in four- and five-star hotels, in five-star resorts, and in four- and five-star tourist restaurants. In all other provinces, casinos and slot halls can be located in three-, four- and five-star hotels, five-star resorts, and four- and five-star tourist restaurants. Properties with fewer than three tables are registered as slot halls rather than casinos.

Smoking was banned in Peru casinos and slot halls in early 2010.

According to the Superintendencia Nacional de Administración Tributaria (SUNAT), 85% percent of gaming revenue is concentrated in 10 companies that own the biggest casinos and slot parlors in the country.