The gambling industry in Ecuador has a very unstable position. Even though it was legal throughout the country’s history, the government decided to label it as illegal in 2011. After passing the law, all land-based casinos had 6 months to close their facilities and stop working.
Online gambling, on the other hand, is not regulated by law. It falls in the gray area. Even though by some logic, it is illegal, Ecuadorians are still able to register and play games at any casino site that they choose. Online casinos are not allowed to be based in Ecuador, but foreign sites are more than welcome to operate in this region.
What’s even more interesting in online gambling in Ecuador is that some research has shown that the Internal Revenue Service of Ecuador has subjected several online betting operators to VATs, which is quite bizarre.
The whole situation with the ban on gambling has been subject to numerous protests because this industry was very profitable and employed over 25,000 people in the country. Casinos also paid a lot of money in taxes, something that the government cannot benefit from these days. All of these restrictions have ended up in numerous illegal facilities and money laundering activities to operate within the country.