Haiti establishes national gambling regulator
Haiti has established a national gambling regulator responsible for overseeing casinos, betting operators and lottery businesses under legislation designed to strengthen financial controls.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance confirmed the changes in a public notice circulated in recent days, with the new Autorité Nationale des Jeux de Hasard et d’Argent (ANJHA) set to supervise gambling activities throughout the country, including land-based casinos, sports betting, online gambling and the traditional borlette lottery sector.
The authority was established through legislation published in Haiti’s official gazette on August 21.
The reforms separate gambling regulation from commercial lottery operations, with the new authority responsible for licensing, compliance and enforcement.
The government has also instructed gambling operators to make all licensing and tax payments exclusively through the Direction Générale des Impôts (DGI), the country’s tax administration.
Operators must obtain official receipts for payments and are prohibited from making regulatory or tax payments through unauthorised channels.
The Ministry said the changes form part of efforts to combat money laundering, illicit financial transactions and terrorist financing.
The new framework also establishes licensing categories and financial requirements for gambling businesses.
Annual licensing fees reportedly include five million Haitian gourdes for online gambling operators and ten million gourdes for certain land-based casino businesses.
The reforms represent a significant restructuring of Haiti’s gambling industry, although their implementation will depend on the new authority’s operational capacity and enforcement arrangements.
