Nicaragua

In 1979, when the Sandinista government took control of Nicaragua, all forms of gambling were made illegal. Over the years gambling, including online gaming, has been making a comeback.

In June 2010, representatives before the National Assembly approved the implementation of an online lottery in Nicaragua. The National Lottery receives between 12% and 18% of the annual gross income generated by the online lottery for charitable work. The Canadian Commercial Corporation has an exclusive 15-year contract to provide the online lottery service.

The National Lottery website is the only website licensed to operate in the country. Nicaragua does not issue licenses for online gambling.

In practice, online casinos and sportsbooks targeting Nicaragua are mostly based offshore and operate without a specific Nicaraguan licence; local law focuses on regulating land-based venues and the official online lottery, while remote casino and sports betting remain largely unregulated but tolerated for players.