Peru has made great strides in recent years towards the regulation of online betting sites. The laws of the country allow for most forms of online gambling. Dozens of land-based casinos are licensed to operate throughout Peru.

Online betting in Peru has long been legal as well. New gambling laws in Peru officially sanctioned the activity in 2008 and players are now free to play at online betting sites that accept signups and deposits from Peru. Any Peruvian interested in betting online simply needs to visit any major gambling website and sign up for an account.

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Peru’s most recent gaming laws allow for the licensing of sites based inside Peru. However, the laws that govern local casinos are loosely enforced. Thus, I find it safest to bet with international websites that offer their services in Spanish.

Is it legal to bet online in Peru?

Yes. Peru’s laws specifically mention online gambling and give citizens the freedom to play online where they want, when they want. There are no laws against placing wagers at overseas gaming sites. However, the Peruvian authorities have no oversight over sites located in other countries.

What this means is you should carefully when looking for a place to play. The best Peru betting sites have licenses to operate around the world. These are multinational corporations that protect players’ funds and host honest games. Small and unknown sites should be avoided because Peruvian authorities have no means of enforcing Peru’s gaming rules in other countries.

Placing Wagers with the Nuevo Sol

The Nuevo Sol is considered a “niche” currency because it isn’t widely used around the world outside of Peru. As a result, no major online casinos accept deposits in soles. What you can do instead is open a US Dollar or Euro bank account at home. Interbank Peru is one of several banking institutions in Peru that can be used to set up such an account.

Once you have a USD or EUR bank account, you can sign up for an account with Skrill. Skrill is an international online e-wallet that you can use to deposit to most betting sites. You can then link your bank account to your Skrill account to quickly transfer money to and from any major betting site.

PayPal is also accepted at some of the larger online sports betting sites based out of the UK. PayPal works in a similar manner to Skrill. An account with PayPal can be used to keep your money safe online. Any time you want to make a deposit, just send money from your bank to PayPal, and then from PayPal to your casino of choice.

Another simple deposit method would be a cash transfer service such as Western Union. This option is perfect if you have cash but no bank account. You can transfer money by logging in to your betting account, visiting the cashier and choosing the “money transfer” option. The site will send you a short set of instructions for funding your account.

Interbank cards and Neteller are also accepted by most international betting companies. You’ll need to set up an account in dollars to both services online. US dollar VISA debit cards are available with Interbank and can be used to make deposits free of charge.

Peru Gambling Laws

Peru has a long history of gambling but for most of its history, the activity was completely unregulated. In more recent times, laws have been passed to bring the industry under the eye of gaming authorities. Gambling in Peru is now regulated under the authority of La Dirección General de Juegos de Casino y Máquinas Tragamonedas (Directorate General of Casino Games and Slot Machines). This division itself operates under the Vice Ministry of Tourism.

The primary objectives of the Directorate are three-fold:

  • Ensure gambling games are conducted with honesty, transparency and equal treatment
  • Protect vulnerable members of society from gambling
  • Ensure gambling remains free from the influence of crime

The Directorate has broad powers to meet these objectives. It has the ability to grant licenses, revoke licenses, appoint gaming supervisors, issue certifications of compliance, approve regulations, inspect casinos and more. On paper, it looks like a solid regulatory agency.

However, this may not be the case in practice. A Wikileaks document from 2009 revealed that the US Department of Treasure has serious misgivings over Peru’s regulatory effectiveness. The memo describes how a team was invited to Lima to meet with Peruvian gaming authorities and inspect local casinos in order to offer suggestions.

To put it nicely, the team was not impressed with what it saw:

“The team found lax to non-existent regulatory controls, a toothless Gaming Commission staffed by unqualified personnel, and a cursory registration process. The gaming sector is thus wide open to money launderers, drug traffickers, and counterfeiters both Peruvian and foreign. The sector badly needs reform.”

This is the reason why I feel safest with foreign gambling sites that are licensed under stricter licensing authorities. Most international sites offer their services in Spanish anyways. On a more positive note, the above memo is quite dated by now. It’s possible things have improved significantly since then.

Online gambling in Peru is also regulated but the licensing requirements are unknown. Two online betting sites received licenses in 2008 but no others have come forward. Offshore gambling sites continue to accept Peruvians to this day with no repercussions, so there is little incentive at this time for operators to go through the licensing process anyways.

Reports began circulating in mid-2017 that Peruvian authorities have drafted a new online gambling bill and will be submitting it to Congress soon. Details on the bill or its proposals are scant, but we should find out more soon.

Inkabet.pe: One of Peru’s supposedly local sports betting sites, Inkabet.pe, has been operating online since 2012 and has a poor reputation. It looks legit with its .pe domain name and commercials, but it is not licensed in Peru. In fact, it has a license from Curacao under a company based out of Costa Rica. Neither Curacao nor Costa Rica are very strict licensing authorities. I would recommend using different online sportsbooks in Peru.

Intralot.com.pe: Intralot has a license to operate and monitor certain lotteries and fixed odds betting games in Peru. The gambling site itself also offers its services in Peru, although its online offerings are somewhat limited at this time.

Betsson.com/pe/: Betsson was one of the first gaming companies to get an official license in 2008. This company is safe and highly respected, but doesn’t have the best odds for sports betting. I would recommend one of the sites listed near the top of this page over Betsson but if you do decide to use Betsson, they will keep your money safe and give you a fair game.