Costa Rica for iGaming operators: Law 9050, data processing and the 2026 bills

What Costa Rica offers, in one answer

Costa Rica has no regulator that grants online casino or sportsbook permits to international operators. Instead, Law 9050 of 2012 taxes “companies dedicated to receiving and processing data that generate electronic bets”, and municipalities issue the ordinary business permits those companies need. Operators therefore run back-office, customer support, trading and development teams from Costa Rica while holding their gaming licence in another jurisdiction.

That is why agents talk about a “data processing licence”: it is shorthand for a Costa Rican company, its municipal patente and its registration for the Law 9050 tax, not a gaming authorisation. Keep the distinction clear in contracts and in conversations with payment partners.

Law 9050, article by article

Ley N.º 9050, the Ley de Impuesto a Casinos y Empresas de Enlace de Llamadas a Apuestas Electrónicas, was signed on 9 July 2012, published in Alcance 111 to La Gaceta 156 on 14 August 2012, and took effect three months after publication. It has two chapters that matter to the industry.

Key provisions of Law 9050 (text as published by the Instituto Costarricense de Turismo)

The headcount tax in colones for 2026

Article 4 charges a flat annual amount according to how many people the company employs directly, expressed in “salarios base”. The base salary is the one defined in Law 7337, which the Judiciary fixed at ₡462,200 for 2026 (Consejo Superior, session 113-2025 of 16 December 2025).

Law 9050 article 4 amounts, computed with the 2026 base salary of ₡462,200

The fiscal year runs from 1 January to 31 December and the tax is paid in quarterly instalments on the income tax calendar. It is due whatever the company earns, which makes it predictable for budgeting but heavier for a small team than for a large one on a per-head basis.

Company, permits and income tax

A typical set-up is a Costa Rican sociedad anónima or limited liability company with a local office, registered with the tax authority and holding a municipal patente for data processing in the canton where it operates. Payroll, social security and labour law apply as for any employer.

• Corporate income tax: 30% on Costa Rican-source profit, with reduced progressive rates for small companies below the annual gross income threshold set each year.
• Territorial system: income from outside Costa Rica is generally not taxed, but since the 2023 reform foreign-source passive income of multinational group entities without economic substance can be.
• Transfer pricing: the Costa Rican service company usually invoices the licensed operating company abroad at an arm’s-length margin, which is what the local tax is assessed on.
• Law 9050 tax: the headcount tax above, not deductible for income tax purposes.

The structure has to be designed with local tax and labour advisers. This guide is general information, not legal advice; use local counsel.

Why operators put their back office in San José

Costa Rica has hosted sportsbook support and trading teams since phone betting in the 1990s, and the ecosystem it built is the main reason companies still choose it. The attraction is people and time zone, not a light-touch licence.

• A bilingual Spanish and English workforce, with experienced customer support, risk, trading and payments staff.
• Central Time alignment with North and Latin American players and partners.
• A stable democracy with a long record of services exports and free-trade-zone investment.
• A predictable fixed tax under Law 9050 rather than a levy on gaming revenue.
• Mature local providers of office space, payroll, legal and accounting services for the sector.

What stays outside Costa Rica

The data processing model works only if the regulated activity happens elsewhere. Advisers consistently recommend keeping the gaming licence, the contracting entity with players, merchant accounts, wallets and game servers outside the country, and not accepting players resident in Costa Rica.

How functions are typically split

That is why Costa Rica is almost always paired with another licence. See our guides to the Curaçao LOK licence and the Anjouan licence, the two most common partners for a San José support hub.

The 2025–2026 bills to watch

The law may change. The Junta de Protección Social (JPS), which runs the national lotteries, has pushed since 2025 for powers to regulate and police gambling, and two bills have been filed.

Gambling bills before the Legislative Assembly, checked September 2026

Earlier attempts to tax the sector on profits, including a government proposal around 2011 for a 2% levy, gave way to the headcount model of Law 9050. If a JPS-led regime passes, companies serving Costa Rican players would need its authorisation; back-office companies serving foreign markets should watch how the final text defines “operating” in Costa Rica.

Game content when your team sits in Costa Rica

Because the gaming licence lives elsewhere, the content rules are those of that licence: RNG and game certification from labs such as GLI, BMM or iTech Labs, the regulator’s rules on B2B suppliers, and each studio’s restricted-country list. Your Costa Rica team operates the lobby; it does not change what may be offered.

A single casino game aggregator API makes that operable from one support desk. Per-game metadata (studio, category, currencies, market) lets the team build lobbies by country, a country parameter at launch keeps restricted titles away from the wrong players, and the same integration carries live dealer tables and a sportsbook API for the trading desk. With SoftAggregator that means 40,000+ games from 200+ providers, among them studios like Pragmatic Play, Evolution, Playson, Wazdan, Habanero and Smartsoft, on one seamless wallet.

For Latin American audiences served from San José, currency handling matters: choose per-player currencies or lock a site to one. Native currencies include USD, EUR, MXN and BRL; for other currencies, the account runs in USD or EUR and the operator converts on its side, so contact us for yours. Demo play launches separately through getGameDemo. Catalogue and currencies change continuously; the live list is in the API.

Operator questions about Costa Rica

Legal texts and reports used

The Law 9050 figures are taken from the statute’s text and the Judiciary’s 2026 base salary; the legislative status comes from Costa Rican and Latin American trade press. Tax commentary is general and summarised from published tax guides.

• Ley N.º 9050, Ley de Impuesto a Casinos y Empresas de Enlace de Llamadas a Apuestas Electrónicas, 9 July 2012, La Gaceta 156 (Alcance 111), 14 August 2012
• Poder Judicial de Costa Rica, base salary for 2026 of ₡462,200, Consejo Superior session 113-2025, 16 December 2025
• Ley N.º 7337 of 5 May 1993 (definition of salario base)
• Legislative Assembly bill 25.057: committee rejection reported 23 January 2026
• Legislative Assembly bill 25.600, filed 27 May 2026, as reported by trade press
• Costa Rica corporate income tax summaries for 2026 (30% rate, territorial system, 2023 passive income reform)

Last reviewed: 24 September 2026.