Offices and call center in Panama
Article 2 of Resolution 11-2020 obliges the operator to maintain offices and a call center in the Republic of Panama. A remote-only setup does not satisfy the published conditions.
Panama · Online Gaming
Panama Online Gaming Company for Sale
An anonymised company incorporated in Panama and positioned for online casino and sports betting is offered through a share sale. The seller describes a launch-ready operation and estimates roughly three months to handover. That estimate, the authorization the company relies on and every other commercial statement are seller-reported, and each one is subject to direct verification with the Junta de Control de Juegos and full buyer diligence as of July 2026. Price on request.
The offer in short
A Panama gaming vehicle whose legal basis is the first diligence question
This is an anonymised offer for the shares in a Panamanian company marketed for online gaming. The seller describes a vehicle prepared for online casino, slots and sports betting activity, with payment processing arrangements in progress and a handover the seller estimates at roughly three months. The legal name, the corporate file and the exact authorization documents are reserved for qualified buyers under NDA. Nothing commercial on this page has been independently established; the seller's statements are reproduced with attribution and must be tested in diligence.
One correction matters before anything else. The seller's original material promised a rapid launch under a "licence" located in an indigenous comarca territory presented as its own gaming jurisdiction. Panama's published framework does not work that way. Games of chance are a state monopoly under Decreto Ley No. 2 of 10 February 1998, administered by the Junta de Control de Juegos (JCJ), today an executive secretariat inside the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), and the only published online regime is Resolution 65 of 2002 as fully restated by Resolution 11 of 2020.
A buyer therefore acquires a company, not a detachable licence. Under the online regime an operator holds a Contrato de Administracion y Operacion signed with the state and countersigned by the Contraloria General de la Republica, with up to five per-domain Licencias de Juego issued under it. Whether this company holds that contract, operates under someone else's contract as an Operador Designado, or holds something the JCJ does not recognise at all is precisely what the data room and a direct JCJ verification must establish. Wider country context sits on the Panama jurisdiction hub.
- 10% of gross income
- Monthly state share for online operators under Article 15 of Resolution 11-2020, payable within the first 10 calendar days
- B/.500,000
- Fianza de cumplimiento, the compliance bond held with the JCJ under Article 13 of Resolution 11-2020
- B/.50,000
- Derecho de llave paid to the national treasury for each Licencia de Juego under Article 12
- 5 domains
- Maximum number of per-domain gaming licences under one administration contract, Article 16
Regulatory status
A state concession under JCJ control, not a licence in the European sense
Panama regulates games of chance as a state monopoly. Decreto Ley No. 2 of 10 February 1998 reserves their exploitation to the exclusive benefit of the state, directly or through third parties, and places administration with the Junta de Control de Juegos, which operates today as an executive secretariat inside the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
An online operator does not receive a free-standing licence. It signs a Contrato de Administracion y Operacion with the state, which takes effect once the Contraloria General de la Republica countersigns it, and per-domain Licencias de Juego - at most five per contract - are then issued under Resolution 11-2020, the text that fully restated the online reglamento first adopted as Resolution 65 of 2002. Each licensed site must go live within three months of licence issue, or the JCJ may cancel that licence.
The online regime's scope is narrower than most sales material suggests. The reglamento covers betting on sporting events, including car and greyhound racing, and internet casino games - poker, blackjack, roulette and slots. Horse racing, lottery and similar games are expressly excluded, online bets may not be captured in physical gambling halls, and the text names neither esports nor crypto-denominated gambling. A product plan built on lottery, bingo or crypto verticals needs to be re-checked against the actual text before it is priced into this lot.
The regime also recognises two roles that matter to buyers. A Proveedor Registrado is a registered B2B supplier of gaming systems, and operators must source their platforms from one. An Operador Designado is a third party authorised by the JCJ to run a Licencia de Juego under a use-and-exploitation contract with the contract holder - the regulated white-label mechanism. Which of these positions, if any, this company occupies is a data-room question.
Diligence first
The comarca claim, and why the national regime is the benchmark
The seller's original material located the operation in the Kuna de Wargandi indigenous comarca and presented it as a distinct Panamanian gaming jurisdiction. That framing stays on record here as a seller statement, but it could not be verified for this page: the gaming statute and the MEF's official JCJ pages describe a single national framework, with no comarca-level gaming regulator, and Panamanian law treats games of chance as a state monopoly.
The practical consequence is simple. Before valuing this lot, buyer counsel should obtain the exact instrument the company relies on - contract, licence, resolution or other document - and verify it directly with the JCJ through the MEF, the regime's only published point of contact. If the instrument is a JCJ administration contract with per-domain licences, the framework on this page applies in full. If it is anything else, the buyer should price the position accordingly and take independent Panamanian advice before proceeding.
Operating requirements
What the online regime demands of any operator
Five years of gaming experience
The applicant needs at least five years of gaming-industry experience; for a legal person, the majority shareholder or the president must hold it (Article 6).
Investigation to the beneficial owner
The JCJ investigates the applicant, the board and the shareholders down to the ultimate beneficial owner, through state security agencies or private agencies at the applicant's cost (Article 5).
Registered platform supplier
The gaming platform must be acquired from a Proveedor Registrado, a B2B systems supplier registered with the JCJ (Articles 71 to 74).
Servers declared and certified
Servers may sit inside or outside Panama, but their location must be declared and the system must carry a compliance certificate from an authorized testing entity (Article 2).
AML and vetted people
Operators fall under Panama's AML law, Ley 23 of 27 April 2015. Directors, officers and shareholders need certificados de idoneidad, and every employee needs a credencial de trabajo.
Published costs
Fees, bonds and the state's share under Resolution 11-2020
| Item | Amount | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Item Derecho de llave (key money) per Licencia de Juego | Amount B/.50,000 to the national treasury | Basis Article 12; due at contract countersignature for the first licence, at approval for each additional one |
| Item Fianza de cumplimiento (compliance bond) | Amount B/.500,000 held with the JCJ | Basis Article 13 |
| Item Fianza de pago de premios (prize-payment bond) | Amount B/.100,000, insurer-issued, renewed annually | Basis Article 14 |
| Item Participacion en los ingresos (state share) | Amount 10% of gross income, monthly within the first 10 calendar days | Basis Article 15; 1% monthly surcharge on arrears, and three months of arrears expose the contract to rescission |
| Item Credencial de trabajo (staff credential) | Amount B/.50 per person | Basis Article 25 |
| Item Proveedor Registrado registration (B2B supplier) | Amount B/.1,000 by certified cheque | Basis Article 71 |
| Item Fixed annual licence fee | Amount None appears in Resolution 11-2020 | Basis Full-text check of the current reglamento; annual fees widely cited by third parties are not in the text |
Capital and financing
No published minimum capital - bonds and licit financing instead
Resolution 11-2020 publishes no minimum share capital for online operators. The financial tests run differently: the fit-and-proper criteria require financing for the complete operation that is adequate and comes from a licit and acceptable source, and the real cash commitments are the bonds and key money in the table above, plus the 10% monthly state share once revenue flows. Figures are stated in balboa (B/.), which circulates at par with the US dollar.
The seller describes the capital requirement as flexible. Read against the published text that is right in form - there is no fixed capital floor - but misleading if taken to mean inexpensive: on the published schedule, the compliance bond, the prize-payment bond and one licence's key money alone amount to B/.650,000 before any operating spend. Figures widely repeated online, such as a fixed US$40,000 annual licence fee or a US$1,000,000 capital minimum, do not appear in the current reglamento; the numbers on this page are the ones the text actually carries.
Transaction mechanics
The JCJ approves the buyer - share deals close only with its conformity
There is no such mechanism as a licence transfer. Whatever gaming position this company holds stays with the legal entity; what changes hands are the shares, and Panamanian law puts the regulator between signing and closing. Decreto Ley No. 2 of 1998 gives the JCJ's plenary board the express power to approve or reject any cession of shares of an operator holding an administration contract.
The online reglamento locks that rule into the company's own charter. Article 7 of Resolution 11-2020 requires the pacto social to provide that no share may be issued or transferred except in conformity with the JCJ's provisions, and that any transfer in breach is void. If the JCJ finds a holder unsuitable, the shares carry no dividends, no voting rights and no remuneration until they pass to an approved holder. A Panama online gaming company cannot validly close a share transfer around the regulator.
The people-level gate is just as real. Every incoming shareholder, director and officer needs a certificado de idoneidad issued after an investigation that can involve state security agencies, and a denied or revoked certificate obliges immediate termination. No decision timeline for any of this is published, and no adviser can guarantee the outcome. The seller's estimate of roughly three months to handover is commercial colour only - it has no basis in any published processing standard and should not anchor deal planning.
Acquisition path
From NDA to a JCJ-conform closing
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NDA and data room
Buyer qualification, NDA execution and access to the corporate file, the exact authorization instrument, contracts and the compliance record.
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Instrument verification
Direct confirmation with the JCJ through the MEF of what the company holds - an administration contract, Licencias de Juego, an Operador Designado authorization or something else.
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Diligence
Corporate, tax, AML and platform review, including Proveedor Registrado sourcing of the system, server declarations and certificates, and the bond and payment history.
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JCJ conformity
The share cession is put to the JCJ for approval, and every incoming shareholder, director and officer applies for a certificado de idoneidad.
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Closing
Only once the JCJ's conformity is in place, given the charter clause that voids non-conform transfers. Completing around the regulator risks a void transfer.
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Handover
Operational transition - staff credentials, banking and payment counterparty re-onboarding, bond continuity and the monthly 10% payment cycle from day one.
Verify it yourself
Primary records for the buyer file
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MEF - Secretaria Ejecutiva Junta de Control de Juegos
The ministry's own page is the regime's canonical public presence and names the governing instruments; the JCJ's former standalone domain no longer resolves.
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Resolution 11 of 6 March 2020
The full online reglamento as published by the MEF - scope, requirements, fees, bonds, licences and the charter clauses summarised on this page.
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Decreto Ley No. 2 of 10 February 1998
The operative gaming statute, published in Gaceta Oficial No. 23,484, including the state monopoly and the board's power over share cessions.
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Panama Digital procedures portal
The state's tramites portal documents the land-based contract types and their published key-money figures for comparison with the online regime.
Positioning honestly
Where Panama helps, where it hurts, and the licensed alternative
The genuine attractions are specific. The state's take is a predictable 10% of gross income with no fixed annual licence fee in the published text; one contract can carry up to five web domains; servers may sit outside Panama if declared and certified; and the white-label route is expressly regulated rather than tolerated. On the AML side, FATF removed Panama from its increased-monitoring list on 27 October 2023, and Panama is absent from the EU's AML high-risk third-country list in the consolidated 2025 text.
The honest drawbacks are equally specific. Panama remains on the EU's list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions after the 17 February 2026 revision, which means EU defensive measures and real friction with banks and payment providers. The gaming position is a state concession rather than a portable licence, a Contraloria countersignature sits in the approval path, no processing timeline is published, a withdrawn application locks the applicant out for one year, and the regime requires physical offices and a call center in Panama.
Buyers who need a supervisory brand that tier-one payment and platform counterparties treat as first-rank should weigh this lot against a licensed alternative such as the Isle of Man OGRA licence. Buyers comparing Panama vehicles across sectors can also review the Panama casa de valores lot and the Panama company positioned for crypto ventures, each mapped against its own regime record.
FAQ
Buyer questions about this Panama gaming offer
Straight answers before the data room. If your question is not here, ask us directly
01 What authorization does the company actually hold?
The lot is anonymised, and the seller's description of its gaming position could not be verified for this page. The published Panamanian framework recognises an administration contract with the JCJ plus per-domain Licencias de Juego, and a regulated Operador Designado role under another holder's contract. Which of these, if any, this company holds is reserved for the data room and must be confirmed directly with the JCJ before any reliance.
02 Can the licence be transferred to my company?
No. Panamanian law contains no licence-transfer mechanism. The gaming position stays with the entity; the JCJ's plenary board approves or rejects share cessions, and the mandatory charter clause under Article 7 of Resolution 11-2020 voids any transfer made outside JCJ-approved terms. An offer describing a quick Panama "licence transfer" describes something the published regime does not contain.
03 How long does JCJ approval take?
No processing timeline is published, either for initial contracts or for share cessions. The published time rules run the other way: each licensed site must launch within three months of licence issue, and a withdrawn application triggers a one-year bar on reapplying. The seller's estimate of roughly three months to handover is attributed commercial colour, not a regulatory timetable, and no adviser can guarantee any approval.
04 Which products does the online regime cover?
Resolution 11-2020 covers betting on sporting events, including car and greyhound racing, and internet casino games - poker, blackjack, roulette and slots. Horse racing, lottery and similar games are expressly excluded, and the text names neither esports nor crypto-denominated gambling. Products outside the defined scope need their own legal analysis before they are priced into the lot.
05 What are the ongoing costs?
The published schedule sets a monthly state share of 10% of gross income, payable within the first 10 calendar days, with a 1% monthly surcharge on arrears and rescission exposure after three months of arrears; an annually renewed B/.100,000 prize-payment bond; B/.50 staff credentials; and the B/.500,000 compliance bond position held with the JCJ. No fixed annual licence fee appears in the current text.
06 What is the asking price?
Price is available on request after buyer qualification and NDA. Value should be assessed only after the authorization instrument has been verified with the JCJ and the corporate, AML, platform and bond files have been reconciled in the data room.
Reviewed by the SKY7 advisory team. Last reviewed: 12 July 2026. This page is general information only, not legal, regulatory, tax, investment or financial advice. The entity identity, its authorization instrument, product readiness, the handover estimate and every other commercial claim are seller-reported, are not independently established on this anonymous page and must be verified in buyer diligence.
Check the MEF's Junta de Control de Juegos pages, Resolution 11 of 2020 and Decreto Ley No. 2 of 1998 before relying on any statement here. JCJ approval of a share cession, of an administration contract or of any incoming shareholder is never guaranteed.
Tell us what you need
Request the Panama gaming buyer file
Bring the proposed ownership chain, funding and product plan. SKY7 will scope the instrument verification with the JCJ, data-room priorities, the certificado de idoneidad applications, bond continuity and closing conditions. Price is on request; the NDA opens the file with the corporate documents and the authorization record.