Peru proposes lower online betting fines, stricter ad rules

Peru wants to lower the maximum fines for licensed online gambling operators and spell out stricter rules for their advertising. The Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (Mincetur) has published a draft supreme decree amending the regulation of Law 31557, which governs remote casino games and remote sports betting. Ministerial Resolution 382-2026-MINCETUR, dated 20 October 2026, opened the text for public comment. The resolution sets a comment period of 15 calendar days, counted from the day after its publication in the state gazette El Peruano.

Nothing has changed yet. The ministry can still amend the text after the consultation, and the new rules would only apply once the final decree is published.

Smaller maximum fines, with exceptions

Fines in Peru are set in UIT, the tax reference unit the government fixes each year, and paid at the UIT value on the day of payment. Under the current regulation, a minor breach can cost up to 50 UIT, a serious one up to 150 UIT, and a very serious one up to 200 UIT. The draft would change the ranges to:

• minor: a warning or a fine of 1 to 11 UIT;
• serious: a fine of 1 to 35 UIT;
• very serious: cancellation of the licence, a ban of up to 10 years, a permanent ban, or a fine of 1 to 70 UIT.

The draft also caps any fine at 10% of the offender's gross income in the year before the breach. Two cases are excluded from that cap: repeat offences, and fines for running an online gambling platform or betting room without authorisation. Unlicensed operators would not get the revenue-based protection.

Operators could also reduce a fine by admitting the breach in writing: by 50% before the investigator's final report, by 35% after it but before the sanction is notified. An operator that admits nothing but pays within the appeal deadline without appealing would get 25% off. The reductions do not stack and do not apply to repeat offenders.

In its explanatory statement, the ministry says the aim is a fine range "more in line with the reality of the sector" (our translation), so that fines deter without being excessive.

What gambling ads would have to show

The advertising article is rewritten in detail. Ads could only promote platforms and games with a valid Mincetur authorisation, and must name the licence holder together with its authorisation number. Promoting unlicensed sites would be banned in any medium.

Ads could not target children or teenagers, present gambling as a source of income or a way out of money problems, link it to social success or attractiveness, or encourage compulsive play. Every ad would carry a fixed warning, in Spanish, that remote gaming and betting "in excess can cause gambling addiction" (our translation). On video and digital ads, that warning must stay on screen, or be audible, for at least five continuous seconds. On static and print ads, it must cover at least 10% of the ad.

Influencer posts must be labelled as advertising, promote only licensed platforms, avoid audiences made up mainly of minors, and show the warning for the whole post or at least five seconds. The licence holder stays responsible for any ad, including one made or placed by an agency or influencer. INDECOPI, Peru's consumer and competition authority, would police advertising breaches, alongside Mincetur's own powers.

Other changes in the draft

The draft also updates the technical standards. Player login credentials must be at least four characters long, and where a site offers a quicker way back in, such as biometrics or a PIN, players must complete a full authentication every six months. The per-player transaction reports operators provide to Mincetur would cover deposits including bonus credits, and withdrawals with request time, final status and payment method.

What it means for players in Peru

For players, the most useful check stays the same and would become easier: a licensed site's ads would have to carry its Mincetur authorisation number. Earlier this month Mincetur said it had blocked 50 unauthorised platforms, and the draft keeps the heaviest treatment for that group. In the Netherlands, the Ksa recently issued its largest fine yet. Spain, another Spanish-speaking market, recently took the player-side route with joint deposit limits.