President Peña has made major changes to the way gambling is regulated. While this could well pave the way for a land based


expansion eventually much of the focus of the new bill has been breaking up the monopoly of sports betting and cracking


down on illegal street gaming. All the same Paraguay could well be a jurisdiction to


watch out for when it comes to an expansion of large resort casinos.


Although there is a small number of large scale casinos there is still room for market expansion. Over the years several attempts have been made to launch tenders but many of these have fallen through. In January 2018 then head of the gaming commission Javier Balbuena confirmed the cancellation of the construction of a casino and hotel on an eleven-hectare site owned by the National Administration of Navigation and Ports (ANNP). Te ANNP property is located at the head of the Puente de la Amistad – an arch bridge connecting the Brazilian city of Foz do Iguaçu and Ciudad del Este. Te project was controversial from the start as accusations were made against the then mayor of Ciudad del Este as well as a number of ex city officials over accusations that they had unlawfully paved the way for the use of the institution’s land valued at around US$185m for the construction of the hotel and casino. However, the building of a new bridge could pave way for


new opportunities. According to local press the construction of a bridge between Brazil and Paraguay called El Puente Internacional de la Integración will lead to significant investments in both public and private infrastructure including investment in casino projects in the Alto Paraná region. Tere have been no real developments for years on the


casino front. Tis could well change under the leadership of Paraguayan President Santiago Peña. Te former economist and businessman first assumed the presidency in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic and has presided over one of the fastest-growing economies in the region. At the beginning of 2025, Paraguay had the highest GDP growth of any Latin American nation. In addition according to UN Tourism, Paraguay has emerged as the fastest-growing tourist destination globally, experiencing a 53 per cent increase in international visitor arrivals in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same period the previous year. President Peña has made major changes to the way


gambling is regulated. While this could well pave the way for a land based expansion eventually much of the focus of the new bill has been breaking up the monopoly of sports betting and cracking down on illegal street gaming. All the same Paraguay could well be a jurisdiction to watch out for when it comes to an expansion of large resort casinos. In May the government issued decree No. 3846 that outlines


the regulations for its new gambling law. Tis came after President Peña enacted Law 7483, which revises the legal framework for gambling operations in January. A major shift


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PARAGUAY


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