Casinos in Nicaragua

Introduction

Nicaragua, officially called the Republic of Nicaragua, is geographically the largest country in Central America. The capital city and also the largest city in the country is Managua with a population of over a million people. The most spoken language is Spanish and English follows due to its complicated and difficult history of being colonized.

Nicaragua was a Spanish colony up to 1821 when it got its independence. Then, it became a member of the Central America Federal Republic. The Mosquito Coast, an area along the eastern coast of today’s Nicaragua and Honduras, had a different path and was colonized by the British.

In the same way as other young American and Caribbean countries, Nicaragua has been through financial crisis, political issues and authoritarian leaders. The country is a member of the United Nations and because of this it has come under the radar of the UN Security Council multiple times. The world is focused a lot on human rights and Nicaragua has had its share of the blame due to its lack of it…

Nicaragua has its problems such as poor infrastructure and widespread poverty but is generally free of high levels of crime such as in some of its neighboring countries in Central America. It hasn’t yet become a major player in the gambling industry but the future seems bright and it is going in the right direction.

The History of Gambling

When gambling is concerned, it hasn’t always been legal and until 1990, there was a ban. Then, the Nicaraguan Revolution ended in 1990 and the ban was lifted. The oldest gambling type that is closest to modern gambling is the national lottery created in 1996. A breakthrough happened in 2001 when an effort was made to legalize gambling. Before that, there were only local lotteries but no online casinos so residents had to seek foreign casinos hosted elsewhere to get online entertainment. After the legal changes, many rushed to open online casinos and sports betting services. Initially, land based casinos were permitted only as a part of a hotel complex but later on they got the permission to be a separate unit.

Legislation and Jurisdiction

Although only land based casinos and gambling were allowed for a long time, in recent years, a number of legislation, licenses and regulations have been introduced that govern everything clearly and set gambling boundaries. In 2011, a new gambling act was created and divided gaming establishments into four categories. Small operators that were considered the source of illegal gambling were banned. Only operators that have at least 10 slot machines can be licensed to offer land based slot machines.

In 2014, another change happened in the industry when the management of gambling activities moved to the Ministry of Finance. It wasn’t surprising that the government became interested in collecting revenue from this industry. Then, gambling was put under the Financial Analysis Unit that created a council designed to regulate and leverage the revenue source coming from gambling. Only the Treasury can issue licenses and any establishment that fails to acquire a license is deemed illegal. The reason for this is to make companies comply with the international standards such as using a RNG (Random Number Generator).

Popular Spots and Games

Today, players who seek tangible casinos have a vast array to choose from since there are dozens and dozens of land based casinos in Nicaragua, they are mostly located in the capital city, Managua. Due to the numerous changes in gambling regulations, there has been an increase in land based casinos and in the number of games that they offer.

The most popular games are slots, Blackjack, Roulette and poker variants. Types of gambling available in Nicaragua include casino resorts, slot halls, casino sites, betting sites and Bingo sites. In order to find some of the well-known land based casinos in Nicaragua, all you need to do is spend a minute or two online and numerous sites will show you the best gambling places available!

Banking

As in most places in our modern world, cards are the most popular and convenient payment options. You can’t go wrong with widely accepted cards such as Visa and MasterCard. On the other hand, if you are more of a cash person, due to its proximity to the USA, the US dollars can be exchanged within the country for the Nicaraguan local currency, Cordoba. Another payment method many players are inclined to use is e-wallets. A wide range of e-wallets can be used in Nicaragua, some of them are Skrill, Neteller, Jeton, AstroPay and so on. In spite of the fact that the e-wallets are growing in popularity, users may encounter issues when using them like limited digital literacy and distrust in digital payment options. In the future, it is expected that the country will overcome these issues and that a growth will happen because of technological advancements.

To Conclude

Generally speaking, the history of Nicaragua is loaded with events and ups and downs. The gambling history of Nicaragua is the same and has been full of occurrences and changes but things are looking up from here on out. Regulations and laws that now exist clearly define how casinos must operate and what conditions they must meet. They protect the punters from getting taken advantage of and set guidelines that are easy to understand. This is great news for not only residents of the country but also gamers who are willing to explore land based casinos in Nicaragua. Numerous favorable payment options make the whole experience a lot more enjoyable and appealing and the US dollar is recognized and swiftly turned into the local currency. Managua offers plenty of land casinos where visitors can indulge in their favorite games such as table games and slots. Bear in mind that the majority of the country uses Spanish but standard English is also used enough that anyone who speaks English will be able to communicate with the natives.