Authorities in Paraguay raided multiple illegal gambling venues in Amambay as the country's newly restructured gaming regulator steps up enforcement under a new law enacted earlier this year.
The operations were carried out by the Dirección contra Hechos Punibles Económicos y Financieros of the National Police, and the venues were found to be operating entirely outside the state's legal and regulatory control systems.
Authorities flagged potential links to money laundering and organized crime as part of the broader rationale for the action.
The raids are among the first carried out under the new law, which came into force in January 2025 and restructured Paraguay's gaming sector. The legislation folded Conajzar into the DNIT, granted the regulator access to roughly 800 inspectors and new powers to seize unlicensed equipment and block illegal online platforms.
It also dismantled the country's long-standing gambling monopoly and opened licensing to up to three operators per vertical.
Amambay, which borders Brazil and is one of Paraguay's most commercially active border departments, has historically been a pressure point for unregulated gaming activity. The choice of the region as an early enforcement target signals that authorities are moving to establish ground-level presence beyond the capital.
Officials from the DNIT and Conajzar stated that tackling illegal gambling is a priority not only for its impact on formal tax collection but because of the connections these operations may have to broader criminal networks.
Conajzar's President Carlos Liseras has projected that 2026’s revenue could double last year’s under the new legal framework
