Costa Rica has filed a new bill with the Legislative Assembly aimed at modernizing the Junta de Protección Social (JPS) and closing the regulatory gap that has allowed unlicensed operators to dominate the domestic gambling market.
The initiative, registered under file 25.600 and titled "Strengthening and Modernization of the Junta de Protección Social," was presented by Assembly VP Esmeralda Britton and proposes three main lines of action: advanced supervision technology, reinforced anti-money laundering mechanisms and enhanced protection for vulnerable populations.
The technology component would introduce real-time monitoring, software audits and algorithm certification to prevent manipulation of gaming outcomes. On the financial crime side, the bill calls for closer coordination between JPS and institutions, including the Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF), the Costa Rican Institute on Drugs (ICD) and the National Council for the Supervision of the Financial System (Conassif).
The scale of the problem underpinning the legislation is significant. According to the bill's own supporting documents, illegal online gambling platforms now hold 53% of the national lottery and betting market, representing an estimated annual drain of $300m in funds that would otherwise be directed to social and health programs administered by JPS.
Rosario Masís Pérez, Coordinator of Communication and Public Relations, said: "The market has evolved toward online platforms and dynamics, which increases the risk of illegal network expansion, identity fraud and the capture of resources outside any institutional oversight."
She also warned that these schemes "generate financial flows that can be exploited by criminal structures." The bill's filing comes months after the Security and Narcotics Committee reversed course and rejected bill 25.057, a comparable initiative that JPS had backed as a concrete tool against illegal operators and which had cleared the same committee just months earlier.
That reversal left the country without an updated framework at a moment when the digital gambling market continued to expand.
The bill is the second attempt in under a year to modernize JPS. Its predecessor was approved by the Security and Narcotics Committee in late 2025 but then rejected by the same panel at the start of 2026
