Trinidad and Tobago Senate approves remote gambling order
The Senate vote completes the legislative process, removing a prohibition on operators offering remote gambling internationally from the country.
Trinidad and Tobago’s Senate approved the Remote Gambling Order on Friday, October 2, 2026, completing the legislative vote after unanimous House of Representatives approval days earlier.
The measure removes a prohibition on operators offering remote gambling internationally from the country, creating a potential opening for domestic and international iGaming businesses.
Finance Minister Davendranath Tancoo presented the reform as an opportunity to expand government revenue and economic activity.
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Minister of Planning, Economic Affairs and Development Kennedy Swaratsingh argued that regulation could formalise existing activity and support employment and foreign-exchange earnings.
Government ministers have argued that prohibition did not eliminate remote gambling and that bringing activity into a regulated system could generate taxes, jobs and foreign exchange.
The order removes certain provisions under Section 76 of the Gambling, Gaming and Betting Control Act that had criminalised operators based in Trinidad and Tobago offering remote gambling services internationally.
Opposition Senator Faris Al-Rawi questioned the speed of the order’s passage, the arrangements for licensing and the prospect of foreign exchange leaving the country.
His questions put implementation at the centre of the debate: the legislative approval is in place, but the rules and operating systems will determine how the market works in practice.
Attorney General John Jeremie said the remaining administrative provisions, including processes for licensing local and foreign operators, are expected to be fully implemented on or before January 1, 2027.
The Gambling Control Commission of Trinidad and Tobago is to coordinate with the Central Bank ahead of launch.
The planned work includes digital-payment integration and licensing for electronic-money issuers, linking the market’s launch to the systems that will handle transactions.
The licensing, payment and oversight framework still has to be put in place before the government’s January 2027 target.
Swaratsingh cited a projection that the global gambling industry could reach US$700 billion in revenue by 2028; that figure was presented as part of the minister’s case for the order, rather than as an independently verified market forecast.
Tancoo also pointed to the existing tax base: regulated gaming generated approximately TTD 72.66 million (US$10.74 million) in 2025.
He reported 1,150 registered gaming-related accounts with the Board of Inland Revenue: 926 Gaming Amusement Tax accounts and 224 Club Gaming Tax accounts.
Of the approximately TTD 72.66 million collected in 2025, TTD 15.06 million came from Gaming Amusement Tax and TTD 57.60 million from Club Gaming Tax.
A coordinated enforcement exercise between October 2025 and February 2026 generated 247 payments across 240 Gaming Amusement Tax accounts, worth approximately TTD 15.58 million.
Those figures provide a snapshot of existing collections and enforcement, but do not establish how much a licensed remote market would contribute.
For operators, the vote creates a potential opportunity rather than a ready-made hub.
The next milestones are the licensing arrangements, payment integration and oversight systems promised for January 2027; foreign-exchange treatment and protections against harmful gambling also remain live questions.
Delivery on those fronts will determine whether Trinidad and Tobago can turn legislative approval into a credible operating market.