Wynn in discussions to invest US$6bn in Dominican Republic

According to a press release the company is in talks with business leaders to acquire 12 hectares in order to build a 9,000-room hotel in three stage process. The project will have 16 casinos.

According to Dominican Today the company’s lawyers in New York and representatives in the Dominican Republic said they will focus its investments in Punta Cana, where they plan to invest more than US$6bn in six years, starting at the end of this year.

The Dominican Republic is currently experiencing a tourist boom. In the last eight years it posted an average annual growth of five per cent in tourist arrivals, adding 45.2 million visitors between 2012 and 2019. Income from the industry stood at more than US$50.6bn between 2012 and 2019. Last year was the highest with an estimated US$7.7 billion according to figures released by the Tourism Ministry.

The country already has around 50 casinos, more than any other country in the Caribbean, with the existing Hard Rock casino in Punta Cana offering more than 40 table games and over 450 slot machines.

Gaming is regulated by three major gaming laws. Law No.351 which was passed in 1964, Law No.96-88 which was passed in 1988 and Law No.29-06 which was passed in 2006. Broadly speaking Law No.315 allowed casino gaming in the Dominican Republic. Law No. 96-88 allowed casinos to house slot machines in order to further boost revenues for the state and Law No.29-06 significantly increased the tax burden on casinos and the gaming industry. It also permitted slot machines in sports betting shops. Gaming laws are also frequently amended primarily in order to raise taxes on the industry.

Law No. 351, which was the first bill to regulate gaming in the Dominican Republic, states that casinos are primarily a way to attract tourists to the country. As a result casinos may only be present in what it terms “first class” hotels.