Online Poker in Peru — MINCETUR, Ley 31557, and the Stake.pe / 1xBet Peru Licensed Landscape

Peru at a glance

Quick reference for the current landscape. Every row below has more detail in the sections that follow.

The federal framework — Ley 31557, DS 005-2023, and the ISC layer

Peruvian online-gambling law has a clean federal architecture under MINCETUR (Ministerio de Comercio Exterior y Turismo) and its operating directorate, the DGJCMT (Dirección General de Juegos de Casino y Máquinas Tragamonedas) within the Vice-Ministry of Tourism. The foundational statute is Ley Nº 31557 of 13 August 2022; the implementing regulation is Decreto Supremo Nº 005-2023-MINCETUR, which took effect on 10 February 2024 (90 days after its 13 October 2023 publication). The framework is mature: the 2024 transition window issued 120 licences to 60 operators by August 2024, and the regulator has reported a ~40% reduction in unlicensed-market supply across the first year.

The fiscal architecture has two layers. The headline gaming tax is 12% on net winnings (total bets minus prizes paid) under Ley 31557 + DS 005-2023; revenue is statutorily distributed 20% Treasury / 20% IPD / 20% MINSA / 40% MINCETUR. Layered on top is the ISC (Impuesto Selectivo al Consumo) turnover tax, introduced under Decreto Legislativo Nº 1644 of 13 September 2024 and implemented under Decreto Supremo Nº 008-2025-EF — transitional 0.3% from 20 January – 30 June 2025, stepping up to 1.0% from 1 July 2025 onward. The combined burden has been the most-debated economic feature of the Peruvian framework as of late 2025, with industry coverage flagging sustainability concerns.

Skill-game treatment.Peru's regulatory architecture under Ley 31557 + DS 005-2023 treats remote poker as a regulated remote-gaming activity for licensure and tax purposes; the implementing technical annex enumerates “Card Games / Poker Games” alongside other casino verticals. The framework is regulatory-classification-driven and does not turn on a juego-de-azar versus juego-de-habilidad distinction. No reported Tribunal Constitucional or Supreme Court ruling has carved out poker as a skill exception under Peruvian law. The classification has been stable through the framework's first 24 months.

Licensed operator landscape — sixty operators, the post-PokerStars reality

MINCETUR licensed approximately 60 operators across 120 licences (60 sportsbook + 60 remote-gaming/casino) in the 2024 transition window. Year-end 2025 figures cite 60 licensed technology platforms, 280 registered service providers, and 9 certified testing laboratories. The live operator count oscillates with Suspensión Temporal entries; verify directly against the MINCETUR registry at edit time. The table below covers the operators most relevant to poker players, including the two carrying the matrix-confirmed Deep agent-relationship treatment (Stake.pe and 1xBet Peru) plus the larger-volume casino-poker brands (Bet365, Betsson / Inkabet, Betano).

Stake.pe — Stake Perú S.A.C., Nº 4748-2024 + Nº 4749-2024

Stake Perú S.A.C. holds two MINCETUR concession contracts.The sportsbook licence is Nº 4748-2024-MINCETUR/VMT/DGJCMT (registration code 21002621010000) and the remote-gaming / casino licence is Nº 4749-2024-MINCETUR/VMT/DGJCMT (registration code 11002621010000). Both licences are active. Industry coverage describes Stake as the first operator to land both licences in the same year; the term is reportedly valid through August 2030. The brand operates on the stake.pe domain with a sole-denominated cashier, distinct from the international stake.com platform (which holds Curaçao licensure under OGL/2024/1451/0918). Casino-side poker variants on the licensed Peruvian product include Texas Hold'em, Omaha, Speed Poker, and live-dealer Extreme Texas Hold'em.

Deep Poker is also an official agent for Stake.pe under its MINCETUR licences, in addition to and separate from the ClubGG / private-club path that anchors Deep's product surface globally. The club-side path (ClubGG via Massiv, TMT, and TiNY Poker) remains the primary product focus across the Deep Poker surface; Stake.pe is a parallel option for Peruvian-resident players who prefer the federally-licensed regulated-domestic route under the MINCETUR framework.

1xBet Peru — Terminus Platform Peru S.A.C., Nº 4249-2024 + Nº 4251-2024 (with honest flag)

1xBet Peru is operated by Terminus Platform Peru S.A.C., a Peruvian-incorporated subsidiary distinct from the Curaçao 1X Corp parent. The entity holds two MINCETUR licences: a sportsbook licence (Nº 4249-2024-MINCETUR/VMT/DGJCMT, registration code 21002610010000) and a remote-gaming / casino licence (Nº 4251-2024-MINCETUR/VMT/DGJCMT, registration code 11002610010000). The sportsbook licence appears active as of April 2026.

Honest flag on the remote-gaming licence.The Nº 4251-2024 remote-gaming / casino licence has been flagged by Peruvian licensure trackers as under temporary administrative review during 2024–2025; the specific MINCETUR resolution number, date, and reason are not publicly verifiable as of April 2026 in the sources reviewed. Players considering 1xBet Peru should verify current licence status directly with the operator and consult the MINCETUR registry. Deep Poker is also an official agent for 1xBet Peru's licensed operations under the framework. The status flag is honestly disclosed here in the spirit of an educational reference; this is not legal advice, and any specific operator-status question should be confirmed with qualified counsel and with the operator before play.

The PokerStars exit — 15 February 2024

PokerStars exited the Peruvian market on 15 February 2024.Flutter Entertainment's subsidiary announced via on-site notice and Yogonet coverage that its services would no longer be available to Peruvian residents because the company declined to apply for a MINCETUR licence under Ley 31557. PokerStars stated it had no plans to return. The structural consequence: Peru lost its dedicated peer-to-peer shared-liquidity poker product, and no MINCETUR-licensed operator has filled that specific gap as of April 2026. Most licensed-market poker activity now takes place in casino-style poker variants (Texas Hold'em and Omaha cash tables, Speed Poker, live-dealer Extreme Texas Hold'em) rather than dedicated P2P cash games and tournaments. Players seeking the international-liquidity P2P experience increasingly look to private club-based platforms operating outside the licensed segment — see the structural distinction section below.

Other licensed brands

The broader licensed market includes Apuesta Total (Apuesta Total S.A.C., CIRSA holds 70%), the dominant Peruvian-brand sportsbook; Te Apuesto (Corporación Te Apuesto S.A.C.); Doradobet, Codere, Solbet, Coolbet, Meridianbet, Latambet, and Megapari. Most are sportsbook-and-casino product mixes; poker offerings, where present, sit inside the casino tab as variant tables rather than dedicated P2P rooms. Verify any specific operator's status against the MINCETUR registry at apuestasdeportivas.mincetur.gob.pe at edit time.

Enforcement reality — first-year regulator scoreboard

MINCETUR's enforcement model concentrates on operator-side and payment-intermediary-side action rather than individual-player prosecution. The pattern is consistent with the broader Latin-American convention (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico): operator and facilitator-side enforcement; player-side leniency.

First-year scoreboard (May–December 2025 industry coverage from iGB, FocusGN, SBC News, Yogonet). MINCETUR has claimed approximately 40% reduction in unlicensed online gambling supply through ISP-level blocking, payment-processor engagement, and coordinated takedowns; 15% of identified illegal gambling websites have been removed in named takedown actions. Land-based: 5,785 sports-betting venues have been registered nationwide since the framework took effect. The DGJCMT formally notified payment institutions and financial entities to block transactions with unauthorised operators — a structural enforcement layer that disrupts unlicensed-supply economics regardless of whether operators are physically located in Peru.

Sanctions ceiling. Non-compliance with Ley 31557 + DS 005-2023 can attract fines up to 990,000 soles, suspension or revocation of the licence, and criminal complaint referral. Suspensions can target a single licence (e.g., the remote-gaming side while the sportsbook side remains active) — the public 1xBet Peru tracker reports illustrate the granularity of this approach. Operator-side sanctions can be appealed through Peruvian administrative-law channels.

Player-side enforcement — historical absence.No publicly reported cases of Peruvian players being criminally prosecuted under Ley 31557 or the broader Penal Code framework for using offshore unlicensed operators have been located in the public case record. The framework's teeth are aimed at operators and payment intermediaries; the criminal posture toward casual offshore play follows the Latin-American pattern of operator-side enforcement and player-side leniency. This is an observation about historical enforcement, not a legal guarantee — consult qualified counsel for individual situations.

Crypto rails — partial regulation, AML in force, comprehensive law pending

Peru operates under a partial-regulation crypto framework. AML and beneficial-ownership rules are in force through the SBS / UIF-Perú PSAV regime; comprehensive crypto-licensing legislation remains pending in Congress.

Banco Central de Reserva del Perú (BCRP) has not legalised cryptocurrencies as legal tender. Circular Nº 0011-2024-BCRP (April 2024) establishes a regulatory perimeter for digital-money innovation pilots, including a CBDC-evaluation track aimed at financial-inclusion use cases in low-banking-penetration regions. No public “digital sol” production rollout is reported as of April 2026. SBS / UIF-Perú regulate cryptoasset exchanges as PSAVs (Proveedores de Servicios de Activos Virtuales) under Decreto Supremo Nº 006-2023-JUS (May 2023, with implementing rules from 31 May 2024). PSAVs report into UIF-Perú with AML/KYC, beneficial-ownership disclosure, and suspicious-transaction obligations; the Travel Rule (Chapter VIII) takes effect August 2026. Bill PL 1042-2021-CR — Ley Marco de Comercialización de Criptoactivos remains pending in Congress as of April 2026 and would assign the SBS as the licensing authority for crypto-trading firms. Until enactment, crypto policy is governed by the AML-side DS 006-2023-JUS / SBS-rule layer rather than a comprehensive VASP-licensing regime.

Domestic crypto activity. Bitso (Mexico-headquartered) expanded into Peru with stablecoin-payment products in 2025; USDT and USDC are the most-used stablecoins among Peruvian users. Bitso integrated USDT on Solana in November 2025. Other exchanges active in Peru include Binance (international P2P USDT/PEN), Buenbit (Argentine-rooted), Belo, and Buda (Chilean-origin). P2P USDT activity via Binance P2P, Bitso OTC, and local Telegram / WhatsApp channels is the dominant Peruvian crypto on/off-ramp pattern. Peru has not been as deeply dollarised as Argentina or Venezuela — BCRP inflation targeting historically delivers a 2–4% range — so stablecoin demand is meaningful but transactional rather than crisis-driven; Peru did not crack the top-five LATAM crypto-volume rankings in Chainalysis 2025.

Crypto and licensed gambling operators. MINCETUR-licensed operators are required to denominate their on-platform cashier in soles (PEN) and integrate with Peruvian banking rails (Yape, Plin, Pago Efectivo). Stake.pe explicitly operates in PEN, separate from the international stake.com crypto-cashier. Direct crypto deposits on the licensed .pe skins are not the norm — a structural difference between the licensed market (fiat soles) and the offshore-grey crypto-rails market.

MINCETUR-licensed brands versus private club-based platforms — the structural distinction

The global online-poker landscape — and the Peruvian picture within it — contains two structurally different product categories. Understanding the distinction helps in reading the licensed-operator section above against the practical product landscape, and it is particularly worth naming carefully in Peru because the post-PokerStars-exit absence of dedicated peer-to-peer shared-liquidity poker in the licensed market is precisely where private club-based platforms structurally fit.

MINCETUR-licensed brands are the operators detailed in the previous section — Peruvian-incorporated entities with .pe domains operating under Ley 31557 + DS 005-2023. Mandatory KYC, PEN wallets, Yape/Plin bank-rail integration, and a casino-style poker product mix.

Private club-based platformsare platforms like ClubGG, PPPoker, Suprema, and PokerBros — designed as social-gaming frameworks at the platform layer with virtual chips on the app, and real-money handling, where it occurs, sitting at an agent or club-panel layer off-platform. The platform itself does not function as a MINCETUR cashier; account creation is typically email and password without document upload at signup. This is a product-design choice consistent with how these platforms operate globally; it does not change a player's underlying legal-status determination, which depends on whether the activity is consistent with Peruvian law and remains the player's responsibility to determine with qualified counsel.

Where Deep Poker fits in this structure. Deep Poker is a published-platform agent on the ClubGG side for three unions globally — Massiv (via BSB Massiv), TMT, and TiNY Poker. Multiple ClubGG unions carry Spanish-language LATAM player communities active across Lima-friendly evening hours; the agent panel handles account creation, deposits, withdrawals, and balance routing through a single Deep Poker interface rather than fragmented Telegram or third-party agent channels. Separately, Deep Poker is also an official agent for Stake.pe under its MINCETUR Nº 4748-2024 + Nº 4749-2024 licences and for 1xBet Peru's licensed operations under the Terminus Platform Peru S.A.C. concessions (with the Nº 4251-2024 remote-gaming licence honestly flagged as under temporary administrative review). The club-side path remains the primary structural focus; the licensed Peruvian brands are parallel options operating under MINCETUR.

Live tournament scene and Peruvian poker pros

Lima is the centre of the Peruvian live-poker scene. The land-based market predates Ley 31557 — casino-and-slot regulation has long allowed table operations between 18:00 and 06:00 daily, and Lima rooms have hosted international tour stops since at least the LAPT era.

Atlantic City Casino & Sports (Av. Alfredo Benavides 430, Miraflores, Lima) is the historical heart of Peruvian live poker. Multi-floor venue at ~3,000 m², ~1,000 slots, 50+ tables, dedicated poker room with cash games (commonly NL 5/5, NL 5/10, PLO 5/5) and weekly tournaments. Other Lima venues historically described in coverage include Fiesta Casino, Casino Bellagio, and Stargate / Majestic; current operating status as of April 2026 should be verified individually.

The LAPT history.The Latin American Poker Tour (PokerStars-affiliated) ran Peru / Lima stops at Atlantic City Casino in 2011 and 2014, with main events drawing 384 entries and ~USD 1M prize pools. The LAPT was definitively cancelled in December 2024. The PokerStars Open 2026 schedule (the LAPT successor brand) does not include a Lima stop — consistent with PokerStars' February-2024 commercial exit from Peru. The WSOP Circuit Latin America 2026 footprint is the Montevideo (Uruguay) event at Casino Carrasco, 18–25 May 2026; Peru is not on the international stop list.

Peruvian poker pros. Pablo Brito Silva tops the Peru All-Time Money List with approximately USD 3,654,472 in lifetime tournament earnings per The Hendon Mob. Nick Yunis (Nicolas Yunis) sits second with approximately USD 3,084,271 across 231 cashes. The deeper bench of Peruvian pros is documented at the Hendon Mob Peru ranking; specific names beyond these top-of-list figures should be verified against current rankings before publication. Peru is not as deep on tournament-poker headcount as Argentina or Brazil, but the top-of-list Peruvian players have been consistent presences at international events including the EPT, WPT, and Triton circuits.

Frequently Asked Questions