Texas Poker:Texas Holdem

About Texas Poker:Texas Holdem

Atucha praises the regulation and the regulators themselves for making entry into the market easy, as well as allowing them to be competitive against illegal operators. But the market hasn’t been without its challenges.

A 1% selective consumption tax (ISC) on the value of every online bet has been in force since 1 July 2025, after the original policy was scrapped from proposed regulations in July 2021.

Atucha warns that regulations are often perceived as operator-friendly at the start before governments begin looking to squeeze licensed sectors, likening the process to “boiling a frog”. He has observed similar scenarios in other LatAm markets, with tax increases occurring in Brazil, Colombia and Mexico in the last couple of years.

How to play Texas Poker:Texas Holdem

For each category, the guide explained pertinent legal provisions and recommended operational actions. 

In cases of identity fraud, operators were advised to close accounts upon establishing fraud and to reserve balances when bank account ownership cannot be confirmed.

Regarding account takeovers, the guide emphasised technical mitigations such as two-factor authentication for withdrawals and changes to banking details.

How to play Texas Poker:Texas Holdem

This requirement raised concerns among operators worried that the barriers to entry could have become more restrictive, But at a meeting on the policies last year the regulator assured licensees it was not enforcing a specific strict rule on this.

Speaking to iGB at the time, Bjorn Fuchs, chairman of VNLOK Fuchs noted “there was a sigh of relief going through the room when it was presented”.

Rather than a crackdown across the board, what emerged was a more regulated renewal framework.