From Paradise to Profit: How Costa Rica Became a Sportsbook Haven

The first time I landed in San José, I wasn’t looking for sportsbooks. I was looking for beaches, waterfalls, and that slow, easygoing pura vida lifestyle everyone raves about. But as I sipped my coffee in a small café, listening to a group of American expats talking about betting lines and offshore accounts, I realized there was something bigger happening here—something I had never paid attention to before. Costa Rica wasn’t just a tropical escape; it was the beating heart of the global online sportsbook industry.
It didn’t happen overnight. In fact, Costa Rica’s rise as a sportsbook haven was a combination of timing, technology, and a little legal gray area.
In the 1990s, when the internet was just beginning to reshape industries, a handful of entrepreneurs saw an opportunity. The United States had strict laws against sports betting, but demand was undeniable.
Bettors wanted action, and bookies wanted a way to deliver it.
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Costa Rica, with its business-friendly regulations and strong telecommunications infrastructure, is the perfect place to start a business.
What made Costa Rica so attractive was its lack of specific gambling laws for online betting.
Unlike the U.S., where laws like the Wire Act made it illegal to place sports bets over the phone or the Internet, Costa Rica had no such restrictions.
Technically, the sportsbooks operating there didn’t offer bets to Costa Ricans—they served clients overseas, mostly in the U.S. and Canada.
This loophole allowed them to flourish without interference, and soon, small betting shops turned into multi-million-dollar operations.
I remember meeting a former sportsbook employee at a bar in Escazú, a wealthy suburb of San José where many of these operations are headquartered.
He told me about the early days, when sportsbooks ran out of small offices, taking bets over the phone with little more than a few computers and a handful of employees.
“It was like the Wild West,” he said, laughing. “People were making crazy money, and nobody really knew what was legal and what wasn’t.”
By the early 2000s, Costa Rica had become home to hundreds of sportsbooks. Companies like BetCRIS and 5Dimes built massive client bases, processing billions of dollars in wagers each year.
The industry employed thousands of locals, from customer service reps to web developers, and even attracted a wave of foreign workers looking to capitalize on the boom. Some sportsbooks operated high-end call centers, complete with VIP rooms and catered meals for their employees.
Others were more low-key, running lean operations with just enough staff to keep things moving.
But with success came scrutiny. The U.S. government started cracking down on offshore sportsbooks, arresting high-profile operators and seizing assets linked to online betting.
Costa Rica, however, remained largely untouched. Since the sportsbooks weren’t technically breaking Costa Rican laws, local authorities had little reason to interfere.
That didn’t mean there weren’t risks.
Some operators faced extortion threats from criminal groups, while others ran into financial trouble when too many big bets went wrong.
One of the most infamous cases was that of William Sean Creighton, the founder of 5Dimes.
Known as “Tony,” Creighton built his sportsbook into a powerhouse, but his success also made him a target.
In 2018, he was kidnapped by criminals posing as police officers. Despite his family paying a ransom, he was later found dead in a remote part of Costa Rica.
His murder sent shockwaves through the industry, a stark reminder that even in paradise, high-stakes gambling comes with real dangers.
Despite these challenges, Costa Rica’s sportsbook industry continues to thrive.
Today, it’s not just about telephone betting—technology has changed everything. Many sportsbooks now accept cryptocurrency, making transactions faster and harder to trace.
AI and machine learning are being used to set odds and detect fraudulent activity.
And while regulatory pressure from the U.S. remains, Costa Rica’s sportsbooks have adapted, finding new ways to serve their clients while staying one step ahead of the law.
As I sat in that café, listening to those expats talk about betting lines and offshore accounts, I realized something else: Costa Rica’s sportsbook industry is more than just business. It’s a testament to how innovation, legal loopholes, and a little bit of risk-taking can create an entire economy where none existed before.
It may not be what most people think of when they picture Costa Rica, but for those in the know, it’s just as much a part of the landscape as the beaches and rainforests.
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