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Gambling and Getaways: The Hidden World of Costa Rica’s Sportsbooks
The first time I heard about Costa Rica’s sportsbook industry, I was lounging by a pool in Jacó, sipping on an ice-cold Imperial beer. The sun was setting, the waves were crashing in the distance, and a group of American guys at the next table were deep in conversation. But they weren’t talking about surfing or ziplining. They were talking about point spreads, Bitcoin payouts, and Costa Rica sportsbooks offshore betting accounts.
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At first, I thought they were just enthusiastic gamblers, visiting Costa Rica for a little fun in the sun while placing bets on football games back home. But as I listened closer, I realized they weren’t just bettors—they were part of the Costa Rica sportsbooks industry itself. One guy, mid-40s, wearing a faded Red Sox cap, leaned in and said, “Man, if you want to run a sportsbook and avoid the feds, you come here. It’s been that way for years.”
I was intrigued. Like most tourists, I knew Costa Rica as a paradise of beaches, rainforests, and wildlife. But underneath the postcard-perfect scenery was something else—a billion-dollar Costa Rica sportsbooks sports betting industry that had been quietly thriving for decades.
Costa Rica Sportsbooks: A Thriving Industry
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The deeper I dug, the more I realized just how embedded sportsbooks were in Costa Rica’s economy. The country is home to over 200 offshore sportsbooks, some of which process hundreds of millions in wagers every month. They operate in a legal gray area, exploiting the fact that Costa Rica doesn’t regulate online gambling. As long as they don’t take bets from locals, they’re free to run their businesses without much interference.
I met a guy named Mike—an expat from Miami who had been living in Costa Rica for nearly a decade—who gave me a glimpse into how it all worked. “Most of these sportsbooks started out of small offices with just a handful of guys answering phones and taking bets,” he explained over coffee in San José. “But now? It’s all online, crypto, and AI-powered odds. It’s a massive industry.”
Mike had worked as a customer service rep for one of the bigger sportsbooks before moving into web design for betting sites. He told me that the industry provided thousands of jobs—everything from call center workers to IT specialists to oddsmakers. Some sportsbooks operated out of high-rise buildings in upscale neighborhoods like Escazú, with sleek offices and security guards. Others were more low-key, running out of small rented spaces with just enough staff to keep things moving.
I asked Mike if there was ever any trouble—after all, handling millions in bets meant dealing with some high-stakes risks. He nodded. “Oh yeah, you hear stories. There have been kidnappings, disappearances, even some guys who got in too deep and lost everything. It’s not just a vacation business—it’s serious money.”
One of the most infamous cases was the murder of 5Dimes founder William Sean “Tony” Creighton in 2018. Creighton had built 5Dimes into one of the biggest sportsbooks in Costa Rica, but his success made him a target. He was kidnapped by criminals posing as police officers, and even though his family paid a ransom, he was later found dead. The case sent shockwaves through the industry, a grim reminder that even in paradise, big money attracts big danger.
But despite the risks, sportsbooks in Costa Rica continue to thrive. Many have adapted by shifting to cryptocurrency, making transactions faster and harder to trace. Others have built sophisticated online platforms that rival the biggest regulated sportsbooks in the world. And for every sportsbook that gets shut down by U.S. authorities, another seems to pop up, ready to take its place.
Back in Jacó, as I watched the group of sportsbook guys finish their beers and head toward the casino down the street, I realized something. Costa Rica’s sportsbook industry isn’t just about gambling—it’s about opportunity. It’s about a country that found a way to profit from the world’s insatiable appetite for sports betting without ever taking a single bet from its own citizens.
For tourists, Costa Rica will always be about beaches, volcanoes, and adventure. But for those who know where to look, there’s another side to this paradise—one where the stakes are high, the money flows fast, and the hidden world of sportsbooks continues to thrive just beneath the surface.
