Costa Rica has been the scene of a fast-growing and varied entertainment industry in recent years, but how have different sectors added to this growth? Some key factors have helped push it in new directions lately, and we’ll be focusing on how this led to advances in two modern industries.
Filming Movies and TV Series
The natural beauty of Costa Rica and a range of government incentives have made it a popular country for film crews to head to. Bear Grylls’s Celebrity Bear Hunt is one of the latest examples, as this Netflix show is shot in the Costa Rican jungle. Last year, the Hallmark Channel released A Costa Rican Wedding, which was filmed in places like Punta Leona and La Fortuna.
1993’s Jurassic Park is set on a fictional island off the coast of Costa Rica. Yet, Hawaii was used as the main filming location, mainly due to it being the rainy season at the time of shooting. Since then, the country has worked hard to bring big-money projects here. As well as promoting the country for tourism purposes, this filming activity also provides direct economic benefits as film crews spend long periods based in Costa Rica.
Film companies receive a return of 90% of the taxes they pay in Costa Rica, so we can expect to see more movies and TV series set here in the future. This is thanks to the Film Investment Attraction Law that was introduced in 2021 and is designed to benefit visiting film crew that spend more than $500,000.
iGaming Trends and Licences
Online casinos have produced a boost across many countries and regions in the last few years. According to Statista, the Costa Rican national gambling market should reach a figure of over $632 million this year, with a growth rate exceeding 3.7%. As well as the local gambling activity, Costa Rica has acted as a hub for iGaming thanks to the presence of live streaming studios and offered chances for operators to create a base here.
This has led to several hundred online gambling companies operating from here. Plans were drawn up by the Finance Ministry in 2013 to create a gaming control board similar to those seen in countries like Malta and Curacao. Many online casinos obtain licenses from one of these international regulatory authorities, and it has proved to be a valuable source of income for those countries. The initial plans released in Costa Rica mentioned 0.5% of gross income as being the possible tax rate, but the plans haven’t yet gone any further.
Despite this, some international gambling sites mention being registered in Costa Rica. A look at the details of the Costa Rica gaming license reveals that this Central American country still doesn’t issue gambling licenses. Instead, it offers a data processing license that isn’t the same thing as a gambling license but allows casinos to work from here. This makes it cheaper and easier for companies to operate while gaining tax benefits and reaching players across the planet.Â
These areas of the entertainment industry have helped fuel increased economic activity in Costa Rica by giving international companies what they need to flourish. We can hope to see further growth as more companies discover the benefits offered by this country.
Also Read: The Rise of Online Gambling Sites in Singapore: Trends and Legal Implications
