Central African Republic: gambling regulation and licensing
- Land-based (reference)Regulated
- Horse race bettingRegulated
- Online sports bettingUnregulated
- Online casinoUnregulated
- iLotteryNot yet verified
- Regulator
- Ministry of the Interior in charge of Public Security
- Headline tax
- Not yet verified
- Licence required
- Yes
- Last verified
- 24 Sept 2026
Summary
The Central African Republic has no gaming statute. Gambling rests on three older or general texts: the 2010 Penal Code, which punishes keeping a gaming house without authorisation and running lotteries not authorised by law with one to five years in prison and a fine of up to 5,000,000 FCFA; the tax code, which taxes casinos, lotteries, slot machines and pari mutuel; and the CEMAC regional anti-money laundering regulation. In practice the Ministry of the Interior grants approvals to lotto and sports betting companies, but no published text sets the conditions. The regional AML body GABAC found in 2023 that no legislative or regulatory framework governs casinos and that no authority supervises them. It counted six gaming establishments at the end of 2021, mainly sports and horse race betting, including online casinos. Nothing in the law addresses online gambling, and no online licence or site blocking was found, while international betting brands are used locally. Operators pay 15% of gaming proceeds, which for pari mutuel means total receipts, plus a 10% surcharge for the commune, and flat annual taxes per machine. Corporate tax is 30%. The finance laws for 2024 and 2026 left the gaming tax unchanged. No bill to regulate gambling was found.
Common pitfalls
Treating an Interior Ministry approval as a licence under a gaming law: there is no gaming statute, so its terms depend on the approval itself. Reading the 15% gaming tax as a tax on revenue for every product: for pari mutuel it is charged on total receipts. Forgetting the 10% communal surcharge, which takes the rate to 16.5%, and the bank guarantee required of operators with no registered office in the country.
Key facts
- Regulator
- Ministry of the Interior in charge of Public Security
- Regulator type
- Government ministry
- Headline tax
- Not yet verified
- Licence required
- Yes
- Minimum age
- Not yet verified
- Tax base
- Tax on proceeds of games of chance, entertainment and attractions: 15% of gaming proceeds, defined by type of game (CGI arts. 306 and 308). Banking games: takings at the end of play less the opening stake. Circle games: the whole cagnotte. Slot machines: receipts from chip exchanges with players. Pari mutuel: total receipts (encaissement global), which makes it in effect a tax on stakes. Where several games are run, the base is total gross proceeds from separate accounts kept per game (art. 307). A 10% surcharge for the commune is added, giving 16.5% in total. Paid by the 15th of the month after the receipts (art. 309). Video games, table football, pinball and slot machines instead pay a flat annual tax per machine: 15,000 FCFA for video games, 20,000 FCFA for table football and pinball, and 50,000 FCFA for slot machines, each plus 10% for the commune (arts. 311 and 312).
Legal framework
Primary statutes
Law 10.001 of 6 January 2010 on the Central African Penal Code, arts. 183, 438 and 439
Loi n°10.001 du 6 janvier 2010 portant Code Pénal Centrafricain
- Year
- 2010
- In force
- Yes
- Summary
- The only general rule on gambling found. Title V, chapter IV, "offences against the rules on lotteries", punishes keeping a gaming house without authorisation and admitting the public, and establishing or keeping lotteries not authorised by law, with one to five years in prison and a fine of 1,000,000 to 5,000,000 FCFA (art. 183). Setting up lottery or other games of chance in streets and public places is a third-category contravention (art. 438(4)), with seizure of the equipment and stakes (art. 439).
Code Général des Impôts (édition officielle mise à jour 2023), Livre II, chapitre III: taxe sur les produits des jeux de hasard, de divertissement et d’attractions
- Year
- 2023
- In force
- Yes
- Summary
- Taxes anyone operating games of chance or entertainment on the national territory: casinos, lotteries, tombolas, banking and circle games, slot machines and pari mutuel. The tax is 15% of gaming proceeds as defined for each type of game, plus 10% for the commune, paid by the 15th of the following month; video games, table football, pinball and slot machines instead pay a flat annual tax per machine. Art. 236 adds a 10,000 FCFA annual vignette per gaming device and a bank guarantee for operators without a registered office in the country.
Secondary instruments
Règlement N°02/24/CEMAC/UMAC/CM du 20 décembre 2024
- Year
- 2024
- In force
- Yes
- Summary
- Directly applicable regional regulation replacing Regulation 01/CEMAC/UMAC/CM of 11 April 2016. Casinos, including internet casinos, and gaming providers are obliged entities. Art. 49 sets identification of players who buy or exchange chips for 1,000,000 FCFA or more and ten-year record keeping; art. 50 makes the authority that licenses casinos and gaming establishments their AML supervisor.
Law 23.014 of 28 December 2023, finance law for 2024 (VAT chapter restated)
Loi n°23.014 arrêtant le budget de l'Etat pour l'année 2024
- Year
- 2023
- In force
- Yes
- Summary
- Rewrites the VAT articles of the tax code (arts. 246 to 288), including the list of exemptions (art. 249) and the 19% standard rate (art. 257). Games of chance are not in the exemption list. It does not amend the gaming tax.
Law 25.015, finance law for 2026
Loi n°25.015 arrêtant le budget de l'Etat pour l'année 2026
- Year
- 2025
- In force
- Yes
- Summary
- Its tax provisions concern corporate tax filings and the handling of exemptions; nothing on gaming.
Key amendments
- 28 Dec 2023The finance law for 2024 restates the VAT chapter of the tax code, leaving games of chance outside the list of VAT exemptions.
- 20 Dec 2024CEMAC Regulation 02/24 replaces the 2016 regional AML regulation and makes the casino licensing authority the AML supervisor of casinos and gaming establishments.
Licensing
- Licence required
- Yes
- Application window
- Not yet verified
- Local establishment required
- Not yet verified
- Local server required
- Not yet verified
- Bank guarantee or bond
- A gaming operator without a registered office in the country must lodge a bank guarantee, in an amount set by decision of the Finance Minister after the opinion of the Council of Ministers (CGI art. 236).
- Barriers to entry
- There is no gaming statute, so no published criteria, fees or terms. GABAC found in its 2023 mutual evaluation that no legislative or regulatory framework governs casinos, and that the Ministry of the Interior merely grants an approval (agrément) to lotto and sports betting companies. It also found that the authorities that grant gaming authorisations do not consider money laundering risks at market entry. It counted six gaming establishments at 31 December 2021, including slot machines and online casinos, with others operating informally.
Licence types
Approval (agrément) from the Ministry of the Interior
- Scope
- Lotto, sports betting and other gaming establishments. No published text sets the conditions, term or fees.
Taxation
- Headline GGR tax
- Not yet verified
- Effective date
- Not yet verified
- Turnover tax
- 15%
- Corporate tax
- 30%
- VAT treatment
- Games of chance are not among the VAT exemptions in CGI art. 249 as restated by the 2024 finance law, and the standard VAT rate is 19% (art. 257). No provision was found on how VAT applies alongside the gaming tax.
- Tax base
- Tax on proceeds of games of chance, entertainment and attractions: 15% of gaming proceeds, defined by type of game (CGI arts. 306 and 308). Banking games: takings at the end of play less the opening stake. Circle games: the whole cagnotte. Slot machines: receipts from chip exchanges with players. Pari mutuel: total receipts (encaissement global), which makes it in effect a tax on stakes. Where several games are run, the base is total gross proceeds from separate accounts kept per game (art. 307). A 10% surcharge for the commune is added, giving 16.5% in total. Paid by the 15th of the month after the receipts (art. 309). Video games, table football, pinball and slot machines instead pay a flat annual tax per machine: 15,000 FCFA for video games, 20,000 FCFA for table football and pinball, and 50,000 FCFA for slot machines, each plus 10% for the commune (arts. 311 and 312).
Earmarked levies
- Communal surcharge (centimes additionnels): 10% of the gaming tax and of the flat machine taxes (Commune where the games are operated)
- Vignette on gaming devices and kiosks: 10,000 FCFA per device or kiosk per year (Assessed and collected by the DGID)
Compliance
- Minimum age
- Not yet verified
- National self-exclusion
- Not yet verified
- AML regime
- CEMAC Regulation 02/24 applies directly: casinos, including internet casinos, and gaming providers are obliged entities, must keep regular accounts for ten years and log fund transfers between casinos (art. 49). GABAC rated the sector poorly in 2023: no risk assessment, no mitigation measures, and operators unaware of the CEMAC rules.
- AML supervisor
- CEMAC Regulation 02/24 art. 50 gives the task to the authority that licenses casinos and gaming establishments, in practice the Ministry of the Interior. GABAC found in 2023 that no authority had been designated to supervise casinos for AML purposes.
- Source of funds thresholds
- Identity check on chip purchases or exchanges of 1,000,000 FCFA or more (CEMAC Regulation 02/24 art. 49).
- KYC requirements
- Casinos and gaming establishments must check an original, valid photo identity document of players who buy, bring or exchange chips or plaques for 1,000,000 FCFA or more, and record those operations in a register kept for ten years (CEMAC Regulation 02/24 art. 49). GABAC found that the betting company it met did not systematically identify customers or keep transaction records.
- Stake limits
- Not yet verified
- Reporting obligations
- Monthly payment of the gaming tax by the 15th of the following month (CGI art. 309), with separate accounts per type of game produced on request (art. 307). Annual declaration of machines before 31 March, and notice of any sale, scrapping, transfer or new machine within 15 days (arts. 312 bis and 312 bis 1).
Enforcement
- ISP blocking
- Not yet verified
- DNS blocking
- Not yet verified
- Payment blocking
- Not yet verified
- App store takedowns
- Not yet verified
- Administrative penalties
- Tax fines: 20,000 FCFA per device for each failure to display the vignette (CGI art. 236); 5,000 FCFA for failing to report a change in machines (art. 312 bis 1); late payment of the gaming tax is penalised under the VAT rules (art. 310).
- Criminal penalties
- One to five years in prison and a fine of 1,000,000 to 5,000,000 FCFA for keeping a gaming house without authorisation or running an unauthorised lottery, with a possible five to ten year loss of civic rights and confiscation of stakes, equipment and furnishings (Penal Code art. 183). Games of chance in public places: fine of 10,001 to 15,000 FCFA and one to eight days in prison or community service, with seizure (arts. 438(4) and 439).
- Operator liability
- Those who keep an unauthorised gaming house open to the public, and its bankers, are liable, as are those who establish or keep an unauthorised lottery and all its administrators, officers and agents (Penal Code art. 183).
Timeline
6 Jan 2010
Penal Code (Law 10.001) makes unauthorised gaming houses and lotteries an offence
11 Apr 2016
CEMAC Regulation 01/CEMAC/UMAC/CM on AML brings casinos and gaming operators into the regional AML regime
31 Dec 2021
GABAC counts six gaming establishments, including slot machines and online casinos
29 Aug 2022
GABAC on-site visit for the mutual evaluation begins (to 14 September 2022)
29 Sept 2023
GABAC adopts the mutual evaluation report, finding no legal framework for casinos and no AML supervisor
28 Dec 2023
Finance law for 2024 restates the VAT chapter; games of chance are not exempted
20 Dec 2024
CEMAC Regulation 02/24 replaces the 2016 AML regulation
Outlook
No gaming bill, consultation or licensing round was found. The one scheduled pressure is regional: CEMAC Regulation 02/24 requires the authority that licenses casinos and gaming establishments to supervise them for money laundering and to keep criminals out of their ownership, which GABAC found the country does not yet do.
Frequently asked questions
- Is there a gambling law in the Central African Republic?
- No gaming statute was found. The Penal Code makes keeping a gaming house without authorisation and running unauthorised lotteries an offence, and the tax code taxes gaming, but nothing sets out a licensing procedure.
- Who authorises gambling operators?
- In practice the Ministry of the Interior grants approvals to lotto and sports betting companies. GABAC found in 2023 that no legislative or regulatory framework governs casinos and that no authority supervises them for money laundering.
- Is online betting legal in the Central African Republic?
- The law does not address it. No online licence or site blocking was found, and GABAC counted online casinos among the gaming establishments identified at the end of 2021.
- How is gambling taxed?
- Operators pay 15% of gaming proceeds, defined by type of game and meaning total receipts for pari mutuel, plus 10% for the commune, by the 15th of the following month. Slot machines and similar devices pay a flat annual tax per machine, and every gaming device needs a 10,000 FCFA annual vignette. Corporate tax is 30%.
- What anti-money laundering rules apply to gaming operators?
- CEMAC Regulation 02/24 applies directly: casinos and gaming establishments must identify players buying or exchanging chips for 1,000,000 FCFA or more and keep records for ten years, under the supervision of the authority that licenses them.
Sources
- Code Général des Impôts 2017, édition officielle mise à jour 2023 (arts. 133, 236, 304 to 312 bis 1)
Direction Générale des Impôts et des Domaines, Ministère des Finances et du Budget (République Centrafricaine)
Latest consolidated edition published by the tax authority. The finance laws for 2024 (Loi 23.014) and 2026 (Loi 25.015) were checked in the parts giving their tax provisions and do not amend the gaming tax articles; the 2025 finance law was not read in full.
Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published May 2023 - Loi n°10.001 du 6 janvier 2010 portant Code Pénal Centrafricain (Journal Officiel de la République Centrafricaine, édition spéciale du 15 janvier 2010), arts. 183, 438 and 439
Journal Officiel de la République Centrafricaine
Official Journal text read from the copy held in the UNODC SHERLOC legal library; no official Central African host was found.
Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 15 Jan 2010 - Rapport d'Evaluation Mutuelle: mesures de lutte contre le blanchiment de capitaux et le financement du terrorisme, République Centrafricaine (adopted at the 19th plenary of the GABAC Technical Commission, 28 and 29 September 2023)
Groupe d'Action contre le Blanchiment d'Argent en Afrique Centrale (GABAC)
The report is internally inconsistent on casinos: para. 111 says the country has only two casinos, while para. 409 says there was no casino at the time of the on-site visit (29 August to 14 September 2022), only pari mutuel urbain and other gaming establishments.
Tier 2Accessed 24 Sept 2026Published Nov 2023 - Règlement N°02/24/CEMAC/UMAC/CM du 20 décembre 2024 portant prévention et répression du blanchiment des capitaux, du financement du terrorisme et de la prolifération en Afrique Centrale
CEMAC Comité Ministériel (text published by GABAC)
Scanned text with poor OCR; arts. 49 and 50 were read from the scan and are legible.
Tier 1Accessed 24 Sept 2026Published 20 Dec 2024 - Loi n°23.014 arrêtant le budget de l'Etat pour l'année 2024 (finance law for 2024), arts. 9 to 11
Ministère des Finances et du Budget (République Centrafricaine)
Scanned document read from page images; the law is dated 28 December 2023 on its signature page (art. 62). Its tax provisions are arts. 9 (corporate tax filings), 10 (VAT, CGI arts. 246 to 288) and 11 (tax procedure); none touches the gaming tax articles.
Tier 1Accessed 24 Sept 2026Published 28 Dec 2023 - Loi n°25.015 arrêtant le budget de l'Etat pour l'année 2026 (finance law for 2026)
Ministère des Finances et du Budget (République Centrafricaine)
Scanned document read from page images; its tax provisions (arts. 9 to 17) do not touch gaming.
Tier 1Accessed 24 Sept 2026Published Dec 2025 - Tier 3Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 19 Nov 2021