Central African Republic: gambling regulation and licensing

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.

Regulator

Ministry of the Interior in charge of Public Security

Regulator type

Government ministry

Headline tax

15% of stakes

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).

Built from the record on this page, last verified 24 Sept 2026. The Licensing and Taxation sections carry the full detail and sources.

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.

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).

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).

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).

1. 6 Jan 2010

   Penal Code (Law 10.001) makes unauthorised gaming houses and lotteries an offence

2. 11 Apr 2016

   CEMAC Regulation 01/CEMAC/UMAC/CM on AML brings casinos and gaming operators into the regional AML regime

3. 31 Dec 2021

   GABAC counts six gaming establishments, including slot machines and online casinos

4. 29 Aug 2022

   GABAC on-site visit for the mutual evaluation begins (to 14 September 2022)

5. 29 Sept 2023

   GABAC adopts the mutual evaluation report, finding no legal framework for casinos and no AML supervisor

6. 28 Dec 2023

   Finance law for 2024 restates the VAT chapter; games of chance are not exempted

7. 20 Dec 2024

   CEMAC Regulation 02/24 replaces the 2016 AML regulation

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.

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.

Who regulates gambling in the Central African Republic?

The Ministry of the Interior in charge of Public Security regulates gambling in the Central African Republic. Other authorities with a role include Direction Générale des Impôts et des Domaines (DGID) and Agence Nationale d'Investigation Financière (ANIF).

• Cameroon
• Chad
• Congo
• Gabon
• Equatorial Guinea

Source tiers. Tier 1: the law, official gazette, licence register or regulator itself. Tier 2: other official sources such as ministries, parliaments, courts and statistics agencies. Tier 3: established trade press, used to find and date the primary source. Only tier 1 and tier 2 sources can support a fact on their own.

1. 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
2. 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
3. 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
4. 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
5. 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
6. 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
7. Centrafrique : Les paris sportifs appauvrissent les uns et enrichissent les autres

   Oubangui Médias

   Tier 3Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 19 Nov 2021