Gambling is prohibited throughout the Union of the Comoros. Article 201 of the Penal Code (Law 20-038/AU of 29 December 2020, promulgated in February 2021) bans lotteries and all other games of chance on Comorian territory. Keeping a public gaming house or installing gaming machines carries six months to two years and a fine of KMF 50,000 to 500,000, and anyone who takes part in unauthorised games of chance faces six months to two years and KMF 50,000 to 200,000. Online gambling has its own offences: article 476 punishes organising unlawful online gambling, including bet-taking and lottery advertising, with one to five years, and article 477 bans card, transfer and other payments for it and makes banks responsible for enforcing the ban. There is no gambling regulator, licence or gaming tax. GIABA's 2024 mutual evaluation and its May 2026 follow-up both record that lotteries and games of chance are prohibited. The name operators know is Anjouan. Anjouan Gaming sells internet gaming licences on the authority of the Anjouan Offshore Finance Authority, and similar bodies claim to act for Mohéli and Grande Comore. On 8 December 2025 the Central Bank of the Comoros said the Anjouan, Mohéli and Grande Comore bodies are not recognised, have no legal authority to issue approvals or licences for financial or banking activities and cannot act for the Union or any of its islands, that no online betting or gaming licence has been issued in the Comoros, that any claim to offer these activities under a Comorian approval it did not issue is fraudulent, and that it would pursue judicial proceedings. An Anjouan licence gives no right to offer gambling in the Comoros. No bill to legalise gambling was found.
Treating an Anjouan licence as a Comorian licence: the Central Bank says the Anjouan Offshore Finance Authority and Anjouan Corporate Services are not recognised and have no legal authority to issue financial or banking licences, that no online betting or gaming licence has been issued in the Comoros, and that any claim to offer these activities under a Comorian approval it did not issue is fraudulent. Assuming the island bodies have autonomous power: the Central Bank states they cannot act for the Union or any of its islands. Reading the casino article of the 2012 AML law as a licensing route: gambling is prohibited and GIABA treats the casino rules as not applicable. Assuming only operators are exposed: taking part in unauthorised games of chance is an offence, and banks must refuse gambling payments.
Online casino and online sports betting are prohibited in the Comoros, so no licence currently permits offering them. The licensing regime as recorded is set out below.
Our record shows no gambling licence requirement in the Comoros.
The Comoros has no dedicated gambling regulator.
Built from the record on this page, last verified 21 Oct 2026. The Licensing and Taxation sections carry the full detail and sources.
Penal Code (Law No. 20-038/AU of 29 December 2020)
Loi n°20-038/AU du 29 décembre 2020 portant Code pénal
Law No. 12-008/AU of 28 June 2012 on combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism
Loi n°12-008/AU du 28 juin 2012 portant lutte contre le blanchiment d'argent et le financement du terrorisme
Banking Law No. 13-003/AU of 12 June 2013
Loi n°13-003/AU du 12 juin 2013 relative à la loi bancaire
Central Bank public warning describing the bodies as fictitious structures acting illegally; referrals to the public prosecutors of Moroni, Mutsamudu and Mohéli
Central Bank warning that the bodies are not recognised and have no legal authority to issue financial or banking licences, that no online betting or gaming licence has been issued in the Comoros, and that it will pursue judicial proceedings against those concerned
28 Jun 2012
Law 12-008/AU on AML and CFT adopted, with AML duties for casinos and gaming establishments (article 17).
12 Jun 2013
Banking Law 13-003/AU adopted, reserving the licensing of banks and financial institutions to the Central Bank (article 18).
29 Dec 2020
The Assembly of the Union adopts the Penal Code, Law 20-038/AU, prohibiting lotteries and games of chance and creating online gambling and payment offences.
18 Feb 2021
Penal Code promulgated by Decree 21-018/PR.
15 Jun 2022
Central Bank warns that the Anjouan, Mohéli and other self-styled offshore authorities are fictitious and refers them to prosecutors.
May 2024
GIABA mutual evaluation records that casinos and gambling establishments are prohibited in the Union.
8 Dec 2025
Central Bank warns that the Mohéli, Anjouan and Grande Comore licensing bodies are not recognised and that no online betting or gaming licence has been issued.
31 Dec 2025
ABC News reports that Anjouan Licensing Services claims to have issued more than 1,300 gambling licences, and quotes Comorian officials calling the issuers illegal.
May 2026
GIABA's second enhanced follow-up report again records that lotteries and all other games of chance are prohibited.
19 Oct 2026
The Comoros government says the Anjouan licensing regime has no legal basis, that British citizens have been identified, and that it has asked the UK government and law enforcement for help; a Central Bank spokesperson calls it illegal activity by people abusively using the name of the Comoros Islands
No bill, consultation or licensing round was found. The Central Bank said in December 2025 that it would pursue judicial proceedings against the self-styled licensing bodies and those operating under their licences, and it works with foreign counterparts to stop the practice recurring. GIABA's follow-up process on the 2024 mutual evaluation continues; its May 2026 report again treats gambling as prohibited. In October 2026 the government said the Anjouan regime has no legal basis and that it had asked the UK government and law enforcement for help after identifying British citizens involved; watch for any UK or Comorian action against the issuers and their licensees.
The Comoros government says the licences sold in Anjouan's name have no legal basis, that British citizens have been identified, and that it has asked the UK for help. The Guardian links the licensing service to a London company, which denies selling gaming licences.
The newspaper's first reporting from the Curaçao regulator's files turns a licensing scandal into a question about who serves British players without a licence, and puts new documents behind its earlier reporting on the Santeda casino network. Its reporter also says the offshore trade is already moving on, to Anjouan and other lighter-touch licensors.
An Instagram ad showed the Bayern Munich defender's father arrested over a vault of cash, cleared, and then urging viewers to play the same casino, with an AI Drake for good measure. The link went to a Comoros-licensed site two months after Alberta opened a regulated market that bans athletes from casino ads altogether.
Kansspelautoriteit chairman Michel Groothuizen says it is "naïve" to think a national regulator can beat a cross-border black market that costs the state more than €500m a year in tax, and that parliament barely mentioned Europe.
Sweden's gambling authority, Spelinspektionen, has escalated its fight against the black market by issuing prohibition orders against two B2B game suppliers.
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. Tier 5: other material, never relied on alone. Only tier 1 and tier 2 sources can support a fact on their own.
Ministry of Justice of the Union of the Comoros (translated)
The Ministry of Justice lists the promulgation decree as dated 18 February 2021; the handwritten day on the scanned decree is hard to read and the droit-afrique transcription gives 16 February 2021. The fines in articles 476 and 478 are printed "5.00.000 to 10.000.000 francs comoriens" in the official text, so the lower bound (500,000 or 5,000,000) is ambiguous; the record quotes it as printed.
Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA)
GIABA lists the report as its May 2024 plenary report; the 2026 follow-up report says the plenary adopted it in June 2024.
Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA)
Banque Centrale des Comores (translated)
Banque Centrale des Comores (translated)
Banque Centrale des Comores (translated)
Banque Centrale des Comores (translated)
Banque Centrale des Comores (translated)
ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Anjouan Gaming (Anjouan Licensing Services)
Cited only to record what the licence sellers claim. The Central Bank of the Comoros states that the Anjouan Offshore Finance Authority and Anjouan Corporate Services are not recognised in the Union, have no legal authority to issue financial or banking licences, and that no online betting or gaming licence has been issued in the Comoros (source km-bcc-warning-2025).
iGaming Times