Is online sports betting legal in the Republic of the Congo?

Law 37-2024 allows it under an agrément for category I operators, granted by the ministry in charge of gambling after a conformity opinion from the ARJHA. The implementing decrees had not been published by September 2026, so no agrément under the law can be confirmed.

Who regulates gambling in Congo?

The Autorité de Régulation des Jeux de Hasard et d'Argent (ARJHA), created by Law 1-2025, under the minister in charge of gambling, which Decree 2025-57 makes the Minister of Finance, Budget and Public Portfolio.

Can private operators offer lotteries or horse race betting?

No. Horse race betting, lotteries and scratch games, land-based and online, are reserved to the national company in charge of games of chance and money, whose capital may be opened to private investors up to 49%.

How is gambling taxed?

A special gaming tax of 10% on land-based games, 12% on online games and 15% on virtual games, set by the 2025 amending finance law and split 60% to the State budget, 25% to the ARJHA and 15% to the national sports fund. Gaming devices bear 25% excise duty.

What does an operator need to qualify?

A public limited company with a board of directors and fully paid capital of at least 2 billion FCFA, at least 10% held by the State, bank accounts guaranteeing winnings and levies, and, online, a real-time monitoring link for the regulator and three years of player data archived on hardware in Congo.

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Sovereign state

Africa

ISO CG

Congo: gambling regulation and licensing

Online sports bettingPre-regulation
Online casinoPre-regulation
Lottery and iLotteryMonopoly
Horse race bettingMonopoly
Land-based (reference)Regulated

Regulator: Gambling Regulatory Authority
Headline tax: 12% of stakes
Licence required: Yes
Last verified: 24 Sept 2026

Summary

The Republic of the Congo has had a gambling statute only since Law 37-2024 of 11 October 2024, published on 12 December 2024. Before it the sector had no dedicated law: GABAC found in 2022 that it consisted of the state lottery company COGELO, a few small casinos in Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire and private gaming outlets, with no AML supervisor for casinos. The law sets four regimes. Land-based and online sports betting, online casino and online virtual games (category I) need an agrément from the ministry in charge of gambling after a conformity opinion from the regulator. Operators must be public limited companies with fully paid capital of at least 2 billion FCFA, at least 10% held by the State, and must archive player data on hardware in Congo. Horse race betting, lotteries and scratch games, land-based and online, are a monopoly of the national gaming company. Casinos and gaming halls need an operating authorisation. Law 1-2025 of 29 March 2025 created the Autorité de Régulation des Jeux de Hasard et d'Argent (ARJHA), which can fine operators up to 3% of turnover and order ISPs to block unlicensed sites. The 2025 amending finance law set the special gaming tax at 10% for land-based games, 12% for online games and 15% for virtual games, with 60% to the State budget, 25% to the ARJHA and 15% to sport. The implementing decrees, the ARJHA statutes and the appointment of its director general had not appeared in the Journal Officiel by 17 September 2026, so no licence under the new law can be confirmed.

Common pitfalls

Assuming an agrément covers lotteries or horse racing: those are reserved to the national company. Treating the ARJHA as operational: its statutes and director general had not been published by September 2026. Overlooking the 10% State shareholding and the 2 billion FCFA paid-up capital required of operators, and the duty to archive player data on hardware in Congo. Reading the 12% online rate as a tax on revenue: the law defines the special gaming tax by reference to stakes.

Key facts

Regulator: Gambling Regulatory Authority (ARJHA)
Regulator type: Dedicated regulator
Headline tax: 12% of stakes
Licence required: Yes
Minimum age: Not yet verified
Tax base: Special tax on games of chance and money: 10% for land-based games of categories I, II and III, 12% for online games of categories I and II and 15% for virtual games of category IV (Law 10-2002 art. 5 as amended by Loi 41-2025). Law 37-2024 defines the special tax as applied to the value of the stake (art. 6) and says the specific levies are taken directly on stakes (art. 35); the base provision of Law 10-2002 itself was not read. The tax is not part of the operator's turnover (art. 35), and rates for online and virtual games must be higher than for other games (art. 37). Appliances used for games of chance and entertainment bear excise duty of 25%.

How to get a gambling licence in Congo

The regulator is the Gambling Regulatory Authority (ARJHA).

We record 3 licence types for Congo.

Local presence: Servers must be located locally.
Financial guarantee: Operators must hold bank accounts in credit that guarantee payment of winnings and of the sums due to the State, local authorities and other legal beneficiaries (Law 37-2024 arts. 8 and 13). No bond amount is set in the law.
Headline tax: 12% of stakes (see Taxation for the full position)

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

Legal framework

Primary statutes

Law 37-2024 of 11 October 2024 regulating games of chance and money
Loi n° 37-2024 du 11 octobre 2024 portant réglementation des jeux de hasard et d'argent
Year
2024
In force
Yes
Summary
The first comprehensive gambling statute. Places the sector under the ministry in charge of gambling and sets four regimes: public monopoly (horse race betting, lotteries and scratch games), agrément (category I: land-based and online sports betting, online casino and online virtual games, which also covers land-based casinos and slot machines), operating authorisation (casinos, gaming halls and games in bars) and special authorisation (occasional tombolas). Operators must be public limited companies with fully paid capital of at least 2 billion FCFA, at least 10% held by the State. Sets online obligations, ISP blocking, administrative fines of up to 3% of turnover and criminal penalties. 64 articles.
Law 1-2025 of 29 March 2025 creating the Gambling Regulatory Authority
Loi n° 1-2025 du 29 mars 2025 portant création de l'autorité de régulation des jeux de hasard et d'argent
Year
2025
In force
Yes
Summary
Creates the ARJHA as a public administrative body with legal personality and financial autonomy in Brazzaville, under the minister in charge of gambling, run by a director general appointed by decree in the Council of Ministers. Its duties include opinions on licence applications and sanctions, equipment approval, the specification (cahier des charges), a file of barred players, traceability of online games, pecuniary sanctions and ISP blocking orders (art. 7).

Secondary instruments

Law 41-2025 of 31 December 2025, amending finance law for 2025
Loi n° 41-2025 du 31 décembre 2025 portant loi de finances rectificative pour l'année 2025
Year
2025
In force
Yes
Summary
Sets the special tax on games of chance and money at 10% for land-based games of categories I to III, 12% for online games of categories I and II and 15% for virtual games of category IV, splits it 60% to the State budget, 25% to the ARJHA and 15% to the national sports fund, and sets excise duty on gaming devices at 25%. Amends the gaming tax provisions of Law 10-2002 (finance law for 2003).
Law 42-2025 of 31 December 2025, finance law for 2026
Loi n° 42-2025 du 31 décembre 2025 portant loi de finances pour l'année 2026
Year
2025
In force
Yes
Summary
Keeps excise duty on appliances used for games of chance and entertainment at 25%.
Decree 2025-57 of 5 March 2025 on the duties of the Minister of Finance, Budget and Public Portfolio
Décret n° 2025-57 du 5 mars 2025
Year
2025
In force
Yes
Summary
Gives the minister the task of drawing up the regulation of gaming for profit and ensuring its application, alongside supervision of public enterprises. Read as reproduced on the ministry website.
CEMAC Regulation 02/24/CEMAC/UMAC/CM of 20 December 2024 on preventing money laundering and terrorist financing
Règlement n° 02/24/CEMAC/UMAC/CM du 20 décembre 2024
Year
2024
In force
Yes
Summary
Regional AML regulation applicable in Congo. Arts. 24 and 49 require casinos and gaming establishments to apply customer due diligence and to identify players who buy, bring or exchange chips for 1,000,000 FCFA or more. Read as summarised by GABAC.

Key amendments

31 Dec 2025Law 41-2025 sets the special gaming tax at 10%, 12% and 15% by category of game and allocates 25% of it to the ARJHA.

Pending legislation

Implementing decrees under Law 37-2024
Stage
Not published in the Journal Officiel up to the issue of 17 September 2026
What it changes
A decree in the Council of Ministers is to set the organisation of the four regimes (art. 31); regulations are to set the conditions for the agrément (art. 8), the operating authorisation (art. 13) and licence withdrawal (art. 39). Without them no agrément can be shown to have been granted.
Statutes of the ARJHA and appointment of its director general
Stage
Not published in the Journal Officiel up to the issue of 17 September 2026
What it changes
Statutes approved by decree in the Council of Ministers (Law 1-2025 art. 6) and a director general appointed by decree (art. 5) would make the regulator operational. The 2025 amending finance law makes the ARJHA share of the gaming tax conditional on its governance bodies being in place.

Licensing

Licence required: Yes
Application window: Not yet verified
Local establishment required: Not yet verified
Local server required: Yes
Bank guarantee or bond: Operators must hold bank accounts in credit that guarantee payment of winnings and of the sums due to the State, local authorities and other legal beneficiaries (Law 37-2024 arts. 8 and 13). No bond amount is set in the law.
Certification requirements: Applicants are subject to technical inspection of premises, software and equipment (Law 37-2024 art. 9). The ARJHA approves equipment and sets the specifications it must meet (Law 1-2025 art. 7).
Barriers to entry: An operator must be a public limited company with a board of directors and fully paid-up capital of at least 2 billion FCFA (Law 37-2024 art. 6), with at least 10% of its capital held by the State (art. 8), a financing plan and accounting organisation approved by the ministry, and must accept a specification drawn up by the regulator. Partnerships with technical or commercial partners need the regulator's no-objection opinion (art. 10) and changes in capital the minister's (art. 11). Horse race betting, lotteries and scratch games are closed to private operators. Operators already in business had one year from promulgation to apply (art. 61). The implementing decrees the law calls for (arts. 8, 12, 31 and 39) had not been published in the Journal Officiel by the issue of 17 September 2026.

Licence types

Agrément (operator approval)
Scope
Category I: land-based and online sports betting, online casino and online virtual games; the agrément also allows land-based casinos (category III) and virtual games and slot machines (category IV). A separate application is required for each type of game offered online.
Renewal terms
Not transferable (art. 10). Withdrawal procedures are to be set by regulation (art. 39); an authorisation may be withdrawn if the business has not opened or has suspended activity one year after it was granted (art. 40).
Operating authorisation (autorisation d’exploitation)
Scope
Gaming establishments not under an agrément: class 1 casinos and gaming clubs, class 2 virtual games and slot machine halls, class 3 games in bars. Granted by joint order of the ministers for gambling and public order.
Special authorisation (autorisation spéciale)
Scope
Occasional tombolas organised by individuals or companies.

Taxation

Headline GGR tax: Not yet verified
Effective date: Not yet verified
Turnover tax: 12%
Tax base: Special tax on games of chance and money: 10% for land-based games of categories I, II and III, 12% for online games of categories I and II and 15% for virtual games of category IV (Law 10-2002 art. 5 as amended by Loi 41-2025). Law 37-2024 defines the special tax as applied to the value of the stake (art. 6) and says the specific levies are taken directly on stakes (art. 35); the base provision of Law 10-2002 itself was not read. The tax is not part of the operator's turnover (art. 35), and rates for online and virtual games must be higher than for other games (art. 37). Appliances used for games of chance and entertainment bear excise duty of 25%.

Earmarked levies

Allocation of the special gaming tax: 60% State budget, 25% ARJHA, 15% national sports fund (State budget, Autorité de Régulation des Jeux de Hasard et d’Argent, Fonds national de développement des activités physiques et sportives)
Excise duty on appliances used for games of chance and entertainment: 25%

Compliance

Minimum age: Not yet verified
National self-exclusion: File of persons barred from gambling, to be kept by the ARJHA (Law 1-2025 art. 7); online operators must check it and close the account of any barred player (Law 37-2024 art. 19). Not yet shown to be in operation. (mandatory)
AML regime: Casinos and gaming establishments must apply customer due diligence under CEMAC Regulation 02/24/CEMAC/UMAC/CM of 20 December 2024 (arts. 24 and 49). Online applicants must describe their anti-money-laundering measures (Law 37-2024 art. 19). GABAC found in 2022 that there was no designated AML supervisor for casinos and that casino managers did not apply customer due diligence; its March 2026 follow-up still rated Congo partially compliant on customer due diligence for designated non-financial businesses, which include casinos.
Central monitoring system: Online operators must run an information system that lets the regulator follow bets in real time (Law 37-2024 art. 19). The ARJHA is to ensure traceability of online gaming operations and store the data (Law 1-2025 art. 7).
Data localisation: Online operators must archive in real time, for three years, all data exchanged with players on hardware located in the Republic of the Congo, and give the regulator's inspectors access to it (Law 37-2024 art. 19).
KYC requirements: Casinos and gaming establishments must identify, from an original official photo document, players who buy, bring or exchange chips or plaques for 1,000,000 FCFA or more (CEMAC Regulation 02/24, arts. 24 and 49).
Stake limits: Not yet verified
Mandatory player messaging: Online operators must show on their home pages how players can register on the barred-player files (Law 37-2024 art. 19). The rules of each game must be displayed to the public (art. 18). Horse race and sports betting operators must adopt an ethics charter and publish a magazine and information leaflets (art. 5). Offering gambling to minors is an offence (arts. 41 and 59); the law does not state an age.
Reporting obligations: General accounts under the OHADA accounting standard plus analytical accounts (Law 37-2024 art. 16). Online operators must report suspected manipulation of sports competitions to the regulator without delay, share the information it needs, and submit to its audits (art. 19).
Game content restrictions: Import and installation of slot machines need a joint order of four ministers after the regulator's opinion (Law 37-2024 art. 17). Slot machines are barred from homes, hotel rooms, schools, hospitals, barracks, places of worship, stations and airports (art. 25), and gaming establishments from the vicinity of hospitals, schools, universities and barracks (art. 21). Directors, shareholders and staff may not play in their own establishment (art. 15).

Advertising

Advertising permitted: Not yet verified
Penalties for breach: Fine of 1 to 10 million FCFA for non-compliant commercial communication (Law 37-2024 art. 50).

Restrictions

Commercial communication about games of chance that does not comply with the regulations is punishable by a fine of 1 to 10 million FCFA (Law 37-2024 art. 50). No gambling advertising code has been published.
Advertising a prohibited lottery or tombola, by notices, posters or any other means, is punishable by one to six months in prison and a fine of 1 to 5 million FCFA (art. 51).
Organising promotional or advertising lotteries without authorisation is an offence (art. 53).

Payments

Credit card ban: Not yet verified
Crypto stance: Not yet verified
Currency restrictions: Online operators must secure players' electronic transactions (Law 37-2024 art. 19). GABAC reported in 2022 that cash use in the sector was very high, particularly for stakes and winnings.

Enforcement

ISP blocking: Yes
DNS blocking: Not yet verified
Payment blocking: Not yet verified
App store takedowns: Not yet verified
Administrative penalties: Confiscation of equipment, suspension or withdrawal of the agrément or authorisation, and a ban of one to five years from gambling activities (Law 37-2024 art. 44). Ignoring a formal notice from the regulator brings a fine of up to 3% of the highest annual turnover of the last three years, 5% for a repeat (art. 45). Unlicensed operators can be made to pay all taxes and fees for the whole period they operated (art. 47).
Criminal penalties: Unlicensed online gambling or offering gambling to minors: one to five years in prison and a fine of 5 to 10 million FCFA (art. 59). Unauthorised casino or slot machine operation: two months to one year and 1 to 10 million FCFA (art. 53). Manipulating a sports competition offered for betting: one to five years and 10 to 100 million FCFA (art. 60).
Operator liability: Infringements are recorded by the ARJHA, whose agents may seize equipment and suspend operations with judicial authorisation (Law 37-2024 arts. 42 and 43). Access to online gambling not authorised in Congo is to be blocked: the ARJHA, with ARPCE support, may order internet access providers to block illegal sites and redirect users to its own site, subject to written observations within fifteen days (arts. 48 and 49). No blocking order or published blocklist was found.

Timeline

Apr 2022
GABAC mutual evaluation finds no gambling law and no AML supervisor for casinos
11 Oct 2024
Law 37-2024 regulating games of chance and money promulgated
12 Dec 2024
Law 37-2024 published in the Journal Officiel
5 Mar 2025
Decree 2025-57 gives the finance minister responsibility for regulating gaming for profit
29 Mar 2025
Law 1-2025 creates the ARJHA
11 Oct 2025
One-year deadline for operators already in business to apply for an agrément or authorisation
31 Dec 2025
Amending finance law sets the special gaming tax at 10%, 12% and 15% and allocates 25% to the ARJHA
Mar 2026
GABAC second enhanced follow-up report on Congo

Outlook

The regime becomes workable only once the government adopts the decree organising the four regimes and the rules for granting agréments, and approves the ARJHA statutes and appoints its director general. The ARJHA share of the gaming tax is conditional on its governance bodies being in place. Operators already in business had until October 2025 to apply, and holders of earlier authorisations may ask for up to 24 months to comply. GABAC continues to follow up Congo on AML controls for casinos.

Frequently asked questions

Is online sports betting legal in the Republic of the Congo?: Law 37-2024 allows it under an agrément for category I operators, granted by the ministry in charge of gambling after a conformity opinion from the ARJHA. The implementing decrees had not been published by September 2026, so no agrément under the law can be confirmed.
Who regulates gambling in Congo?: The Autorité de Régulation des Jeux de Hasard et d'Argent (ARJHA), created by Law 1-2025, under the minister in charge of gambling, which Decree 2025-57 makes the Minister of Finance, Budget and Public Portfolio.
Can private operators offer lotteries or horse race betting?: No. Horse race betting, lotteries and scratch games, land-based and online, are reserved to the national company in charge of games of chance and money, whose capital may be opened to private investors up to 49%.
How is gambling taxed?: A special gaming tax of 10% on land-based games, 12% on online games and 15% on virtual games, set by the 2025 amending finance law and split 60% to the State budget, 25% to the ARJHA and 15% to the national sports fund. Gaming devices bear 25% excise duty.
What does an operator need to qualify?: A public limited company with a board of directors and fully paid capital of at least 2 billion FCFA, at least 10% held by the State, bank accounts guaranteeing winnings and levies, and, online, a real-time monitoring link for the regulator and three years of player data archived on hardware in Congo.

Glossary and directory

Glossary terms for this profile

iGT coverage of Congo

Honoré Gaming's Casanova: Europe Builds for the Exception, Not the Rule

Interviews

1 Sept 2026

Honoré Gaming's Casanova: Europe Builds for the Exception, Not the Rule

European platform providers have spent a decade failing in francophone Africa. Christophe Casanova, the former derivatives trader who runs the French platform that did not, says they arrive with the wrong mental model, and concedes that the unlicensed operators his clients compete against hold advantages no product can answer.

Sources

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. Only tier 1 and tier 2 sources can support a fact on their own.

Loi n° 37-2024 du 11 octobre 2024 portant réglementation des jeux de hasard et d'argent (Journal Officiel n° 50 du 12 décembre 2024, pp. 1521 à 1528)
Journal Officiel de la République du Congo (Secrétariat Général du Gouvernement)
Tier 1Accessed 24 Sept 2026Published 12 Dec 2024
Loi n° 1-2025 du 29 mars 2025 portant création de l'autorité de régulation des jeux de hasard et d'argent (Journal Officiel n° 17 du 24 avril 2025, pp. 587 et 588)
Journal Officiel de la République du Congo (Secrétariat Général du Gouvernement)
Tier 1Accessed 24 Sept 2026Published 24 Apr 2025
Loi n° 41-2025 du 31 décembre 2025 portant loi de finances rectificative pour l'année 2025 (Journal Officiel, édition spéciale n° 2 du 5 janvier 2026), art. 50, items 23 and 25
Journal Officiel de la République du Congo (Secrétariat Général du Gouvernement)
Tier 1Accessed 24 Sept 2026Published 5 Jan 2026
Loi n° 42-2025 du 31 décembre 2025 portant loi de finances pour l'année 2026 (Journal Officiel, édition spéciale du 5 janvier 2026), excise duties item 21
Journal Officiel de la République du Congo (Secrétariat Général du Gouvernement)
Tier 1Accessed 24 Sept 2026Published 5 Jan 2026
Attributions du Ministre des Finances, du Budget et du Portefeuille Public (source: Décret n° 2025-57 du 5 mars 2025)
Ministère des Finances, du Budget et du Portefeuille Public (Congo)
Tier 2Accessed 24 Sept 2026
Congolaise de Gestion de Loterie (COGELO), organisme sous tutelle
Ministère des Finances, du Budget et du Portefeuille Public (Congo)
Tier 2Accessed 24 Sept 2026
Mutual Evaluation Report: Anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing measures, Republic of Congo (April 2022)
Groupe d'Action contre le Blanchiment d'Argent en Afrique Centrale (GABAC)
Tier 2Accessed 24 Sept 2026Published Apr 2022
Deuxième rapport de suivi renforcé de la République du Congo avec demande de renotation (mars 2026)
Groupe d'Action contre le Blanchiment d'Argent en Afrique Centrale (GABAC)
Tier 2Accessed 24 Sept 2026Published Mar 2026