Guinea: gambling regulation and licensing

Guinea runs a split system. The Loterie Nationale de Guinée (LONAGUI), a state company created in 2000, holds by decree the monopoly of all forms of lottery, games and prognostics, and since Decree D/2022/236 of May 2022 it alone may sell lottery and betting products through physical outlets. It also owns horse race betting exclusively. Online gambling is licensed by the Autorité de Régulation du Secteur des Jeux et Pratiques Assimilées (ARSJPA), created by Decree D/2023/045 of 28 January 2023 under the Presidency and the Finance Ministry. Its Decision 006, in force since 1 January 2024, sets annual licences per product: 500 million GNF for Loto or sports betting and 250 million GNF for virtual games or casino, plus a royalty of 30% of gross gaming revenue. Applicants need a Guinean company at least 25% owned by nationals and a local bank guarantee. The ARSJPA register lists eight licensed platforms, including LONAGUI, Guinée Games, 1xBet, Yellowbet, Geniusbet and Bet 224. Since the 2025 finance law the tax on games of chance is 15% of gross gaming revenue, games of chance are outside VAT, and operators withhold tax on winnings above 1,000,000 GNF. In 2024 the Treasury received 84.37 billion GNF in gaming rebates, while the budget line for lottery tax collected nothing against a 250 billion GNF forecast. The legal basis is thin: there is no gaming statute, only decrees and regulator decisions, and in March 2026 the transitional parliament (CNT) asked for the ARSJPA decree to be repealed and the regulator placed on a statutory footing.

Regulator

Autorité de Régulation du Secteur des Jeux et Pratiques Assimilées (ARSJPA)

Regulator type

Dedicated regulator

Headline tax

15% GGR

Licence required

Yes

Minimum age

18+

Tax base

Tax on games of chance: 15% of gross gaming revenue, defined as stakes collected from players less winnings, whether paid out or not (CGI art. 513 ter as rewritten by art. 14 of the finance law for 2025). It is collected and paid by the company organising the games, with declaration, control and penalties as for VAT (art. 513 quater). Before 2025 the same 15% rate applied to the pre-tax price of tickets sold and, for casinos, to turnover. Online operators also owe the ARSJPA royalty of 30% of gross gaming revenue under Decision 006.

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

Yes

Local server required

Not yet verified

Active licences

8 (as of 23 Sept 2026)

Bank guarantee or bond

A first-demand guarantee or bond from a Guinean commercial bank, reviewed each year and valid for the whole licence term; the amount is set from the business plan for new applicants and from the last operating account for existing operators (Decision 006 art. 3).

Notable licensees

LONAGUI, Guinée Games, 1xBet (1xbet.com.gn), Yellowbet, Geniusbet, Bet 224, Pariez GDJ, Guinée Millions

Certification requirements

Operators must sign an operating contract with the ARSJPA, obtain its prior approval of technical partners (game platform, payment integrators, telecoms), give the ARSJPA an interface to the game platform and linked payment and telecom systems for complete monitoring, and have every new game and its rules approved in advance (Decision 006 art. 4). Technical partners must report financial flows directly to the ARSJPA (art. 5).

Barriers to entry

Applicants must create a Guinean company at least 25% owned by Guinean nationals, file a three-year business plan backed by a bank certificate, three years of certified accounts for companies already trading, proof of gaming experience, criminal records of managers, draft game rules and a proposed split of the stakes collected (Decision 006 art. 3). There is no fixed cap, but the Director General may limit the number of operators for online games or for a segment, or stop granting new licences, to promote responsible gambling (art. 3). Retail lottery and betting are reserved to LONAGUI (Decree D/2022/236). Operators and the press have contested Decision 006 as beyond the Director General’s powers under the creating decree.

Headline GGR tax

15% GGR

Effective date

3 Jan 2025

Player winnings tax

Gaming companies, including the national lottery, must withhold tax at source on players’ winnings above 1,000,000 GNF, whether paid or not (CGI art. 152 bis III as amended for 2025). The rate is not confirmed: the 2022 Code set the art. 152 bis withholding at 10% of the gross amount in paragraph IV, which the 2025 finance law rewrote without restating a rate, while the CNT described the 2025 measure as 7%.

Withholding mechanism

The gaming company withholds the tax from the winnings and pays it to the tax office (CGI arts. 72 and 152 bis). Any other levy on gaming income is charged on gross revenue after deducting the tax on games of chance (art. 152 bis IV as added for 2025).

VAT treatment

Operations specific to games of chance are not subject to VAT (CGI art. 513 quater II as rewritten for 2025).

Tax base

Tax on games of chance: 15% of gross gaming revenue, defined as stakes collected from players less winnings, whether paid out or not (CGI art. 513 ter as rewritten by art. 14 of the finance law for 2025). It is collected and paid by the company organising the games, with declaration, control and penalties as for VAT (art. 513 quater). Before 2025 the same 15% rate applied to the pre-tax price of tickets sold and, for casinos, to turnover. Online operators also owe the ARSJPA royalty of 30% of gross gaming revenue under Decision 006.

Minimum age

18+

National self-exclusion

Not yet verified

AML regime

The ARSJPA contributes to the fight against money laundering with other state bodies and audits financial flows in the sector (Decree D/2023/045 art. 5). Gaming establishments, including online gaming providers, are subject to the tax authority’s right of communication (CGI art. 1070).

Central monitoring system

Operators must give the ARSJPA an interface to their game platform and connected payment and telecom systems so that activity can be followed in full (Decision 006 art. 4).

KYC requirements

Not yet verified

Stake limits

Not yet verified

Mandatory player messaging

Operators must protect minors and vulnerable people and promote responsible gambling (Decision 006 art. 4). The ARSJPA states that gambling is reserved to adults aged 18 and over and ran a national responsible gambling campaign for the 2026 World Cup.

Reporting obligations

Certified annual accounts to the ARSJPA; financial flows and technical data supplied directly to the ARSJPA by operators and their technical partners; ARSJPA invoices royalties by the 10th of the following month and payment is due within seven days (Decision 006 arts. 4, 5, 10 and 11). The tax on games of chance is declared on the VAT timetable (CGI art. 513 quater).

Game content restrictions

Every new game and its rules need the ARSJPA’s prior approval (Decision 006 art. 4).

Advertising permitted

Yes

Credit card ban

Not yet verified

Crypto stance

Not yet verified

Local rails

Orange Money, MTN MoMo

Payment blocking regime

The ARSJPA can ask mobile money providers to stop deposits and withdrawals for suspended operators, freeze their merchant balances and ensure pending winnings are paid, as it did in its letter of 18 December 2023 to Orange Finance Mobile Guinée, copied to the telecoms regulator ARPT.

ISP blocking

Not yet verified

DNS blocking

Not yet verified

Payment blocking

Yes

App store takedowns

Not yet verified

Administrative penalties

Surcharges on royalties: 200% for deliberate breaches, repeat breaches or fraud; 25% for a missing or late declaration, rising to 50% after 30 days from formal notice and 100% for unauthorised activity; 25% for late payment. Temporary or permanent ban, automatic suspension after three months without declaration or for unauthorised activity, and withdrawal of the licence if not regularised within 60 days of suspension (Decision 006 arts. 12 and 13).

Criminal penalties

Two to six months in prison and a fine of 500,000 to 2,500,000 GNF, or either, for keeping an unauthorised gaming house or running an unauthorised lottery; a ban of five to ten years from civic rights may follow, and stakes, equipment and furnishings are confiscated (Penal Code art. 447).

Operator liability

Managers, bankers and administrators of an unauthorised gaming house and those running unauthorised lotteries are liable, and staff who know of the situation face the same penalty (Penal Code art. 447). Licensed operators face ARSJPA surcharges, suspension and withdrawal (Decision 006).

Figures on this record are drawn from official regulator data.

Online GGR

Not yet verified

Reporting year

2026

Licensed operators

8

1. 28 Mar 2000

   Decree D/2000/028 creates the Loterie Nationale de Guinée (LONAGUI)

2. 26 Oct 2016

   New Penal Code adopted; art. 447 punishes unauthorised gaming houses and lotteries

3. 1 Jan 2022

   New Code Général des Impôts applies, with a 15% tax on games of chance

4. 13 May 2022

   Decree D/2022/236 reserves retail lottery and betting to LONAGUI

5. 28 Jan 2023

   Decrees D/2023/045 and D/2023/046 create the ARSJPA and fix new LONAGUI statutes

6. 23 Mar 2023

   Decree D/2023/084 appoints the first Director General of the ARSJPA

7. 11 Dec 2023

   ARSJPA Decision 006 sets licences and a 30% royalty for online operators from 1 January 2024

8. 18 Dec 2023

   ARSJPA suspends Yellowbet and 1xBet and asks mobile money providers to stop their transactions

9. 15 May 2024

   Decree D/2024/109 appoints the ARSJPA board of directors

10. 3 Jan 2025

    Finance law for 2025 promulgated: tax on games of chance moves to 15% of gross gaming revenue

11. 31 Mar 2026

    The CNT recommends repealing the ARSJPA decree and aligning the regulator with the law on independent authorities

12. 11 Jun 2026

    The ARSJPA launches a national responsible gambling campaign for the 2026 World Cup

Watch whether the government acts on the CNT’s March 2026 call to repeal Decree D/2023/045 and create the ARSJPA by law under Law L/2023/008, which would also settle challenges to Decision 006. The CNT also objected to an ARSJPA letter of 4 February 2025 that, according to the CNT, told operators not to pay the 2025 gambling taxes, so collection of the 15% tax and the winnings withholding is a point to follow. The text of the 2026 finance law (L/2026/010/CNT) was not obtained; a law firm summary of its tax measures does not mention gaming.

Is online betting legal in Guinea?

Yes, with an ARSJPA licence. Decision 006 has required an annual licence per product since 1 January 2024, and the ARSJPA publishes a list of licensed platforms, currently eight.

Who regulates gambling in Guinea?

The Autorité de Régulation du Secteur des Jeux et Pratiques Assimilées (ARSJPA), created by Decree D/2023/045 of 28 January 2023 under the Presidency and the Finance Ministry. LONAGUI, the state lottery, keeps its monopoly over retail lottery and betting and over horse race betting.

What does an online licence cost?

The annual fee is 500,000,000 GNF for Loto or sports betting and 250,000,000 GNF for virtual games or casino, plus a royalty of 30% of gross gaming revenue paid monthly to the ARSJPA, which shares it with the Treasury and a social development fund.

How is gambling taxed?

Since the 2025 finance law, operators pay a tax of 15% of gross gaming revenue, games of chance are outside VAT, and operators withhold tax on player winnings above 1,000,000 GNF. The ARSJPA royalty comes on top.

Can foreign operators apply?

Only through a Guinean company at least 25% owned by Guinean nationals, with a first-demand guarantee from a Guinean bank and ARSJPA approval of technical partners.

Is the regulatory framework settled?

Not fully. It rests on decrees and ARSJPA decisions rather than a gaming statute, and in March 2026 the CNT recommended repealing the decree that created the ARSJPA and re-establishing it by law.

• Senegal
• Mali
• Burkina Faso
• Liberia
• Togo
• Benin

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. ARSJPA: Autorité de Régulation du Secteur des Jeux et Pratiques Assimilées (home page, missions)

   Autorité de Régulation du Secteur des Jeux et Pratiques Assimilées (ARSJPA)

   The home page calls the ARSJPA an établissement public administratif created by decree; its footer calls it an autorité administrative indépendante.

   Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
2. Présentation: qui sommes-nous, la Direction Générale

   Autorité de Régulation du Secteur des Jeux et Pratiques Assimilées (ARSJPA)

   Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
3. Plateformes agréées: liste officielle des opérateurs autorisés par l’ARSJPA

   Autorité de Régulation du Secteur des Jeux et Pratiques Assimilées (ARSJPA)

   The page carries no update date ("Mise à jour" is blank); the count is as displayed on 2026-09-23.

   Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
4. Coupe du Monde 2026: l’ARSJPA lance une campagne nationale pour un jeu responsable

   Autorité de Régulation du Secteur des Jeux et Pratiques Assimilées (ARSJPA)

   Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 16 Jun 2026
5. Décret D/2023/045/PRG/CNRD/SGG du 28 janvier 2023 portant création, attributions, organisation et fonctionnement de l’ARSJPA (Journal Officiel, mars 2023)

   Secrétariat Général du Gouvernement, Journal Officiel de la République de Guinée

   The standalone decree PDF is an image scan; the text was read in the March 2023 Journal Officiel (https://journal-officiel.sgg.gov.gn/JO/2023/guinee-jo-2023-03.pdf, pp. 284 to 290). Some press reports give the number as D/2023/0048; the Journal Officiel and the ARSJPA both use D/2023/045.

   Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published Mar 2023
6. Journal Officiel de la République de Guinée, mars 2023: Décret D/2023/046/PRG/CNRD/SGG du 28 janvier 2023 fixant les statuts de la LONAGUI SAU

   Secrétariat Général du Gouvernement, Journal Officiel de la République de Guinée

   Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published Mar 2023
7. Décret D/2022/236/PRG/CNRD/SGG du 13 mai 2022 complétant le décret D/2000/028/PRG/SGG créant la LONAGUI (Journal Officiel spécial, juin 2022)

   Secrétariat Général du Gouvernement, Journal Officiel de la République de Guinée

   Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published Jun 2022
8. Décret D/2000/028/PRG/SGG du 28 mars 2000 créant la Loterie Nationale de Guinée (LONAGUI)

   Secrétariat Général du Gouvernement, Journal Officiel de la République de Guinée

   The official scan holds only the first and last pages (arts. 1, 2 and 9); the Journal Officiel index records the decree as not published in the gazette.

   Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 28 Mar 2000
9. Journal Officiel de la République de Guinée, search of legal texts: "jeux" (index of gaming decrees and orders)

   Secrétariat Général du Gouvernement, Journal Officiel de la République de Guinée

   Tier 2Accessed 23 Sept 2026
10. Code Général des Impôts, Loi ordinaire L/2021/032/AN promulguée par Décret D/2021/236/PRG/SGG du 21 juillet 2021, applicable from 1 January 2022 (Direction Générale des Impôts)

    Ministère du Budget, Direction Générale des Impôts (published by ITIE Guinée)

    Official DGI edition hosted by the EITI Guinea secretariat. Arts. 152 bis and 513 bis to 513 quater were amended by Loi L/2024/023/CNT (finance law for 2025); the record uses the amended text for those articles.

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 21 Jul 2021
11. Loi L/2024/023/CNT du 31 décembre 2024 portant loi de finances pour l’année 2025, promulguée par Décret D/2024/0279/PRG/CNRD/SGG du 3 janvier 2025 (art. 14: taxe sur les jeux de hasard)

    Ministère du Budget (Guinée)

    The law text is an image scan inside the budget volume and was read page by page. The 2022 Code Général des Impôts set the art. 152 bis withholding at 10% (para. IV); art. 14 of this law rewrote para. IV without restating a rate, and the CNT, as reported in the press, described the 2025 measure as 7%. The rate is left unstated.

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 3 Jan 2025
12. Rapport d’exécution du budget de l’Etat, exercice 2024 (version du 14 avril 2025), tableaux 4 et 18

    Ministère du Budget, Direction Générale du Budget

    Tier 2Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 14 Apr 2025
13. Loi L/2016/059/AN du 26 octobre 2016 portant Code pénal, arts. 447 to 449

    République de Guinée (text held by UNODC SHERLOC)

    Official text held on the UNODC legal library, not on a Guinean government host; the same wording appears in the copy on derechos.org.

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 26 Oct 2016
14. Loi ordinaire L/2023/008/CNT portant statut général des autorités administratives indépendantes (plenary of 13 March 2023)

    Secrétariat Général du Gouvernement

    The law does not name the ARSJPA. Art. 4 requires independent administrative authorities to be created by statute, whereas the ARSJPA was created by decree.

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 13 Mar 2023
15. ARSJPA, Décision N°006 du 11 décembre 2023 portant sur les conditions de régulation et d’exercice des activités d’exploitation de jeux de hasard et pratiques assimilées en ligne (ref. 0192 bis/ARSJPA/DG/12-23)

    Autorité de Régulation du Secteur des Jeux et Pratiques Assimilées (ARSJPA)

    Signed regulator document read in full from a scan published by the Guinean news site Africaguinee; the ARSJPA does not publish its decisions on its own website. Operators and the press contested the decision as outside the ARSJPA Director General’s powers under Decree D/2023/045 (arts. 5, 7 and 34); no annulment was found.

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 11 Dec 2023
16. ARSJPA, letter ref. 0287/ARSJPA/DG/12-23 of 18 December 2023 to Orange Finance Mobile Guinée: suspension of Yellow Tecno and Bet Online

    Autorité de Régulation du Secteur des Jeux et Pratiques Assimilées (ARSJPA)

    Signed regulator document read in full from a scan published by the Guinean news site Africaguinee; the ARSJPA does not publish its decisions on its own website.

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 18 Dec 2023
17. Guinée : le CNT réclame l’abrogation d’un décret controversé et dénonce des violations de la loi

    Guinee360

    Tier 3Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 1 Apr 2026
18. ARSJPA : Quand les actes controversés de Mamadou Cissé sèment la confusion et mettent en péril le secteur des jeux de hasard

    Africaguinee

    Tier 3Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published Dec 2023
19. Jeux de hasard : quelles arrière-pensées derrière la suspension de 1XBET et YellowBET ?

    Guineematin

    Tier 3Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 30 Dec 2023
20. Loterie: en un an d’exploitation, la LONAGUI a distribué 1 012 milliards GNF aux parieurs

    Guinéenews

    Tier 3Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published Aug 2023
21. Alerte législative relative à la Loi Ordinaire L/2026/010/CNT portant Loi de Finances Initiale 2026

    Thiam & Associés

    Tier 3Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 13 Apr 2026