Can a private operator get an online gambling licence in Morocco?

No. There is no licensing regime. Sports betting belongs to MDJS, horse-race betting to SOREC and the lottery to the Loterie Nationale. The only commercial route observed is a management contract with a monopoly holder, such as SISAL Jeux Maroc's contract with MDJS.

Is online casino legal in Morocco?

No authorisation route exists, and the Penal Code punishes any unauthorised game of chance or lottery offered to the public (arts. 282 to 284). We record it as prohibited with medium confidence because the Code does not mention the internet.

How are gambling operators taxed?

There is no gaming duty. Anyone paying out gambling winnings owes a 2% social solidarity contribution on net profit, on top of corporate tax at 20% (35% where net profit reaches 100 million dirhams).

Can gambling be advertised on television or radio?

No. Law 77-03, as amended by Law 83-13 in 2015, classes advertising for games of chance and betting as prohibited advertising on audiovisual media.

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Sovereign state

Africa

ISO MA

Morocco: gambling regulation and licensing

Kingdom of Morocco

Online sports bettingMonopoly
Online casinoProhibited
Lottery and iLotteryMonopoly
Horse race bettingMonopoly
Land-based (reference)Regulated

Regulator: No single national gambling regulator (state operators hold exclusive rights)
Headline tax: See Taxation
Licence required: Not yet verified
Last verified: 25 Oct 2026

Summary

Morocco has no gambling regulator and no licensing regime. Gambling is lawful only through state operators or with the authorisation of the public authority, and the Penal Code makes any other game of chance or lottery offered to the public an offence (arts. 282 to 285). La Marocaine des Jeux et des Sports (MDJS), owned 90% by the Treasury and 10% by the Caisse de Depot et de Gestion, holds the monopoly on sports betting, including online, and signed a contract with SISAL Jeux Maroc in February 2023 to manage it. SOREC is the exclusive operator of pari-mutuel horse-race betting, and the Loterie Nationale runs the national lottery instituted by Law 23-71 of 1971; both sell online. No authorisation route exists for online casino, which we classify as prohibited on the breadth of the Penal Code's definition of a lottery. Land-based casinos operate under authorisation. Tax falls on profits and on players rather than on gaming revenue. Since 2025 anyone paying out gambling winnings owes a 2% solidarity contribution on net profit on top of corporate tax at 20%, and foreign-source internet gambling winnings paid from 1 July 2025 bear a 30% withholding collected by banks and other payment intermediaries. Broadcast advertising for games of chance and betting has been banned since 2015. Enforcement against offshore betting has stalled: MDJS won an interim order in January 2026 requiring the three telecoms operators to block unauthorised betting sites, but the Commercial Court of Appeal set it aside on 10 February 2026. No bill to open or restructure the market was found at review.

Common pitfalls

Reading the 30% withholding on foreign winnings as a licence or as tolerance of offshore operators: it taxes the player and does not authorise the operator. Treating SISAL Jeux Maroc as a licensee: it manages MDJS's betting under contract. Confusing Morocco with Tunisia, where a January 2026 bill would ban online gambling.

Key facts

Regulator: No single national gambling regulator (state operators hold exclusive rights)
Regulator type: Lottery monopoly
Headline tax: See Taxation
Licence required: Not yet verified
Minimum age: 18+
Tax base: There is no gaming duty on GGR or turnover. Anyone who pays out gambling winnings owes a 2% social solidarity contribution on the same net profit that is the base for corporate or income tax (General Tax Code arts. 298 to 300), declared and paid within three months of the financial year end (arts. 301 and 302), on top of corporate tax. The horse-race pool and the national lottery have their own statutory or published splits, listed under earmarked levies.
Capital: Rabat
Currency: MAD
Official languages: Arabic, Amazigh

How to get a gambling licence in Morocco

Online sports betting in Morocco is a state monopoly: only a single state-owned or designated operator is permitted.

No single national gambling regulator (state operators hold exclusive rights).

We record 1 licence type for Morocco: the Authorised lottery or tombola (single draw).

Licence term: Authorised lottery or tombola (single draw): One draw

Built from the record on this page, last verified 25 Oct 2026. The Licensing and Taxation sections carry the full detail and sources.

Legal framework

Primary statutes

Penal Code (Dahir 1-59-413 of 26 November 1962), arts. 282 to 286
Code penal
Year
1962
In force
Yes
Summary
Punishes with three months to one year in prison and a fine of 1,200 to 100,000 dirhams anyone who, without the authorisation of the public authority, keeps a house of games of chance open to the public or installs gaming machines in public places (art. 282), with penalties doubled when children under 18 are drawn in and mandatory confiscation of stakes and equipment. The same penalties apply to organisers and agents of unauthorised lotteries (art. 283), and a lottery is any operation offered to the public that raises the hope of a gain acquired by chance (art. 284). Selling tickets for, or advertising, unauthorised lotteries carries one to three months and 200 to 1,000 dirhams (art. 285).
Law 23-71 of 31 December 1971 on the national lottery and authorised lotteries
Loi n 23-71 relative a la loterie nationale et aux loteries autorisees
Year
1971
In force
Yes
Summary
Institutes the national lottery, under conditions of management, organisation and control set by the Prime Minister. Prizes must equal 60% of each issue and are exempt from all taxes; the State's share goes to a special Treasury account. Other lotteries may be authorised only by order of the Secretary General of the Government, for declared charities and associations, for a single draw, with proceeds going to charity, the arts and sciences or sport. Applies from 1 January 1972.

Secondary instruments

General Tax Code, as amended by Finance Law 60-24 for 2025: arts. 70 bis, 73-II-G-9, 154 quater, 160 ter and 298 to 303
Code general des impots
Year
2025
In force
Yes
Summary
Makes foreign-source internet gambling winnings, in any form, a category of taxable income; requires credit institutions and anyone paying or involved in paying them to withhold 30% at source for winnings paid from 1 July 2025, with an annual declaration of each beneficiary; and creates a 2% social solidarity contribution on the net profit of those who pay gambling winnings, for financial years opened from 1 January 2025.
Law 77-03 on audiovisual communication, art. 2(3)(j) as added by Law 83-13 of 2015
Loi n 83-13 completant la loi n 77-03 relative a la communication audiovisuelle
Year
2015
In force
Yes
Summary
Classes as prohibited advertising any advertising message for a service or product harmful to health, naming games of chance and betting alongside firearms, alcohol and cigarettes. Breaches are sanctioned under art. 76 of Law 77-03, doubled on a repeat.

Key amendments

19 Sept 1977Dahir 1-77-58 amends and completes Penal Code art. 282 on gaming houses.
4 Aug 2015Law 83-13 adds games of chance and betting to the advertising prohibited on audiovisual media under Law 77-03.
1 Jan 2025Finance Law 60-24 for 2025 adds foreign-source internet gambling winnings to income tax and creates the 2% solidarity contribution on gambling operators' profits, which applies to financial years opened from this date.
1 Jul 2025The 30% withholding on foreign-source internet gambling winnings applies to winnings paid from this date.

Case law

MDJS v Maroc Telecom, Medi Telecom (Orange Maroc) and Wana (Inwi), Casablanca Commercial Court, interim order
12 Jan 2026
On an application by MDJS, supported by a bailiff's report of December 2025 on at least fifteen foreign sites reachable from Morocco, the interim judge ordered the three telecoms operators to block unauthorised online betting sites, their subdomains and associated IP addresses, under a penalty of 10,000 dirhams per day of delay. As reported; the order is not published.
Commercial Court of Appeal, appeal by the telecoms operators
10 Feb 2026
Set aside the interim order, releasing the operators from the blocking obligation and the daily penalty. The ruling does not decide the merits or question the legal reservation of sports betting to MDJS. As reported; the judgment is not published.

Licensing

Licence required: Not yet verified
Application window: Not yet verified
Local establishment required: Not yet verified
Local server required: Not yet verified
Barriers to entry: There is no licence to apply for. Sports betting, horse-race betting and the lottery are exclusive rights of state operators, and the Penal Code makes any unauthorised game of chance or lottery offered to the public an offence. The commercial route observed is to be contracted by a monopoly holder: SISAL Jeux Maroc, a joint venture of Sisal and Paddy Power, won MDJS's tender and signed an eight-year sports betting management contract, renewable for two, in February 2023. Land-based casinos operate under authorisation from the public authority, but the instrument and the granting authority were not located.

Licence types

Authorised lottery or tombola (single draw)
Scope
Declared charities and associations only, for lotteries or tombolas whose proceeds go exclusively to charity, the encouragement of letters, sciences and arts, or the development of physical education and sport. Not a route to commercial or online gambling.
Term
One draw
Renewal terms
A new order is needed for each draw.

Taxation

Headline GGR tax: Not yet verified
Effective date: 1 Jul 2025
Corporate tax: 20%
Player winnings tax: Foreign-source internet gambling winnings, in any form, are taxable income (General Tax Code art. 70 bis-2) and bear a 30% liberatory withholding (art. 73-II-G-9) on winnings paid from 1 July 2025. National lottery prizes are exempt from all taxes (Law 23-71 art. 5).
Withholding mechanism: Credit institutions and similar bodies, and any person who pays or takes part in paying foreign-source internet gambling winnings, withhold 30% for the Treasury (art. 160 ter) and remit it electronically before the end of the month after withholding (art. 174-VII). They must file an electronic declaration before 1 March each year giving, for each beneficiary, name, national identity card, residence card or tax number, gross winnings and tax withheld (art. 154 quater).
Tax base: There is no gaming duty on GGR or turnover. Anyone who pays out gambling winnings owes a 2% social solidarity contribution on the same net profit that is the base for corporate or income tax (General Tax Code arts. 298 to 300), declared and paid within three months of the financial year end (arts. 301 and 302), on top of corporate tax. The horse-race pool and the national lottery have their own statutory or published splits, listed under earmarked levies.

Earmarked levies

Social solidarity contribution on the profits of gambling businesses: 2% of net taxable profit (Collected by the tax administration (DGI); the Code does not state an earmarking)
Horse-race pari-mutuel split: 20% of the pool to the State and 10% to the equine industry and SOREC; winners receive up to 70% (State; equine industry and SOREC)
State share of national lottery sales (Special Treasury account "Fonds special des produits de loterie" (Law 23-71 art. 3))
MDJS results: All of MDJS's results (National Sports Development Fund (FNDS))

Compliance

Minimum age: 18+
National self-exclusion: Not yet verified
KYC requirements: Not yet verified
Stake limits: Not yet verified
Reporting obligations: Payers of foreign-source internet gambling winnings file an annual electronic return before 1 March listing each beneficiary's identity document or tax number, gross winnings and tax withheld (General Tax Code art. 154 quater). Gambling businesses declare net profit and the 2% solidarity contribution within three months of the year end (art. 301).

Minimum age by vertical

Online sports betting: 18+
Lottery and iLottery: 18+

Advertising

Advertising permitted: Not yet verified
Penalties for breach: Audiovisual breaches are sanctioned under Law 77-03 art. 76, doubled on a repeat. Advertising an unauthorised lottery carries one to three months in prison and a fine of 200 to 1,000 dirhams (Penal Code art. 285).

Restrictions

Advertising for games of chance and betting is prohibited advertising on audiovisual media (Law 77-03 art. 2(3)(j), added by Law 83-13 in 2015).
Advertising the existence of an unauthorised lottery, by notices, announcements, posters or any other means, is an offence (Penal Code art. 285), and art. 284 defines a lottery broadly enough to cover any game of chance offered to the public.
There is no licensed commercial market and so no gambling advertising code. Only the state operators, MDJS, SOREC and the Loterie Nationale, have lawful products to promote.
MDJS says it places prevention messages and the 18+ age limit on all its communication and game materials and on its tickets. This is its own policy, not a statutory requirement.

Payments

Credit card ban: Not yet verified
Crypto stance: Not yet verified
Payment blocking regime: No statutory duty on banks to block payments to offshore gambling sites was found. The payment chain is used for tax instead: credit institutions and anyone involved in paying foreign-source internet gambling winnings must withhold 30% and report each beneficiary (General Tax Code arts. 154 quater and 160 ter).

Enforcement

ISP blocking: Not yet verified
DNS blocking: Not yet verified
Payment blocking: Not yet verified
App store takedowns: Not yet verified
Criminal penalties: Three months to one year in prison and a fine of 1,200 to 100,000 dirhams for keeping an unauthorised gaming house or running an unauthorised lottery, doubled when children under 18 are drawn in, with mandatory confiscation of stakes, cash and equipment (Penal Code arts. 282 and 283). One to three months and 200 to 1,000 dirhams for selling tickets for, or advertising, an unauthorised lottery (art. 285).
Operator liability: Operators, bankers, administrators, agents and organisers of unauthorised games of chance and lotteries are criminally liable, and may also be deprived of certain civic rights and banned from specified places of residence for two to five years (Penal Code arts. 282 and 283).

Notable actions

Maroc Telecom, Orange Maroc and Inwi, over unauthorised betting sites including 1xBet, Betwinner, Melbet, Linebet and Stake12 Jan 2026
On an application by MDJS, the Casablanca Commercial Court ordered the three operators to block unauthorised online betting sites, their subdomains and IP addresses, under a penalty of 10,000 dirhams per day.
The same blocking order, on appeal by the telecoms operators10 Feb 2026
The Commercial Court of Appeal set aside the order, so the operators are no longer required to block the sites or pay the daily penalty. The merits were not decided.

Timeline

1 Jan 1972
Law 23-71 on the national lottery and authorised lotteries takes effect
19 Sept 1977
Dahir 1-77-58 amends Penal Code art. 282 on gaming houses
4 Aug 2015
Law 83-13 bans audiovisual advertising for games of chance and betting
8 Feb 2023
MDJS and SISAL Jeux Maroc sign an eight-year sports betting management contract
1 Jan 2025
2% solidarity contribution on gambling operators' profits applies to financial years opened from this date
1 Jul 2025
30% withholding on foreign-source internet gambling winnings begins
12 Jan 2026
Casablanca Commercial Court orders telecoms operators to block unauthorised betting sites
10 Feb 2026
Commercial Court of Appeal sets the blocking order aside
2 Sept 2026
Lottomatica agrees to absorb Cirsa, including four Moroccan casinos

Outlook

Two things to watch over the next year. The first is whether MDJS takes the blocking case further or seeks a legislative basis for blocking: the appeal ruling of 10 February 2026 left the telecoms operators without a blocking duty but did not question the monopoly. The second is the tax take from the 2025 measures, now in their second year: the 30% withholding on foreign internet winnings, reported each year before 1 March, and the 2% contribution on operators' profits. No Moroccan bill on online gambling was found at review; reports of a January 2026 bill to ban online gambling concern Tunisia, not Morocco. On the land-based side, Lottomatica's agreement to absorb Cirsa, announced on 2 September 2026, brings Cirsa's four Moroccan casinos into a larger listed group.

Frequently asked questions

Can a private operator get an online gambling licence in Morocco?: No. There is no licensing regime. Sports betting belongs to MDJS, horse-race betting to SOREC and the lottery to the Loterie Nationale. The only commercial route observed is a management contract with a monopoly holder, such as SISAL Jeux Maroc's contract with MDJS.
Is online casino legal in Morocco?: No authorisation route exists, and the Penal Code punishes any unauthorised game of chance or lottery offered to the public (arts. 282 to 284). We record it as prohibited with medium confidence because the Code does not mention the internet.
Are winnings from foreign betting sites taxed?: Yes. Foreign-source internet gambling winnings paid from 1 July 2025 bear a 30% withholding, collected by banks and other payment intermediaries under the General Tax Code arts. 73-II-G-9 and 160 ter.
How are gambling operators taxed?: There is no gaming duty. Anyone paying out gambling winnings owes a 2% social solidarity contribution on net profit, on top of corporate tax at 20% (35% where net profit reaches 100 million dirhams).
Must internet providers block illegal betting sites?: Not at present. A January 2026 interim order requiring the three telecoms operators to block unauthorised betting sites was set aside by the Commercial Court of Appeal on 10 February 2026.
Can gambling be advertised on television or radio?: No. Law 77-03, as amended by Law 83-13 in 2015, classes advertising for games of chance and betting as prohibited advertising on audiovisual media.
Who regulates gambling in Morocco?: No single national gambling regulator (state operators hold exclusive rights).

Glossary and directory

Glossary terms for this profile

iGT coverage of Morocco

St Peter's Basilica and the bridges over the Tiber in Rome at night

Corporate

4 Nov 2026

Lottomatica Holds Guidance and Cirsa Timing but Won't Size Its Budget Bill Cost

Lottomatica and Cirsa have both reported growth weeks before shareholders vote on their merger, and neither has sized Italy's budget bill. Equita puts up to €30 million of Lottomatica's annual EBITDA at stake before mitigation.

Rome at dusk, with St Peter's Basilica lit above the Ponte Sant'Angelo and its reflection in the Tiber

M&A

9 Oct 2026

Lottomatica and CIRSA Approve Merger Plan and Set Shareholder Votes for 23 and 25 November

The boards have signed the common merger plan that fixes the terms first announced in September: 0.668 Lottomatica shares per CIRSA share, a €262m CIRSA dividend before completion and a €744m capital return after it. With Blackstone committed, the votes are close to a formality. The regulators are not.

Sources

Source tiers. Tier 1: the law, official gazette, licence register or regulator itself. 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.

General Tax Code, 2026 edition (arts. 19, 70 bis, 73-II-G-9, 154 quater, 160 ter, 174-VII, 247-XXXVII and 298 to 303, with the transitional provisions of Finance Law 60-24 for 2025)
Direction Generale des Impots (DGI), Ministry of Economy and Finance (translated)
Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 31 Dec 2025
Penal Code, consolidated version at 20 April 2023, Book III Title I Chapter V Section V, arts. 282 to 286 (gaming houses, lotteries)
Ministry of Justice (Adala legal portal) (translated)
Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
Law 23-71 of 31 December 1971 on the national lottery and authorised lotteries (B.O. 3101 of 5 April 1972)
Secretariat General of the Government (SGG) (translated)
Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 5 Apr 1972
Law 83-13 supplementing Law 77-03 on audiovisual communication, promulgated by Dahir 1-15-120 of 4 August 2015 (B.O. 6410 of 5 November 2015, French edition)
Bulletin officiel du Royaume du Maroc, reproduced by WIPO Lex (translated)
Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 5 Nov 2015
Our mission
La Marocaine des Jeux et des Sports (MDJS) (translated)
MDJS states its monopoly but cites no dahir or decree. Trade and press reports refer to a dahir of 29 July 1966, a 1970 text and a 2016 convention with the State running to 2036; none of these instruments was located on an official host at review, so none is asserted.
Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
Governance
La Marocaine des Jeux et des Sports (MDJS) (translated)
Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
Responsible gaming
La Marocaine des Jeux et des Sports (MDJS) (translated)
Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
Signing of the games operation management contract between MDJS and SISAL Jeux Maroc for sports betting in Morocco
La Marocaine des Jeux et des Sports (MDJS) (translated)
Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 8 Feb 2023
SOREC, Societe Royale d Encouragement du Cheval (E-SOREC and SOREC Jeux)
SOREC (translated)
Describes SOREC and its online platforms but does not cite the legal instrument behind its exclusivity, so none is asserted.
Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
Games and Betting
SOREC
Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
Loterie Nationale du Maroc
Loterie Nationale (SGLN) (translated)
Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
Justice: MDJS obtains a court order blocking illegal betting sites
La Vie eco (translated)
The order itself is not published. The date, the parties and the penalty are as reported.
Tier 3Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 14 Jan 2026
Telecoms operators released from the obligation to block illegal online betting
Le Nouvelliste (Maroc) (translated)
The appeal judgment is not published. Its date and effect are as reported.
Tier 3Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 10 Feb 2026
Lottomatica/Cirsa tie-up shines spotlight on North Africa's online betting licensing gap
iGaming Business (iGB)
Used only for land-based context (Cirsa's four Moroccan casinos, the Lottomatica deal) and a quotation from Cirsa's prospectus. The paragraph on bill 2026/009 in the same article concerns Tunisia, not Morocco.
Tier 3Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 11 Sept 2026