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Sovereign state
Africa
ISO SN

Senegal: gambling regulation and licensing

  • Online sports bettingMonopoly
  • Online casinoMonopoly
  • Online pokerMonopoly
  • Lottery and iLotteryMonopoly
  • Horse race bettingMonopoly
  • Land-based (reference)Regulated
Regulator
Loterie Nationale Sénégalaise
Headline tax
7% of stakes
Licence required
Yes
Last verified
23 Sept 2026

Summary

Senegal runs gambling as a state monopoly. The Loterie Nationale Sénégalaise (LONASE), a public company placed under the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Plan, holds the exclusive right to organise games of chance, betting and lotteries, and cites Law 87-43 of 1987 as its basis. There is no independent regulator and no open licensing regime. Private operators, including international betting brands, work under agreements with LONASE, a model the General Tax Code recognises by requiring LONASE to report each partner and its commissions every year. LONASE itself sells lotteries, PMU horse race betting and sports betting, and runs LONASE.BET for online sports, casino and virtual games. Casinos sit under a separate 1966 law, amended in 1975: each needs an authorisation by decree, and Senegalese nationals are barred from gaming rooms. Tax changed sharply with Law 2025-17 of 27 September 2025. Operators pay 20% on the revenue share LONASE passes to them, players lose 20% of their winnings, and a 7% stamp duty applies to stakes on betting and lottery tickets. The yield has disappointed: the government has cut its 2026 forecast for gambling taxation from XOF 300 billion to XOF 120 billion, reports that the winnings levy reached only half its target by June 2026, and says a supervision platform for operators is being built. Casinos and the lottery carry full AML duties under Law 2024-08. LONASE says platforms outside its authorised list are illegal and has reportedly filed a criminal complaint against several offshore sites. A new Advertising Code, which the Minister of Communication has said would ban gambling advertising, is pending.

Common pitfalls

LONASE is an operator holding a monopoly, not a licensing authority, so an agreement with LONASE is the only route to market and there is no public register to check. The 20% operator tax is charged on the revenue share LONASE pays, not on GGR. The casino law still bars Senegalese nationals from gaming rooms as amended in 1975.

Key facts

Regulator
Loterie Nationale Sénégalaise (LONASE)
Regulator type
Lottery monopoly
Headline tax
7% of stakes
Licence required
Yes
Minimum age
18+
Tax base
Three levies. (1) A 20% tax on the revenue of operators of games of chance and entertainment, charged on the amount paid to the operator, triggered when the operator's share of winnings is made available to it (CGI article 212 quater): in the LONASE model, the share or commission LONASE pays to a partner. (2) A 7% stamp duty on the sums staked on pari mutuel tickets on and off course, lotto slips and games of chance and forecasts distributed in written or audiovisual form, per race or game (stamp duty tariff, Law 2021-29); this is the turnover rate entered. Whether it reaches every online product was not confirmed. (3) A 20% levy on winnings (see player winnings). There is no GGR tax.

How to get a gambling licence in Senegal

Online casino and online sports betting in Senegal are state monopolies: only a single state-owned or designated operator is permitted.

The regulator is Loterie Nationale Sénégalaise (LONASE).

We record 2 licence types for Senegal.

Fee basis
Partnership agreement (convention) with LONASE: The partner receives a share of revenue or commission from LONASE, on which the 20% operator tax is withheld (CGI articles 31 sexies and 212 quater). No published fee schedule or application procedure was found.
Headline tax
7% of stakes (see Taxation for the full position)

Built from the record on this page, last verified 23 Sept 2026. The Licensing and Taxation sections carry the full detail and sources.

Licensing

Licence required
Yes
Application window
Not yet verified
Local establishment required
Not yet verified
Local server required
Not yet verified
Notable licensees
Loterie Nationale Sénégalaise (LONASE), state monopoly holder
Barriers to entry
There is no open licensing regime for betting, lotteries or online games: private operators reach the market only through an agreement with LONASE, and no public procedure, fee or register for those agreements was found. LONASE's published list of authorised platforms, as reported on 1 July 2026, named Click Digital Marketing, Sunubet, Lonase.bet, Betclic, Bwinners, PMU Online, Lonase 22bet, Lonase Way, Lonase-Loto-Senegal, PMU Sénégal, Linebet, Mojabet, Melbet, Megalink, Betsama, LPbet and Service Online International (1xBet). Casinos need an authorisation by decree, limited to one per administrative region outside the Cap-Vert region.

Licence types

  • Partnership agreement (convention) with LONASE

    Scope
    Private companies organising games and bets in Senegal, including online, under an agreement with the monopoly holder
    Fee basis
    The partner receives a share of revenue or commission from LONASE, on which the 20% operator tax is withheld (CGI articles 31 sexies and 212 quater). No published fee schedule or application procedure was found.

  • Casino (gaming establishment) authorisation by decree

    Scope
    Land-based casinos and, where the decree allows, slot machines; one establishment per administrative region, with exceptions in the Cap-Vert region

Taxation

Headline GGR tax
Not yet verified
Effective date
2 Oct 2025
Turnover tax
7%
Corporate tax
30%
Player winnings tax
20% levy on winnings paid by operators of games of chance (CGI article 212 quinquies, Law 2025-17). LONASE announced that it would apply the levy from 1 November 2025 in its retail network and from mid November 2025 online. Lottery prizes are excluded from the income tax base (CGI article 54 III).
Withholding mechanism
The operator tax and the winnings levy are withheld by the holder of the monopoly of games of chance, under its own responsibility, and paid to the tax office within the first 15 days of the following month. The 7% stamp duty is withheld by the organiser on the same timetable.
Tax base
Three levies. (1) A 20% tax on the revenue of operators of games of chance and entertainment, charged on the amount paid to the operator, triggered when the operator's share of winnings is made available to it (CGI article 212 quater): in the LONASE model, the share or commission LONASE pays to a partner. (2) A 7% stamp duty on the sums staked on pari mutuel tickets on and off course, lotto slips and games of chance and forecasts distributed in written or audiovisual form, per race or game (stamp duty tariff, Law 2021-29); this is the turnover rate entered. Whether it reaches every online product was not confirmed. (3) A 20% levy on winnings (see player winnings). There is no GGR tax.

Earmarked levies

  • Tax on the revenue of operators of games of chance (taxe sur les revenus des opérateurs de jeux de hasard): 20% of the amount paid to the operator (State budget)
  • Stamp duty on betting and lottery tickets (droit de timbre, pari mutuel): 7% of stakes (State budget)

Compliance

Minimum age
18+
National self-exclusion
Not yet verified
KYC timing
Threshold-based, and systematically on suspicion of money laundering or terrorist financing whatever the amount (Law 2024-08 article 49).
AML regime
Casinos, including internet casinos, and gaming establishments, including the national lottery, are designated non-financial businesses and professions under Law 2024-08, subject to customer due diligence, record keeping for ten years, registers of chip operations and inter-casino transfers (article 50), and reporting to CENTIF of cash transactions above a threshold (article 72).
AML supervisor
Direction générale de la Police nationale for casinos and private gaming establishments, and Direction générale de la Comptabilité publique et du Trésor for the national lottery (Decree 2019-1500, annex); CENTIF is the financial intelligence unit. A later Decree 2025-1832 on the same subject was not read.
Central monitoring system
None in operation found. The government's budget execution report to 30 June 2026 says a supervision platform for gaming operators is being set up to fix under-collection of the winnings levy.
KYC requirements
Casinos and gaming establishments must identify, with an original valid official document bearing a photograph (copied), players who buy, bring or exchange chips or plaques at or above a threshold set by the competent authority (Law 2024-08 article 50). Gaming operators must identify occasional customers above thresholds set separately for ordinary customers and for their own legal representatives and directors (article 49).
Stake limits
Not yet verified
Mandatory player messaging
No statutory message was found. LONASE's own charter and pages carry the warning "Jouer comporte des risques : dépendance, isolement… Appelez le 800 00 50 50 pour obtenir de l'aide. Interdit aux mineurs (-18)" and refer players to CEPIAD, the Dakar integrated addiction treatment centre.
Reporting obligations
LONASE must send its tax office, by 31 January each year, a table of every company holding an agreement with it to organise games and bets, with each company's name, registered office, tax number and the annual commissions paid (CGI article 31 sexies). Casinos and gaming companies must pass the AML records they keep to the tax authority (CGI article 31 septies).

Advertising

Advertising permitted
Yes
Bonus advertising rules
LONASE's charter says advertising may not encourage loyalty through the easy granting of cards or bonuses.
Mandatory warnings
None prescribed by statute. LONASE uses: "Jouer comporte des risques : dépendance, isolement… Appelez le 800 00 50 50 pour obtenir de l'aide. Interdit aux mineurs (-18)."

Restrictions

  • No gambling-specific advertising statute was found. LONASE says its advertising follows Law 83-20 of 28 January 1983 on advertising and the World Lottery Association responsible gaming standards.
  • LONASE's charter applies to LONASE, its retailers, advertising, promotion and production agencies and other contractors working on gambling and betting campaigns.
  • Under the charter, advertising must not suggest guaranteed or excessive winnings, invite excessive play, or present gambling as a way out of financial difficulty, an alternative to work or savings, or a solution to personal problems.
  • It must not target or use minors, or use terms, gestures and codes widely used by minors.
  • It must not be placed near health facilities, schools or places of worship, and must not be linked to quick loans for gambling.
  • It must not encourage chasing losses or criticise people who do not gamble, and must present the chances of winning correctly.

Enforcement

ISP blocking
Not yet verified
DNS blocking
Not yet verified
Payment blocking
Not yet verified
App store takedowns
Not yet verified
Criminal penalties
Keeping a gaming house without authorisation by decree, or setting up or running a lottery not authorised by law: two to six months' imprisonment and a fine of XOF 20,000 to 500,000, possible loss of civic rights for five to ten years, and confiscation of stakes, equipment and furnishings (Penal Code article 388).
Operator liability
Unauthorised operators and their staff face prosecution under Penal Code article 388. LONASE has warned that owners of platforms outside its authorised list, and payment operators that serve them, face prosecution.

Notable actions

  • Online platforms Mégapari, Paris Massif, Pesa, Afropari, Betpari, Wowo-bet, iwin, 888starz and 1Wxsj, and two payment service providers

    LONASE filed a complaint in early July 2026 after an online games check; an investigation was reportedly opened for criminal association, illegal operation of games of chance, money laundering, aggravated tax fraud and complicity by providing payment means. No outcome has been reported.

Timeline

  1. 30 Jun 1966

    Law 66-58 regulates gaming establishments (casinos)

  2. 2 Jun 1975

    Law 75-59 allows slot machines in casinos and bars Senegalese nationals from gaming rooms

  3. 23 Dec 1987

    Law 87-43 authorises the creation of LONASE as a national company

  4. 18 Sept 2019

    Decree 2019-1500 names AML supervisors for casinos and the national lottery

  5. 5 Jul 2021

    Law 2021-29 sets the 7% stamp duty on betting and lottery stakes

  6. 1 Sept 2022

    Decree 2022-1578 creates a division for the surveillance of gaming establishments in the Ministry of the Interior

  7. 15 Dec 2023

    Law 2023-18 requires LONASE to report its partner companies and their commissions to the tax authority

  8. 14 Feb 2024

    AML Law 2024-08 designates casinos, internet casinos and the national lottery as reporting entities

  9. 27 Sept 2025

    Law 2025-17 creates the 20% operator tax and 20% levy on winnings

  10. 12 Nov 2025

    Council of Ministers adopts the draft Advertising Code

  11. 1 Jul 2026

    Abdourahmane Baldé appointed Director General of LONASE

Outlook

Watch the 2026 amending finance law, which cuts the expected gambling tax yield to XOF 120 billion, and the supervision platform for gaming operators that the Ministry of Finance says is being set up to improve collection of the 20% winnings levy. The draft Advertising Code adopted by the Council of Ministers in November 2025 still has to pass the National Assembly, and its treatment of gambling advertising should be checked against the final text. LONASE has a new Director General since July 2026, and its July 2026 complaint against unauthorised platforms and payment providers may produce the first court outcomes against offshore operators.

Frequently asked questions

Can a private company get a licence to offer online betting in Senegal?
Not a licence in the usual sense. LONASE holds the monopoly on games of chance, and private operators work under agreements with it, which LONASE must report to the tax authority each year. No public procedure or fee for those agreements was found. LONASE has said that platforms outside its published list of authorised partners are illegal.
How are gambling operators taxed?
Since Law 2025-17 of 27 September 2025, operators pay a 20% tax on the amounts LONASE pays them, withheld by LONASE. A 7% stamp duty applies to stakes on pari mutuel tickets, lotto slips and games of chance and forecasts, withheld by the organiser. Corporate income tax is 30%.
Are players' winnings taxed?
Yes. A 20% levy on winnings, withheld by the monopoly holder, was created by Law 2025-17; LONASE announced it would apply it from 1 November 2025 in retail and from mid November online. Lottery prizes are excluded from income tax.
Can casinos operate in Senegal?
Yes, with an authorisation by decree under Law 66-58 of 1966 as amended in 1975: one establishment per administrative region, with exceptions in the Cap-Vert (Dakar) region, and slot machines only if the decree allows them. The 1975 amendment bars Senegalese nationals from gaming rooms. Keeping a gaming house without authorisation is punishable under Penal Code article 388.
What AML obligations apply to gambling operators?
Law 2024-08 treats casinos, including internet casinos, and gaming establishments, including the national lottery, as reporting entities. They must identify players above thresholds, keep registers and records for ten years and report cash transactions above a threshold to CENTIF. The police supervise casinos and the Treasury supervises the national lottery under Decree 2019-1500.
Is gambling advertising restricted?
No gambling-specific advertising statute was found. LONASE applies its own responsible marketing charter to itself and its partners, including a ban on targeting minors and on placing ads near schools, health facilities and places of worship. A draft Advertising Code adopted by the Council of Ministers in November 2025 is pending, and the Minister of Communication said in January 2025 that it would ban gambling advertising.
How much does a gambling licence cost in Senegal?
For the Partnership agreement (convention) with LONASE: The partner receives a share of revenue or commission from LONASE, on which the 20% operator tax is withheld (CGI articles 31 sexies and 212 quater). No published fee schedule or application procedure was found. Last verified 23 Sept 2026.
Who regulates gambling in Senegal?
Loterie Nationale Sénégalaise (LONASE) regulates gambling in Senegal. Other authorities with a role include Ministry of Economy, Finance and Plan and Direction générale des Impôts et des Domaines (DGID).
Is online gambling legal in Senegal?
Online casino and online sports betting are both a state monopoly in Senegal. The status of every vertical is at the top of this page. Last verified 23 Sept 2026.

Events in Senegal

No upcoming events in Senegal are listed yet. See the full events calendar.

Past events

Glossary and directory

iGT coverage of Senegal

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

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. 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. Law No. 2025-17 of 27 September 2025 amending Law No. 2012-31 of 31 December 2012 on the General Tax Code (Journal Officiel No. 7853, special issue of 2 October 2025)

    Journal Officiel de la République du Sénégal, via Vie-Publique.sn (translated)

    Article 212 quinquies, inserted by article 3, applies the levy on winnings to operators "referred to in article 212 ter", but article 212 ter concerns withholding on medical fees; the operators are defined in the new article 212 quater. The record reads the cross-reference as meaning article 212 quater.

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 2 Oct 2025
  2. General Tax Code (Law No. 2012-31 of 31 December 2012), annotated consolidation updated to January 2025

    Direction générale des Impôts et des Domaines (DGID) (translated)

    The consolidation predates Law 2025-17, whose articles 212 quater and 212 quinquies are recorded from the Journal Officiel.

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published Jan 2025
  3. Law No. 75-59 of 2 June 1975 amending and supplementing Law No. 66-58 of 30 June 1966 on the organisation and regulation of gaming establishments, with the bill, explanatory memorandum and finance committee report

    Direction des Relations avec les Institutions (CDIIG), République du Sénégal (translated)

    Scanned parliamentary file; the text of Law 66-58 itself was not found online, and no consolidated version showing later amendments was available.

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 2 Jun 1975
  4. Law No. 87-43 of 23 December 1987 authorising the creation of a national company named Loterie Nationale Sénégalaise (LONASE): parliamentary archive record

    Direction des Relations avec les Institutions (CDIIG), République du Sénégal (translated)

    The archive record gives the title and date. Its attached PDF is served truncated after the first pages, so the operative articles, including any monopoly clause, were not read.

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 23 Dec 1987
  5. Penal Code (Law No. 65-60 of 21 July 1965, as amended), article 388: consolidated text published in the CENTIF legal library

    Cellule Nationale de Traitement des Informations Financières (CENTIF) (translated)

    A consolidation compiled by Jurisconsult and published by CENTIF; the latest amendment it cites is from 2014. Later amending laws (including Law 2016-29, also on the CENTIF site as a scan) were not checked for changes to article 388.

    Tier 2Accessed 23 Sept 2026
  6. Law No. 2024-08 of 14 February 2024 on combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism and of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (Journal Officiel No. 7716 of 20 March 2024)

    Cellule Nationale de Traitement des Informations Financières (CENTIF) (translated)

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 14 Feb 2024
  7. Decree No. 2019-1500 of 18 September 2019 on the supervision and control of non-financial reporting entities in combating money laundering and terrorist financing, with annexed table of supervisors

    Cellule Nationale de Traitement des Informations Financières (CENTIF) (translated)

    CENTIF also lists Decree No. 2025-1832 on the supervision and control of non-financial reporting entities, which may replace this decree; its link on the CENTIF site is broken and its text was not read.

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 18 Sept 2019
  8. Decree No. 2022-1578 of 1 September 2022 amending Decree No. 2020-790 on the organisation of the Ministry of the Interior (division for the surveillance of gaming establishments)

    Cellule Nationale de Traitement des Informations Financières (CENTIF) (translated)

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 1 Sept 2022
  9. CENTIF: national AML and CFT legal framework (list of laws, decrees and orders)

    Cellule Nationale de Traitement des Informations Financières (CENTIF) (translated)

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
  10. LONASE: Présentation

    Loterie Nationale Sénégalaise (LONASE) (translated)

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
  11. LONASE: Gouvernance & Organisation

    Loterie Nationale Sénégalaise (LONASE) (translated)

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
  12. LONASE: Questions fréquentes

    Loterie Nationale Sénégalaise (LONASE) (translated)

    Several answers on the page still carry the editorial placeholder "[À CONFIRMER]"; the record uses only the list of games and the age rule, which are unqualified.

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
  13. LONASE: Charte Marketing & Publicité Responsable (responsible marketing and advertising charter)

    Loterie Nationale Sénégalaise (LONASE) (translated)

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
  14. LONASE: Prévention & Sensibilisation

    Loterie Nationale Sénégalaise (LONASE) (translated)

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
  15. LONASE: Abdourahmane Baldé named Director General (July 2026)

    Loterie Nationale Sénégalaise (LONASE) (translated)

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 17 Jul 2026
  16. LONASE.BET online platform (sports, live, casino, virtual, PMU and Sen Loto Jackpot sections)

    Loterie Nationale Sénégalaise (LONASE)

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
  17. Council of Ministers of 1 July 2026, official communiqué (individual measures: Director General of LONASE, under the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Plan)

    Primature, Gouvernement du Sénégal (translated)

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 1 Jul 2026
  18. Council of Ministers of 12 November 2025, official communiqué (draft law on the Advertising Code adopted)

    Primature, Gouvernement du Sénégal (translated)

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 12 Nov 2025
  19. Quarterly budget execution report to 30 June 2026 (RTEB, second quarter 2026)

    Direction générale du Budget, Ministère de l'Economie, des Finances et du Plan (translated)

    Tier 2Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published Sept 2026
  20. Draft amending finance law for 2026 (projet de loi de finances rectificative), general explanatory memorandum

    Direction générale du Budget, Ministère de l'Economie, des Finances et du Plan (translated)

    Tier 2Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published Sept 2026
  21. Online games: LONASE publishes the list of authorised platforms and warns bettors against clandestine sites

    Dakaractu

    Reports a LONASE communiqué that was not found on lonase.sn. The page is dated Wednesday 1 July 2026.

    Tier 3Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 1 Jul 2026
  22. Illegal online betting: LONASE pursues sites for money laundering and tax fraud

    PressAfrik

    Relays a report in the daily Libération on a LONASE complaint; the complaint itself was not published.

    Tier 3Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 20 Jul 2026
  23. LONASE: a 20% tax will be deducted from winnings from November (Le Soleil, via allAfrica)

    Le Soleil (Dakar), via allAfrica

    Reports a LONASE communiqué on applying Law 2025-17; the communiqué itself was not found on lonase.sn.

    Tier 3Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 31 Oct 2025
  24. Senegal: gambling advertising will soon be banned, according to the Minister of Communication

    Ecomnews Afrique

    Tier 3Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 18 Jan 2025

Spotted something out of date? Report a correction.

This page is industry reference information and not legal advice.

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