Online gambling in Algeria: regulation, licence and market guide

Is online gambling legal in Algeria?

Algerian law leaves no room for private or online gambling. The Penal Code (Ordinance 66-156) punishes keeping an unauthorized gaming house or running an unauthorized lottery with three months to one year in prison, fines and mandatory confiscation, and punishes selling or advertising unauthorized lottery tickets. The only lawful games are the sports pools, Loto Erriadhi, Loto Mohtaref and scratch cards of the Pari Sportif Algérien (PSA), a public establishment created by Ordinance 66-314 of 1966, and pari-mutuel betting at the country's hippodromes run by the Société des Courses Hippiques et du Pari Mutuel. Law 18-05 of 10 May 2018 on electronic commerce expressly prohibits transactions in gambling, betting and lotteries by electronic means, so even the state operators have no online sales. Officials have acknowledged the spread of foreign betting apps, and a 2025 parliamentary question pressed the telecoms ministry for blocking and prosecutions.

Prohibited: Online gambling is illegal for operators and players and is enforced.

Who regulates gambling in Algeria?

• Ministry of Youth and Sports (MJS) — Supervising ministry of the Pari Sportif Algérien, the public establishment that organizes sports pools and lotto games
• Pari Sportif Algérien (PSA) — Public industrial and commercial establishment holding the state monopoly on sports pools, lotto draws and scratch cards, sold through physical outlets only
• Ministry of Post and Telecommunications (MPT) — Ministry responsible for internet policy, questioned by parliament in 2025 about action against foreign betting platforms

Algeria gambling licence: how it works

There is no Algeria gambling licence for private companies. Sports pools and lotto are the monopoly of the PSA under Ordinance 66-314 of 14 October 1966, whose stated purpose is to fund sport and youth, and horse-race betting is confined to the hippodromes of the pari-mutuel company. The Penal Code treats any other gaming house or lottery as unauthorized and criminal, and Law 18-05 of 2018 closes the online channel entirely by listing gambling, betting and lotteries among the transactions that may not be conducted by electronic means, alongside alcohol, tobacco and pharmaceuticals. A 2025 financial diagnosis of the PSA found it loss-making, with no online platform, no mobile app and no remote payment, and no reform allowing digitization or private participation has been adopted. A foreign operator has no application to make and no lawful basis to accept Algerian residents.

What an applicant needs

• No licensing authority, application process or fee exists for casinos, private betting, poker or online gambling
• Sports pools and lotto games are reserved to the PSA; horse-race pari-mutuel betting is reserved to the pari-mutuel company at hippodromes
• Electronic commerce in gambling, betting and lotteries is prohibited by Law 18-05 of 2018, Article 3
• Foreign-exchange rules restrict residents' payments abroad, and gambling transactions fall outside authorized e-commerce

Gambling taxes in Algeria

• Operators: The PSA transfers its results to sport and youth funding under its founding ordinance; no private operator tax regime exists because none may operate.
• Players: Not published in primary sources reviewed; secondary sources describe a withholding on PSA prizes, which should be confirmed with the operator.

Advertising, player protection, KYC and payments

Advertising

Only the PSA and the pari-mutuel company have lawful products to promote. Making an unauthorized lottery known by notices, advertisements or any other publicity, or facilitating the issue of its tickets, is an offense under Article 168 of the Penal Code, and in 2025 a member of parliament called for prosecution of influencers promoting betting apps after a 2024 public campaign forced one to apologize.

Responsible gaming

Not applicable beyond the PSA's retail games; there is no lawful online market and no responsible-gaming code.

Identity and age verification

Not applicable to gambling. Banks apply the Anti-Money Laundering Law and Bank of Algeria exchange-control rules, which restrict foreign-currency payments by residents.

Payments

No electronic payment for gambling is lawful under Law 18-05. Legal PSA games are sold for cash at outlets; residents' international card payments are tightly limited by exchange controls, and the 2025 parliamentary question linked foreign betting platforms to anti-money-laundering violations.

Notable restrictions

• Keeping an unauthorized gaming house: three months to one year in prison, a fine of DZD 500–20,000, confiscation of stakes and equipment (Penal Code Article 165)
• Organizing an unauthorized lottery carries the same penalties (Article 166)
• Selling or advertising unauthorized lottery tickets: one to three months in prison and a fine of DZD 500–5,000 (Article 168)
• Electronic commerce in gambling, betting and lotteries is prohibited (Law 18-05 of 2018)
• No casinos are licensed; horse-race bets may be placed only at hippodromes

Algeria iGaming market: size, players and payments

The PSA reported turnover of about DZD 254 million and a net loss of about DZD 141 million for 2022 in a diagnosis published in 2025 (Maghreb Emergent citing the Finabi report); no reliable estimate exists for unlawful online play.

The PSA has no online platform or mobile app; its digital presence is limited to social-media pages announcing results (Finabi diagnosis, 2025).

Two state operators selling through physical channels only, and no licensed private or online operator.

Timeline: how Algeria got here

1. 1966-06Penal Code (Ordinance 66-156) criminalizes unauthorized gaming houses and lotteries (Articles 165–168)
2. 1966-10Ordinance 66-314 creates the Pari Sportif Algérien to organize sports pools and fund sport
3. 2018-05Law 18-05 on electronic commerce prohibits electronic transactions in gambling, betting and lotteries
4. 2025Parliamentary question presses the telecoms ministry on foreign betting platforms; a Finabi diagnosis finds the PSA loss-making with no digital channel

Outlook

No change is expected in the prohibition. Debate in 2025 centered on enforcement, with a member of parliament seeking blocking, prosecution of promoters and penalties for tools used to reach foreign platforms, while the ministry pointed to awareness campaigns. Modernizing the PSA has been discussed in the press but would require amending Law 18-05, and no bill has been published. There is no proposal to license private or online gambling.

GameBridge and Algeria

Not served by GameBridge. Algeria prohibits private gambling, bans all electronic commerce in gambling and betting and licenses no one, so GameBridge brands exclude Algeria by default; this page exists so compliance teams can verify the position quickly.

Algeria is on the default exclusion list of every GameBridge brand: geo-controls block Algerian IP ranges and registrations, Algerian identity documents are rejected at onboarding, and the dinar is not offered as a wallet currency. The Arabic and French site languages remain available for brands in other markets where the operator's counsel has confirmed that residents may be served. Compliance teams can use this page to confirm the Penal Code provisions and the Law 18-05 ban on electronic gambling transactions. GameBridge offers no configuration that targets players in Algeria.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and review

Reviewed against the sources below on 11 September 2026. Regulation changes; confirm the current position with local counsel before launch.

• Code pénal (Ordonnance n° 66-156 du 8 juin 1966, modifiée jusqu'à la loi n° 11-14), Articles 165–169 — WIPO Lex, accessed 2026-09-11
• Summary of relevant laws and regulations for investors in Algeria (Law 18-05 on e-commerce) — Oxford Business Group, accessed 2026-09-11
• Algeria: law on the post and electronic communications and the e-commerce law (Law 18-05 prohibited transactions) — Tahseen Consulting, accessed 2026-09-11
• Figé dans le 20e siècle, le pari sportif algérien en quasi-faillite — Maghreb Emergent, accessed 2026-09-11
• European football fuels online betting black market in Algeria — The New Arab, accessed 2026-09-11
• Un aperçu du statut légal des jeux d'argent en ligne en Algérie — Algérie360, accessed 2026-09-11

Regulatory summaries are provided for orientation only and are not legal advice. Licensing requirements change; we validate them with you during scoping.