Online gambling in Rwanda: regulation, licence and market guide

Is online gambling legal in Rwanda?

Gambling in Rwanda is governed by Law n°58/2011 of 31 December 2011 and licensing orders from 2013, with the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) acting as regulator through its National Lottery and Gambling Commission since a Prime Minister's Order of 28 June 2024. Licensing was suspended in June 2024 while the government wrote a 2024 Gambling Policy and began drafting a new law; it reopened on 1 August 2025 through expressions of interest, and in July 2026 the RDB granted licences to Betway and ForteBet for online sports betting and online casino and to ElephantBet for online sports betting after a competitive evaluation. The 2025 income tax amendments replaced corporate tax for gaming companies with a 40% tax on gross gaming revenue and raised withholding on player winnings from 15% to 25%.

Regulated: Private operators can hold a local licence for online casino and/or betting.

Who regulates gambling in Rwanda?

• Rwanda Development Board – National Lottery and Gambling Commission (RDB (NLGC)) — Regulator of gaming activities since July 2024: licensing by competitive process, supervision, sanctions and custody of the national lottery concession
• Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) — Collects the 40% gaming tax on gross gaming revenue and the 25% withholding on winnings

Rwanda gambling licence: how it works

Until the new legal framework is enacted, licensing runs under Law n°58/2011, Ministerial Order n°01/013 of 20 June 2013 on licensing procedures and fees, and Ministerial Order n°001/MINICOM/2023 on administrative sanctions. The RDB does not run an open application window: its 1 August 2025 public notice resumed licensing for land-based casinos and invited expressions of interest for land-based sports betting, online sports betting and online casino by 30 September 2025, after which shortlisted applicants went through a competitive evaluation of financial strength, technical capacity and responsible gambling commitments. Each gambling category is licensed separately, and the 2024 policy calls for minimum investment thresholds and competitive bidding to limit operator numbers. The RDB confirmed 15 licensees in July 2026, including the national lottery operator, before suspending one sportsbook for offering casino games outside its licence.

What an applicant needs

• Rwandan-registered company with disclosed shareholders and proof of investment capacity
• Separate licence for each category (land-based casino, land-based or online sports betting, online casino)
• Selection through the RDB's expression-of-interest and competitive evaluation process
• Licensed software that reports revenue to the regulator and supports RRA tax reporting
• Responsible gambling, age verification and anti-money-laundering controls
• Annual licence fee payable to the RDB under the 2013 Ministerial Order

Gambling taxes in Rwanda

• Operators: 40% of gross gaming revenue (wagers less winnings paid), payable monthly, with gaming companies exempt from corporate income tax; the rate applied from three months after the 29 May 2025 gazette notice and replaced a 13% gaming tax plus 28% corporate income tax. The national lottery is excluded from the 40% rate.
• Players: 25% withholding tax on net winnings (winnings minus the wager), deducted at cash-out, up from 15% under the same 2025 amendments.
• Also: Operators also contribute to the Rwanda Social Security Board for employees. The 2024 Gambling Policy states that gambling operators are not eligible for the fiscal investment incentives available to other sectors, and licence conditions can include contributions to sport.

Advertising, player protection, KYC and payments

Advertising

Advertising is subject to RDB approval and the administrative sanctions order of 2023; the 2024 Gambling Policy calls for advertising limits aimed at protecting minors and low-income players, and the RDB ordered the suspended operator Forzza to remove all advertising in July 2026. Detailed advertising rules are expected in the new law.

Responsible gaming

Minors may not gamble and operators must run age verification; the 2024 policy prioritizes harm reduction for sports betting, proposes restricting ATMs and mobile money agents near betting premises and requires operators to intervene where betting patterns indicate problem gambling. Self-exclusion and limit tools are expected to become statutory under the new framework.

Identity and age verification

Identity and age verification at registration, transaction monitoring under Rwanda's anti-money-laundering law and reporting to the Financial Intelligence Centre; operators must use licensed software that reports revenue directly to the regulator.

Payments

Deposits and withdrawals run through MTN Mobile Money and Airtel Money, with bank transfers for larger sums; operators withhold 25% of net winnings at cash-out. The policy discourages cash-access facilities at betting premises.

Notable restrictions

• No open licensing window: entry is through RDB expression-of-interest rounds and competitive evaluation
• Operating outside the licensed category (for example casino games under a sports betting licence) leads to immediate suspension
• 40% GGR tax and 25% withholding on winnings since 2025
• Gambling operators excluded from investment tax incentives
• New legal framework pending; existing 2011 law and 2013 orders continue to apply

Rwanda iGaming market: size, players and payments

Rwanda Revenue Authority data in the 2024 Gambling Policy show stakes of about RWF 252 billion in 2023 against winnings of RWF 230.8 billion, operator revenue above RWF 21 billion and gaming tax of about RWF 2.3 billion; turnover had peaked at RWF 92.5 billion in 2019 before the pandemic.

The policy reported 13 active licences in 2024 (7 sports betting, 2 casinos, 4 internet gaming, 1 national lottery), down from 26 in 2021, with three companies generating more than 60% of tax.

Rwandan betting is mobile-money led through MTN MoMo and Airtel Money, supported by rising smartphone and internet penetration.

Fourteen licensees remained after the July 2026 suspension of Forzza, including new entrants Betway, ForteBet and ElephantBet; Moja Rwanda Limited became national lottery operator in April 2026 after the RDB terminated Inzozi Lotto's licence in October 2025.

Timeline: how Rwanda got here

1. 2011-12Law n°58/2011 governing gaming activities is gazetted
2. 2013-06Ministerial Order n°01/013 sets licensing procedures and fees; first licences issued in October 2013
3. 2023-03Ministerial Order n°001/MINICOM/2023 sets administrative sanctions for gaming operators
4. 2024-06Licensing of new and existing operators suspended; Prime Minister's Order n°028/03 transfers regulation to the RDB
5. 2024-10Rwanda Gambling Policy published with four risk categories and a plan for a dedicated regulator
6. 2025-05Income tax amendments gazetted on 29 May: 40% GGR tax and 25% withholding on winnings, effective three months later
7. 2025-08RDB resumes licensing and invites expressions of interest for sports betting and online casino by 30 September
8. 2026-07Licences issued to Betway, ForteBet and ElephantBet in mid-July; Forzza suspended on 30 July for unlicensed casino games

Outlook

The RDB said in 2026 that a new gambling law is still being finalized, and it intends to draw on the experience of newly licensed international operators when drafting it. The 2024 policy proposed eliminating online casino and slot products as a high-harm category, yet the July 2026 licences expressly cover online casino, so operators should treat the scope of permitted verticals as unsettled until the law is published. Expect strict enforcement of licence scope, further competitive licensing rounds rather than open applications, and the 40% GGR tax to remain the defining economic factor.

Launching in Rwanda with GameBridge

Turnkey (your licence, our platform). Rwandan licences are awarded to locally registered companies through the RDB's competitive process, so an operator that wins a licence holds it and runs on GameBridge technology; GameBridge holds no Rwandan licence and cannot influence the RDB's selection.

A Rwandan brand on GameBridge runs in English and French with Kinyarwanda content options, an RWF wallet and geo-controls limited to Rwandan residents who pass age and identity checks. MTN Mobile Money and Airtel Money rails are connected on request through the operator's own agreements, and the wallet models the 40% GGR tax and 25% withholding on net winnings so RRA filings reconcile. Product scope is locked to the licensed categories so that a sports betting licensee cannot expose casino content, responsible gambling defaults include age gating, limits and self-exclusion, and the catalog is curated to games with certification the RDB accepts; GameBridge Studios and Originals ship with the certification package a laboratory needs.

• RWF wallet with MTN MoMo and Airtel Money rails on request
• GGR tax and winnings withholding modeled in-wallet for RRA reporting
• Vertical scope locked to the licensed categories
• Geo lists and age gates limited to Rwandan residents
• Revenue reporting feed for the regulator's monitoring requirements
• Certification package with every GameBridge Studios and Originals release

Football betting and virtual sports dominate; online casino content is configured only where the licence covers it, drawing on the aggregated catalog of {providersAvailable} game providers and GameBridge Studios exclusives built to the operator's brief.

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.

• Rwanda Gambling Policy (2024) — Rwanda Development Board, accessed 2026-09-11
• Public Notice: Directives to Gambling Operators and Interested Parties (August 2025) — Rwanda Development Board, accessed 2026-09-11
• Public Notice: Immediate Suspension of Baron Sports Gaming Ltd (Forzza), 30 July 2026 — Rwanda Development Board, accessed 2026-09-11
• Rwanda introduces numerous tax changes — EY, accessed 2026-09-11
• Rwanda implements various Direct and Indirect Tax Reforms — ENS, accessed 2026-09-11
• Rwanda awards betting licenses to three operators as gambling sector tightens — Gaming Intelligence, accessed 2026-09-11
• Rwanda regulator suspends operator for offering casino games — iGB, accessed 2026-09-11
• Rwanda Development Board, through the NLGC, has issued gambling licenses to Betway, ElephantBet, and ForteBet — iGaming Afrika, 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.