Online gambling in Senegal: regulation, licence and market guide

Is online gambling legal in Senegal?

The Loterie Nationale Sénégalaise (LONASE) holds the monopoly over games of chance, pronostics and similar games under Law No. 87-43 of 23 December 1987 and acts as both operator and licensing body. In the 2010s it licensed private online betting platforms against a royalty, but its director general announced in 2024 that no further online licences would be issued, and in July 2026 LONASE published a closed list of seventeen authorized platforms, declaring every other site clandestine. Law No. 17/2025 introduced a 20% tax on operators' share of gains and a 20% withholding tax on players' winnings from November 2025, and on 1 January 2026 the LONASE royalty rose to 30% alongside a new 20% tax on operator revenue, which licensed operators say pushes total levies above their revenue.

State monopoly: A state or single licensee runs online gambling; private operators cannot be licensed.

Who regulates gambling in Senegal?

• Loterie Nationale Sénégalaise (LONASE) — State company holding the legal monopoly on games of chance and pronostics; operates its own games, licenses and supervises authorized online platforms and collects the operator royalty
• Direction générale des Impôts et des Domaines (DGID) — Tax authority administering the 2025–2026 gambling taxes under the General Tax Code as amended by Law 17/2025

Senegal gambling licence: how it works

There is no state licensing authority separate from LONASE. Historically LONASE granted operating licences (conventions) to private online betting companies in exchange for a royalty on revenue, which is how Betclic, 1xBet (through Service Online International), 22Bet, Melbet, Linebet and others entered the market, while land-based games are run by LONASE itself with technical partners. Since taking office in 2024, LONASE's director general Toussaint Manga has said the company will not grant any new online licence, so as of September 2026 the market is closed to new entrants. LONASE's communiqué of July 2026 lists the authorized platforms: Click Digital Marketing, Sunubet, Lonase.bet, Betclic, Bwinners, PMU Online, Lonase 22bet, Lonase Way, Lonase-Loto-Senegal, PMU Senegal, Linebet, Mojabet, Melbet, Megalink, Betsama, LPbet and Service Online International (1xBet). Any other platform is deemed clandestine and its operators and complicit payment providers face prosecution.

What an applicant needs

• A licence or convention granted by LONASE; no new online licences are being issued as of 2026
• Payment of the LONASE royalty, set at 30% since 1 January 2026, plus the 5% state royalty and stamp duty reported by operators
• Collection of the 20% withholding tax on player winnings and the 20% tax on operator gains under Law 17/2025
• Settlement through Senegalese payment channels; payment providers serving unauthorized sites are exposed to prosecution
• Compliance with LONASE responsible-gaming arrangements, including referral of at-risk players to the CEPIAD addiction center

Gambling taxes in Senegal

• Operators: Since 1 January 2026 licensed online operators pay a LONASE royalty of 30% of revenue plus a new 20% tax on operator revenue, on top of the 20% tax on operators' share of gains introduced by Law 17/2025 in September 2025, a 5% state royalty, 7% stamp duty and 18% VAT that operators say they absorb, according to the collective of licensed operators (APS, March 2026). Operators put the cumulative burden at 128% of revenue.
• Players: 20% withholding tax on winnings under Law 17/2025, applied by LONASE to physical retail from 1 November 2025 and to digital channels from mid-November 2025, deducted at payout.
• Also: The measures form part of the government's economic and social recovery plan (PRES), which targets more than 5,600 billion CFA francs of revenue by 2028 from mobile money, gambling, gold and tobacco. Operators argue that taxing both gains and gross gaming revenue taxes the same flow twice.

Advertising, player protection, KYC and payments

Advertising

No dedicated gambling advertising code is published. LONASE and public officials have criticized betting advertising aimed at young people since 2024, and LONASE-branded platforms carry responsible-gaming messaging; operators should expect tighter rules to follow the tax reforms.

Responsible gaming

Minimum age 18. LONASE has signed agreements with the Centre de prise en charge intégrée des addictions de Dakar (CEPIAD) and runs a helpline to which at-risk players are referred; formal deposit-limit or self-exclusion rules are not published.

Identity and age verification

Authorized platforms register players with identity and phone verification and must apply the 20% withholding on winnings at payout; anti-money-laundering obligations follow Senegal's general AML law applicable to gaming operators.

Payments

Deposits and withdrawals run in CFA francs through mobile money (Wave, Orange Money, Free Money) and, less often, cards. Operators report 3.5% commissions on each deposit and withdrawal. LONASE's July 2026 communiqué warns payment operators that processing for unlisted platforms is a prosecutable offence; cryptocurrency is not used by authorized platforms.

Notable restrictions

• Only platforms on LONASE's published list may operate; all others are clandestine
• No new online licences since 2024
• 20% withholding on winnings and cumulative operator levies that operators say exceed revenue
• Payment providers serving unlisted platforms face prosecution
• Minimum age 18

Senegal iGaming market: size, players and payments

LONASE declared record turnover of 266 billion CFA francs in 2022, the year it launched its own Lonase Bet platform (Le Monde, August 2024). No audited market-wide GGR figure is published; the prime minister said in 2025 that online games account for about 80% of gambling activity.

Betting is concentrated among young men and centered on European football; Le Monde and local press reported growing concern about youth addiction in 2024.

Mobile money wallets, above all Wave and Orange Money, carry most online betting deposits; the government's own tax plan treats mobile money and online gambling as linked growth sectors.

Seventeen platforms were authorized in July 2026, mixing LONASE's own brands (Lonase.bet, Lonase Way, PMU Senegal) with licensed private brands such as Betclic, 1xBet, 22Bet, Melbet and Linebet; Premier Bet, an early entrant from 2013, ceased Senegalese operations in August 2024 amid a 12 billion CFA franc tax dispute.

Timeline: how Senegal got here

1. 1987-12Law No. 87-43 of 23 December 1987 grants LONASE the monopoly on games of chance and pronostics
2. 2022LONASE launches Lonase Bet and reports record turnover of 266 billion CFA francs
3. 2024-08Premier Bet Senegal ceases operations; its director is arrested over a 12 billion CFA franc tax debt
4. 2024New LONASE director general Toussaint Manga announces no further online licences will be granted
5. 2025-09National Assembly adopts Law 17/2025 amending the General Tax Code: 20% tax on operators' gains and 20% withholding on players' winnings
6. 2025-11LONASE applies the 20% winnings tax to retail from 1 November and to digital channels from mid-November
7. 2026-01LONASE royalty rises to 30% and a new 20% tax on operator revenue takes effect
8. 2026-03Collective of licensed operators (Betclic, 1xBet, Betsen, Acacia, Vikhreda) asks the State for dialogue, citing levies of 128% of revenue
9. 2026-07LONASE publishes the closed list of 17 authorized online platforms and warns payment providers

Outlook

The 2025–2026 tax stack has put licensed operators in open dispute with LONASE and the tax authority, and the collective has warned of exits and a shift to unlicensed sites; some adjustment of the royalty or tax base is possible but nothing had been announced as of September 2026. LONASE is building its own digital brands and enforcing its list of authorized platforms through payment providers, so the market is likely to consolidate around LONASE and a shrinking group of partners. Advertising restrictions aimed at youth were flagged by officials in 2024 and could follow.

Launching in Senegal with GameBridge

Model decided with counsel. Only LONASE-licensed platforms may operate and no new licences are being granted, so a new brand has no lawful route today; an existing licensee could run on GameBridge on a turnkey basis, but the structure and economics need a case-by-case review with counsel.

Senegal is excluded by GameBridge geo-controls by default and is opened only for a brand that documents a current LONASE licence. For such a brand the platform runs with French as the site language, an XOF wallet, mobile money rails such as Wave, Orange Money and Free Money on request through the operator's payment providers, identity and age checks at 18+, and a payout flow that applies the 20% withholding on winnings and produces the royalty and tax reporting LONASE and the DGID require. Responsible-gaming settings include limits and exclusion with referral messaging for the CEPIAD helpline.

• French site language and XOF wallet
• Geo-controls that exclude Senegal until a LONASE licence is documented
• Mobile money deposits and payouts on request
• Withholding of 20% on winnings at payout with reporting
• Royalty and revenue reporting for LONASE and the tax authority
• Identity and 18+ verification with exclusion lists

Football betting and PMU-style racing lead on licensed platforms, with lotto and virtual products from LONASE; casino content for a licensee is curated to what its LONASE convention permits.

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.

• Communiqué : liste des plateformes de jeu en ligne autorisées à opérer au Sénégal — LONASE via Agence de Presse Sénégalaise, accessed 2026-09-11
• Jeux en ligne : la LONASE décide de ne plus attribuer de nouvelle licence — APS via Lactuacho, accessed 2026-09-11
• Fiscalité des jeux au Sénégal : double taxation en 2025 — Les Enjeux, accessed 2026-09-11
• Jeux et paris en ligne : les bookmakers souhaitent un dialogue avec l'Etat sur les nouvelles taxes — Agence de Presse Sénégalaise, accessed 2026-09-11
• Taxation des paris en ligne : les opérateurs en guerre contre la Lonase — Le Quotidien, accessed 2026-09-11
• Au Sénégal, les paris sportifs en ligne sur la sellette face à une jeunesse de plus en plus accro — Le Monde, 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.