Online gambling in Tunisia: regulation, licence and market guide

Is online gambling legal in Tunisia?

Tunisian gambling law rests on Decree No. 74-20 of 1974 on games of chance and lotteries, which bans gambling outside state authorization, permits land-based casinos in tourist zones for foreigners only, and underpins the state monopoly. Promosport, founded in 1984 and renamed Société Tunisienne des Jeux by a 2019 government decree under the Ministry of Youth and Sports, holds the exclusive right to organize sports betting, lotteries and online games for the domestic public. No private online licence exists. In January 2026, 23 members of parliament filed a bill amending the 1974 decree to criminalize online gambling outside the monopoly and oblige internet providers and payment institutions to block it, and a joint ministerial order of 29 January 2026 imposed anti-money-laundering duties on casinos.

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

Who regulates gambling in Tunisia?

• Ministry of Youth and Sports (MJS) — Supervising ministry of the Société Tunisienne des Jeux and the authority that defines which games and bets it may organize
• Société Tunisienne des Jeux (Promosport) (STJ) — State company holding the exclusive right to organize sports betting, lotteries and online games for the domestic public
• Ministry of Finance (MoF) — With the Interior and Tourism ministries, authorizes and supervises tourist casinos, including the 2026 anti-money-laundering order

Tunisia gambling licence: how it works

There is no Tunisia online gambling licence for private operators. The Société Tunisienne des Jeux, a public company under the Ministry of Youth and Sports, is by decree the exclusive organizer of sports betting, draw and virtual games online, digital games and lottos for the domestic market, and may enter public or private partnerships to deliver them. Casinos are permitted only in tourist zones near hotel complexes, such as Hammamet, Sousse and Djerba, under prior authorization from the Tourism, Interior and Finance ministries, and admit foreign passport holders only. The bill filed on 19 January 2026 would define online gambling as unlawful unless expressly licensed and penalize organizers, promoters and technical and payment facilitators.

What an applicant needs

• Betting and lottery games for residents are organized exclusively by the Société Tunisienne des Jeux, which may contract partners under public-private partnership rules
• Casinos need prior authorization from the Tourism, Interior and Finance ministries, are confined to tourist zones and admit foreign passport holders only
• Casino directors must apply AML measures to transactions of TND 10,000 or more under the joint order of 29 January 2026
• No authority licenses private online casino, poker or sports betting

Gambling taxes in Tunisia

• Operators: The Société Tunisienne des Jeux transfers its surplus to sport and youth funding under its statute; casinos pay levies under their authorizations. Since 1 January 2026 a 40% tax (up from 30%) applies to the participation price of games and competitions entered by telecom means such as SMS, voice servers and digital platforms, collected by telecom operators (Finance Law 2026, Law No. 2025-17, Article 20).
• Players: None published for the state games; prizes are paid net.
• Also: The pending 2026 bill contains penalty provisions for organizers, promoters and facilitators of online gambling, reported in trade press as one to five years in prison and fines of up to TND 500,000; the figures will only be certain when the text is adopted.

Advertising, player protection, KYC and payments

Advertising

Only the Société Tunisienne des Jeux and authorized casinos have lawful products to promote. The January 2026 bill would criminalize promotion of unlicensed gambling, extending liability to advertisers, influencers and businesses selling top-up credit used to fund such sites.

Responsible gaming

Play at the state operator is for adults only; casinos are closed to Tunisian residents by design. No statutory responsible-gaming code exists for online play; the 2026 bill's sponsors cite protection of young people as a main aim.

Identity and age verification

Casinos must identify customers and apply risk-based due diligence for transactions of TND 10,000 or more, and report suspicious transactions to the Tunisian Financial Analysis Commission under the 2018 and 2026 orders. The state operator verifies identity for online accounts and prize payment.

Payments

Legal games are paid in dinars through cards, mobile payment and cash at retail. Exchange controls limit residents' foreign-currency payments, the 2026 bill would oblige payment institutions to block transactions linked to unlicensed gambling, and the 40% tax on telecom-based game participation is withheld by telecom operators.

Notable restrictions

• Gambling outside state authorization is prohibited under Decree No. 74-20 of 1974
• Casinos are confined to tourist zones and admit foreign passport holders only
• Betting and lottery for residents are reserved to the Société Tunisienne des Jeux
• No online casino, poker or private sports betting licence exists
• A January 2026 bill would criminalize online gambling outside the monopoly and require ISP and payment blocking

Tunisia iGaming market: size, players and payments

No official market data. Promosport's chief executive said in 2023 that its online betting turnover was in the hundreds of millions of euros a year, as reported by Maghreb Emergent citing Mosaïque FM; the figure is an operator statement, not an audited estimate.

The Société Tunisienne des Jeux sells online and by app, and the 2026 bill is aimed at mobile betting apps and their payment channels.

One state operator for betting and lottery, a small number of tourist casinos for foreigners, and no licensed private online operator.

Timeline: how Tunisia got here

1. 1974Decree No. 74-20 on games of chance and lotteries bans gambling outside state authorization and frames foreigner-only casinos
2. 1984-08Promosport founded as the state sports betting company
3. 2018-04Joint ministerial order approves AML rules for casino directors
4. 2019-04Government decree renames Promosport the Société Tunisienne des Jeux and adds online, virtual and digital games to its exclusive remit
5. 2025-12Finance Law 2026 raises the tax on telecom-based game participation from 30% to 40%
6. 2026-01Joint order of 29 January imposes AML duties on casinos; 23 MPs file a bill criminalizing unlicensed online gambling

Outlook

The January 2026 bill is the item to watch: if adopted, it would criminalize online gambling outside the state monopoly, oblige internet providers and payment institutions to block it and extend liability to promoters and facilitators, the first substantive change to Tunisian gambling law in fifty years. It had not been voted as of September 2026. Casino supervision is tightening through AML orders, and no proposal to license private online operators exists.

GameBridge and Tunisia

Not served by GameBridge. Tunisia has no private online licence, reserves betting and lottery to a state company and is moving to criminalize unlicensed online gambling, so GameBridge brands exclude Tunisia by default; this page exists so compliance teams can verify the position quickly.

Tunisia is on the default exclusion list of every GameBridge brand: geo-controls block Tunisian IP ranges and registrations, Tunisian 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 track the 2026 bill; any technology partnership with the state operator would be a separate B2B matter for the parties' counsel, and GameBridge makes no representation about it.

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.

• Loi n° 2025-17 du 12 décembre 2025 portant loi de finances pour l'année 2026 (Journal officiel n° 148), Article 20 — Journal officiel de la République tunisienne, accessed 2026-09-11
• Arrêté conjoint du 29 janvier 2026 fixant le régime applicable aux clubs de jeux de hasard (lutte contre le blanchiment d'argent) — Legislation-securite.tn (DCAF), accessed 2026-09-11
• New legislative initiative seeks tougher crackdown on online gambling and games of chance — Tunisie Numérique, accessed 2026-09-11
• Paris sportifs : Promosport devient la Société Tunisienne des Jeux — WebManagerCenter, accessed 2026-09-11
• Tunisia urged to embrace gambling overhaul — iGaming Expert, accessed 2026-09-11
• Les casinos en Tunisie : où jouer légalement, de Djerba à Hammamet — Kapitalis, accessed 2026-09-11
• Présentation des dispositions de la loi n° 2025-17 portant loi de finances pour l'année 2026 — InFirst Auditors, 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.