Is online gambling legal in DR Congo?

The Finance Ministry's list of approved operators (csja.finances.gouv.cd/operateurs) was empty on 27 October 2026, so you cannot confirm a site's approval there; the page itself says a site missing from it calls for caution. The operator withholds 10% of each win. No national minimum gambling age is set: minors may not enter gaming rooms, and each game's rules must state the minimum age. There is no complaints route to the Ministry; you can ask the CSJA for a six-month self-exclusion on its website. No text makes it an offence to bet on a site from home; playing gambling games in public places is punished under a 1901 rule.

1. 1CSJA public register of approved operators (page 'Opérateurs agréés')
2. 2Arrêtés ministériels n° 004/CAB/MIN/FINANCES/2024 du 26 janvier 2024 and n° 024/CAB/MIN/FINANCES/2024 du 30 juillet 2024 portant fixation des taux des droits, taxes et redevances à percevoir à l'initiative du Ministère des Finances, with the annex of Arrêté 024 (Journal officiel)
3. 3Arrêté ministériel n° 005/CAB/MIN.FINANCES/2024 du 26 janvier 2024 portant modalités d'agrément (autorisation) et d'enregistrement pour l'exploitation des jeux de hasard et pratiques assimilées en RDC (Journal officiel, first part, n° 14 of 14 July 2024 and an earlier issue of 20 May 2024)

Using a VPN to reach gambling sites from DR Congo: Legal.

Gambling with crypto: Banned.

We have no record of a minimum gambling age in DR Congo. No official text published as of 27 October 2026 states a minimum gambling age. Arrêté 005/2024 bars minors from gaming rooms and gaming near schools without stating an age, each game’s rules must state the minimum age (Circular 2023/001), and 18 is the minimum age the Circular sets for gaming-venue staff, not for players.

The operator withholds 10% of the gain from every win and pays it to the Treasury; it applies to shop, app, website and SMS/USSD play alike, and VAT does not apply to your winnings. The tax is on the win, not on your stake or your deposits. No rule says whether bonuses or your stake are taken off before the 10% is worked out; ask the operator how it calculates it. The same rule applies whatever your residence or nationality. (As of 27 October 2026.)

Always verify a casino holds a valid Ministry of Finance (the Minister grants the approval by arrêté; its Cellule de Surveillance des Jeux d'Argent et de Hasard (CSJA) instructs applications and supervises operators); partnership contract with the State lottery SONAL licence before depositing. Check the official register before signing up.

The official register of licensed sitesMinistry of Finance (the Minister grants the approval by arrêté; its Cellule de Surveillance des Jeux d'Argent et de Hasard (CSJA) instructs applications and supervises operators); partnership contract with the State lottery SONAL's website

Prominent operators in DR Congo

If a site isn't on the regulator's licensee register, ask the regulator before you play: an unlisted site is usually not licensed here (a register can lag behind a new licence). An unlicensed site is outside the regulator's supervision, so you cannot complain to the regulator about it.

• ✓
  The official list of approved operators is empty

  The Finance Ministry's CSJA publishes a list of approved operators, but on 27 October 2026 it showed none, so you cannot confirm a site's approval there. The page itself says a site absent from the list calls for caution.

• ✓
  'Licensed by SONAL' is the operator's own claim

  SONAL is the State lottery. The approval comes from the Minister of Finance, and sites state their licensing themselves; one prints a number that begins with a company-register number, not an approval number (operator statements).

• ✓
  Expect 10% off every win

  By rule the operator withholds 10% of each win and pays it to the Treasury, on every channel. A site that pays out in full is not following the rule.

• ✓
  Online casino has no licence class

  The tax annex has no online-casino segment, though several sites sell casino games. No Ministry statement says whether those sites are covered.

What you can expect from a licensed site's offers in DR Congo. The rules operators must follow are on the operator page.

1. 1

   1. Contact the operator

   Raise the problem with the operator's customer service first and keep screenshots of the bet, the balance and its replies. No rule requires an operator to run a complaints procedure or sets a deadline to answer; each game's rules must be clear and deposited legalised by a notary before launch.

2. 2

   2. Report an unapproved site to the CSJA

   The Finance Ministry's gambling unit takes reports of sites that offer gambling without approval. There is no complaints route to the Ministry for a dispute between you and an operator, no independent dispute-resolution body and no power to order repayment to players (as of 27 October 2026).

   CSJA list of approved operators and reporting

• Myth

  Gambling winnings are tax-free in DR Congo.
  Reality

  No. The operator withholds 10% of each win, on every channel, and pays it to the Treasury.

• Myth

  Playing on a foreign betting site is a crime, or is allowed.
  Reality

  The 1927 and 1951 texts punish organisers, ticket sellers and intermediaries, not the player. The 1901 arrêté punishes playing games of chance in public places, and how it applies to online play from home is not addressed. The Ministry's 2026 communiqués speak to operators in the DRC and say nothing on sites serving Congolese players from abroad. A Note circulaire of 15 April 2025 asks the telecom regulator ARPTC to block illegal operators after one week's notice and the central bank to bar payment aggregators from serving gambling operators; no blocking list is published (as of 27 October 2026).

• Myth

  A site that says it is 'licensed by SONAL' is licensed by the government.
  Reality

  The approval comes from the Minister of Finance; SONAL is the State lottery and the operator's mandatory partner. The Finance Ministry's list of approved operators was empty on 27 October 2026, so a site's approval cannot be checked there, and the page says a site missing from it calls for caution. 'Licensed by SONAL' is the operator's own statement.