🇸🇳For operators · Tax, marketing & compliance
Senegal gambling market for operators: state monopoly
Lottery and sports betting are legal under the LONASE state monopoly. A 20% tax is withheld from all player winnings. Offshore online casinos operate in a tolerated grey market.
OverviewOverview built from public sources. An in-depth review of Senegal is available on request. Request it
Product by product
| Product | Status |
|---|---|
| Online betting · Lottery | Limited |
| Online casino · Online poker | Unregulated |
Regulator and player protection in Senegal
Regulator
Application authority and enforcement body
Mandatory RG controls
No limit imposed on players
Deposit limits or reality checks the law requires operators to offer
Advertising stance
Limited
Whether you can run TV / sponsorship / paid-social campaigns
Heads-up for operators
Changes coming in Senegal · last change 8 Oct 2026
The Council of Ministers adopted a bill for a new Code de la Publicité on 12 November 2025. Whether the National Assembly has voted on it, and what it says about gambling advertising, is not recorded.
Not yet in force: drafts, laws adopted without a start date, and sections of the law still to be commenced. An item moves to the timeline below on the day it takes effect.
Licence Types in Senegal
2 licence types are listed for Senegal; each says who issues it and what it covers.
| Licence | Regulator | Term | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| State Lottery / Sports Betting (LONASE) | Government | Statutory | |
| Casino Licence | Ministry of Finance | Variable | Limited number of land casinos. |
Licensing model
Senegal operates a state-monopoly system for lottery and sports betting, where only the state-owned LONASE is licensed. The foundational legal framework (Law No. 65-38 of 1965) does not specifically address online gambling, which creates a grey market. Foreign operators can only enter the regulated market via a B2B partnership with LONASE.
Gambling tax: 20% of GGR
Detail
Law No. 17/2025 introduced a 20% tax on operators' gaming income. This is levied in addition to the standard 30% corporate tax.
For the state monopoly LONASE, any surplus is directed to the state budget.
Year-1 cost: fee schedule not yet published
Senegal's market is a state monopoly for online betting and lottery, with a separate licensing process for land-based casinos. No commercial online licences are available.
| Line item | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Online Sports Betting / Lottery Licence | State monopoly Source1 | No commercial licences are available. Market access is only possible via a B2B partnership with the state-owned Loterie Nationale Sénégalaise (LONASE). |
| Land-Based Casino Licence Fee | no published fee schedule Source2 | The Ministry of Finance and Budget oversees casino licensing but does not publish a schedule of fees. Costs are determined through the application process. |
| Operator GGR Tax | 20% Source3 | A 20% tax on gross gaming revenue, levied under Law No. 17/2025. |
| Corporate Tax | 30% Source4 | Standard corporate tax rate, levied in addition to the 20% GGR tax. |
| Technical Certification | no published fee schedule | No local technical standards or certification costs are published. |
Year 1 estimate
Year 1 cannot be totalled: gov fee schedule not published
Costs for a land-based casino licence are not publicly available. Online betting/lottery market entry is via a commercial agreement with LONASE, not a standard licence fee.
Which foreign licences Senegal accepts
All 8 foreign licences listed here are tolerated in Senegal.
ToleratedMalta (MGA)
MGA-licensed operators commonly serve Senegal residents; no enforcement against players.
United Kingdom (UKGC)
Tolerated, with no specific enforcement against operators or players.
Curaçao
Curaçao-licensed operators are highly active in the offshore market.
Alderney (AGCC) · Kahnawake (KGC) · Anjouan (AGB) · Isle of Man (GSC) · Gibraltar (GRA)
Bonus rules: welcome bonuses allowed
Inducement ads: Allowed
The regulatory framework for iGaming bonuses and promotions in Senegal is underdeveloped, with no specific laws or published guidelines governing the topic. Legislation dates back to 1966, and the current environment is characterized by a lack of detailed rules rather than a set of permissive or restrictive ones.
What the player can claim
- Welcome bonus
- Allowed
- VIP schemes
- Allowed
- Loyalty schemes
- Allowed
- Cashback
- Allowed
Due to the absence of a specific online gambling regulatory framework, the legality and conditions of player bonuses are not formally defined and are considered allowed by default in the unregulated space.
What the operator can advertise
Advertising standards are governed by general consumer protection laws rather than specific iGaming codes. There are no documented statutory penalties specific to bonus or advertising violations.
How Senegal enforces against unlicensed operators
Enforcement is almost exclusively focused on unlicensed land-based operations, such as illegal slot machine parlors. There is no public record of enforcement actions like fines, prosecutions, or ISP blocking against unlicensed online operators serving Senegalese players. The online market operates in a tolerated grey area.
- The government does not actively block access to foreign gambling websites via ISPs.
- Players accessing and using offshore sites are not penalized or prosecuted.
- The primary regulatory risk for operators is not direct enforcement but the uncompetitive environment created by the state monopoly and recent tax changes.
Sources1
Enforcement cases in Senegal: 1 recent
Material regulator actions, court rulings, and high-profile fines from 2016–2026 against operators serving Senegal. Each entry includes the technical failure and a one-line read-across for other operators in the market.
- November 2025
Government of Senegal
Tax20% tax on winnings imposedThe government introduced Law No. 17/2025 to increase state revenue and improve financial oversight of the gambling sector.
Read-across: The new tax triggered a 72-hour nationwide betting strike by players and raises concerns that bettors may shift to offshore, unlicensed operators to avoid the levy.
Market size: 0.06B USD (2025)
Gross gaming revenue in Senegal is approximately 60 million USD annually. The most popular form of gambling is Sports betting. Online gambling represents 50% of total GGR. A culturally distinctive product in this market is LONASE PMU, Casino du Cap-Vert (Dakar).
Market breakdown by vertical
- Land-based0.0078B USD13.0%
- Sports betting0.027B USD45.0%
- Casino0.0012B USD2.0%
- Lottery0.024B USD40.0%
Source: iGB Africa Gaming Heatmap 2026. Splits: online-casino 2.0%, sports 45.0%, land-based 13.0%, lottery 40.0%.
GGR figure8
Licensed operators: ~2
As of 8 Oct 2026, approximately 2 operators hold an active licence in Senegal. Size your entry against this base before committing capital.
Notable licensed operators
Casino du Cap-Vert
Traps operators hit in Senegal
Specific operational risks that have caught new entrants in this market. Each item is country-specific. Generic gambling-ops issues (KYC, RG tools) are not included unless they have a local twist.
State Monopoly Barrier
The most significant pitfall is the legal impossibility of acquiring a local licence for online sports betting or lottery. The market is reserved for the state-owned LONASE. Any market entry for these verticals must be structured as a B2B partnership with the state monopoly, which controls all market access.
Sources1
Uncompetitive Tax Environment
The introduction of a 20% tax on player winnings (Law No. 17/2025) creates a major competitive disadvantage for the regulated market. Players are incentivized to use offshore operators where such a tax is not collected, which potentially shrinks the addressable market for LONASE and its partners.
Regulatory Grey Zone
The entire online casino and poker market exists in an unregulated space. While this means a lack of enforcement, it also means a complete absence of legal certainty, player protection standards, and official payment channels. Business operations are subject to sudden, unpredictable shifts in government policy.
Sources10
Timeline: rules in force
- November 1, 2025
Law No. 17/2025 Takes Effect
The new tax law was implemented and imposed a 20% withholding tax on player winnings and a 20% tax on operator income. It fundamentally altered the market's fiscal structure.
Source: 4
- October 2025
Draft Law No. 17/2025 Introduced to Tax Winnings & GGR
The government submitted a bill to the National Assembly proposing a 20% tax on both player winnings and operator GGR.
Source: 3
- 1966
Loterie Nationale Sénégalaise (LONASE) Established
The state-owned national lottery was created and laid the groundwork for its future monopoly over lottery and betting.
Source: 1
- 1965
Law No. 65-38 on Games of Chance Enacted
The foundational statute regulating land-based casinos and games of chance was passed and established the Ministry of Finance as the licensing authority.
Source: 1
Operator myths vs reality in Senegal
Common assumptions about gambling licensing that turn out to be wrong in practice.
- MythWe can apply for an online sports betting licence in Senegal.Reality
This is false. Online sports betting and lottery are a state monopoly held by LONASE. Market entry is only possible through a B2B partnership with LONASE, not through an independent licence.
Sources1
- MythSenegal is an unregulated market.Reality
This is misleading. While online casino is unregulated, the main verticals (sports betting and lottery) are strictly controlled under a state-monopoly model, and land-based casinos are licensed. The market is restricted, not a free-for-all.
Sources1
- MythThe main operational risk is a lack of enforcement.Reality
The primary risk is commercial and fiscal, not legal enforcement. The state monopoly and the new 20% winnings tax create an uncompetitive environment that may drive players to the untaxed grey market and undermine the business case for official partners.
Sources9
Markets that work like Senegal
Compared on what our records hold for each country: whether online casino, betting, poker and lottery are licensed, state-run or banned, the licensing model, what the operator tax is levied on and its band, how most advertising channels are treated, and how foreign licences are treated. A point we hold for only one of the two countries counts for nothing.
- New ZealandChecked
Online casino and poker unregulated; betting and lottery limited; most ad channels restricted; foreign licences mostly tolerated.
- Burkina FasoAI overview
Online casino and poker unregulated; state monopoly; tax on GGR; most ad channels restricted; foreign licences mostly tolerated.
- NigerAI overview
Betting limited; state monopoly; GGR tax 20–30%; most ad channels restricted; foreign licences mostly tolerated.
- ZimbabweAI overview
Online casino and poker unregulated; GGR tax 20–30%; most ad channels restricted; foreign licences mostly tolerated.
- MaliAI overview
Online casino and poker unregulated; state monopoly; most ad channels restricted; foreign licences mostly tolerated.
Methodology & sources
This page is a Quick AI overview: a summary of public information, not yet checked against the law or the regulator. Treat it as a starting point. It has not yet been through our Deep AI Scan.
How we researchAsk us to run the Deep AI Scan for Senegal
Documents cited on this page
Looking for the player guide?
For consumer-facing information about gambling in Senegal (tax on winnings, where to play legally, self-exclusion options), see the Senegal player guide.
Disclaimer. This page reflects the law as we understood it on 8 Oct 2026. Rules change: always check the current position with Loterie Nationale Sénégalaise (LONASE) for lottery and sports betting; Ministry of Finance and Budget (Ministère des Finances et du Budget) for land-based casinos.. We are not a legal adviser.