Is online gambling legal in Zambia?

No law makes it an offence for you to bet with an unlicensed site. Since 1 January 2026 no tax is taken off your winnings (a 2025 law ended the 15% deduction), but a 5% Betting Levy applies to every deposit and withdrawal. There is no self-exclusion scheme and no gambling helpline. No law gives you a complaint route to the BCLB: a betting debt can be claimed in court, and you can complain to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.

1. 1Betting Control Act, Cap. 166 (Act 27 of 1957) with the Betting Control Regulations and Forms 1-4 (Laws of Zambia print)
2. 2Tourism and Hospitality Act, 2007 (Act 23 of 2007), Part VI 'Licensing of Casinos' ss. 47-58 (republisher copy of the Government Printer scan)
3. 3Lotteries Act, Cap. 163 (Act 8 of 1957) with the Lotteries (Procedure and Fees) Regulations (Laws of Zambia print)
4. 4Income Tax (Amendment) (No. 2) Act, 2025 (Act 17 of 2025)
5. 5Competition and Consumer Protection Act, 2010 (Act No. 24 of 2010), Laws.Africa consolidation incl. Act 21 of 2023

Gambling with crypto: Not regulated.

You must be 18 to gamble online in Zambia, for online casino, sports betting and lottery alike. 18 for every product: a bookmaker may not take a bet from anyone under 18, and a casino may not let anyone under 18 play. No separate age is set for online betting.

No tax has been withheld from winnings from gaming, lotteries and betting since 1 January 2026: the Income Tax (Amendment) Act 2025 deleted the rule that made the payer deduct it. Until 31 December 2025 the payer withheld a flat 15%. The laws do not say whether ZRA treats winnings as your income in any other way; ZRA is the body to ask. Separately, the 5% Betting Levy applies to every deposit to and withdrawal from your betting account, whatever your result: a K200 withdrawal carries K10.

Always verify a casino holds a valid Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) for betting; casinos, lotteries and the State Lottery have their own bodies licence before depositing.

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.

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  No public list of licensed sites

  No Act requires a register of licensed bookmakers, and as of 22 October 2026 we found neither a register nor a BCLB website; the BCLB is the body to ask whether a site holds a licence.

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  5% comes off every deposit and withdrawal

  No tax has been taken off winnings since 1 January 2026, but a 5% levy applies to each deposit and withdrawal (a K200 withdrawal carries K10).

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  No self-exclusion or limits by law

  No law requires deposit limits, time-outs, self-exclusion or a gambling helpline; set your own limits where the site offers them.

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  Age 18

  A bookmaker may not take a bet from anyone under 18.

1. 1

   1. Contact the operator

   Raise it with the operator first and keep screenshots of the bet, the balance and its replies. No law requires a Zambian operator to run a complaints procedure.

2. 2

   2. Claim the debt in court

   A debt on a lawful bet can be enforced in the courts like any other civil debt. If a bookmaker defaults on betting debts, the BCLB must ask it for information and can pay established claims out of the security the bookmaker gave it.

3. 3

   3. Complain to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission

   Anyone may complain to the Commission about unfair trading or a false or misleading representation, such as a misleading bonus offer, and it can order a refund. No independent gambling dispute service exists.

• Myth

  Online casino sites are licensed by the BCLB.
  Reality

  No Act creates an online casino licence: a casino licence is for premises. In practice Betway, betPawa and Bolabet sell casino, live casino, slots and crash games on the same site as sport and print a Ministry of Tourism “CL-” licence number beside numbers they attribute to the Ministry of Finance, the BCLB or (betPawa) “the Lottery and Betting Control Board of Zambia” (operators’ own statements as their sites showed on 22 October 2026, not matched to any register, since we found none published); we found no BCLB, Ministry of Tourism, ZRA or court statement on online casino licensing.

• Myth

  My gambling winnings are tax-free.
  Reality

  Partly. Since 1 January 2026 nothing is taken off your winnings (a 2025 law ended the 15% deduction), but a 5% Betting Levy is charged on every deposit and withdrawal, and State Lottery prizes above K300,000 still bear a 15% charge (land-based).

• Myth

  The legal gambling age is 21.
  Reality

  It is 18: a bookmaker may not take a bet from anyone under 18.

• Myth

  Betting on an unlicensed site is a crime for me.
  Reality

  We found no offence aimed at a player who bets with an unlicensed operator: the Betting Control Act penalises the unlicensed bookmaker. The Penal Code offences of being found in a common gaming house or playing for money in a public place are about places, and the law does not say whether they reach online play.