Online gambling in Gabon: regulation, licence and market guide

Is online gambling legal in Gabon?

Gabon replaced its 2020 licensing regime with a state monopoly at the end of 2025. Ordinance No. 0010/PR/2025 of 30 December 2025 re-regulates amusement, money and chance games and Ordinance No. 0011/PR/2025 creates the Gabonaise des Jeux (GDJ), a state company holding the exclusive right to organize, operate and manage them. The GDJ's first director general was appointed on 29 January 2026, and on 12 February 2026 the company opened a call for expressions of interest to select third-party operators who will run betting, lottery and gaming products under its licence and supervision; all authorizations, licences and declarations issued under the previous framework became void three months later, from 7 April 2026. The GDJ also centralizes and aggregates the sector's financial flows. Its board met for the first time in August 2026, so the operating model, fees and taxes for partner operators were still being finalized as of September 2026.

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

Who regulates gambling in Gabon?

• Gabonaise des Jeux (GDJ) — State company created by Ordinance 0011/PR/2025 holding the exclusive monopoly over games of chance; selects and supervises third-party operators, centralizes financial flows and monitors the sector
• Ministère de l'Intérieur – Commission Supérieure des jeux de hasard (CSJ) — Regulatory commission created within the Interior ministry by Ordinance 0012/PR/2020, which issued authorizations, licences and declarations under the previous regime

Gabon gambling licence: how it works

Under Ordinance 0012/PR/2020 (ratified by Law 040/2020) and Decree 0085/PR/MI of 30 March 2021, casinos needed an authorization, physical betting shops a licence issued jointly by the ministers of Games and Finance after the Commission Supérieure des Jeux, and online betting only a declaration to the minister in charge of games, open to promoters headquartered in Gabon or in a state with formal economic ties. That regime ended with the December 2025 ordinances. The State now holds the monopoly through the Gabonaise des Jeux, and private companies can only operate as third-party operators selected by the GDJ through its call for expressions of interest of 12 February 2026, which asks candidates to demonstrate compliance with rules on excessive gambling, protection of minors, anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist financing and operational security. Selection criteria, licence terms, revenue shares and fees are set by the GDJ and had not been published in full at the review date.

What an applicant needs

• Selection by the Gabonaise des Jeux through its call for expressions of interest; no direct state licence exists
• Demonstrated policies on prevention of excessive gambling and protection of minors
• Anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing controls
• Operational and payment security, with financial flows routed through the GDJ's centralized system
• Compliance with Gabonese tax obligations, including the fiscal stamp per gaming machine set by the finance law

Gambling taxes in Gabon

• Operators: Not published for the new regime. Under the 2020 ordinance, gaming equipment carried a fiscal stamp per machine fixed by the finance law and operators paid ordinary corporate taxes; the GDJ model routes revenue through the state company, with partner operators remunerated under their contracts.
• Players: No tax on player winnings is published.
• Also: The government presents the monopoly as a lever for public revenue, social regulation and funding of public-interest programs; a revenue-sharing or levy structure for third-party operators is expected once the GDJ finalizes its contracts.

Advertising, player protection, KYC and payments

Advertising

No gambling advertising code is published for the new regime; the GDJ's selection criteria stress protection of minors, and marketing by non-selected operators is unlawful since their authorizations lapsed.

Responsible gaming

Minimum age 18. Prevention of excessive gambling and protection of minors are stated selection criteria for GDJ third-party operators; formal deposit-limit and self-exclusion rules are not yet published.

Identity and age verification

Operators must show anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing controls to the GDJ, whose centralization of financial flows is intended to make transactions traceable.

Payments

Betting is funded through mobile money (Airtel Money and Moov Money) and bank cards in CFA francs; under the new model financial flows are centralized and aggregated by the GDJ. Cryptocurrency is not part of the framework.

Notable restrictions

• Games of chance are a state monopoly exercised exclusively by the Gabonaise des Jeux
• All authorizations, licences and declarations issued before 2026 lapsed on 7 April 2026
• Private operators may act only as GDJ-selected third parties under its supervision
• Minimum age 18

Gabon iGaming market: size, players and payments

No reliable public estimate; the government has described the sector as long fragmented and weakly regulated and expects the monopoly to raise public revenue.

A small population of about 2.5 million with high urbanization and mobile penetration; sports betting and PMU-style horse-race betting are the established products.

Mobile money from Airtel and Moov is the standard funding channel, and the GDJ's centralized flow system is designed around traceable electronic payments.

The market is being reorganized around the GDJ; previously active brands operating under the 2020 regime's licences and declarations had to apply through the February 2026 call for expressions of interest, and no list of selected operators had been published at the review date.

Timeline: how Gabon got here

1. 2020-08Ordinance 0012/PR/2020 regulates amusement, money and chance games and creates the Commission Supérieure des Jeux within the Interior ministry
2. 2021-02Law 040/2020 ratifies the ordinance; Decree 0085/PR/MI of 30 March 2021 sets operating and control rules, with online betting under a declaration regime
3. 2025-12Ordinances 0010/PR/2025 and 0011/PR/2025 of 30 December make gambling a state monopoly and create the Gabonaise des Jeux
4. 2026-01Roméo Nguema Ondo appointed first director general of the GDJ on 29 January
5. 2026-02GDJ opens a call for expressions of interest to select third-party operators on 12 February
6. 2026-04All prior authorizations, licences and declarations lapse on 7 April
7. 2026-08GDJ holds its first board meeting, adopting its budget and strategic plan

Outlook

The GDJ is still standing up: its board adopted a strategic plan in August 2026 and the selection of third-party operators, their contract terms and the tax or revenue-share model are the decisions to watch through 2026–2027. Operators active under the old regime face a binary outcome, selection by the GDJ or exit, and enforcement against non-selected platforms is likely once the GDJ's monitoring and payment centralization are live. No return to open licensing is signaled.

Launching in Gabon with GameBridge

Model decided with counsel. Gambling is a state monopoly and private companies can only operate as third parties selected by the Gabonaise des Jeux under terms not yet public, so any engagement depends on that selection and on counsel's review; GameBridge cannot guarantee selection.

Gabon is excluded by GameBridge geo-controls by default and is opened only for a brand that documents its selection and contract with the GDJ. For such a brand the platform runs with French as the site language, an XAF wallet, mobile money rails such as Airtel Money and Moov Money on request through the operator's providers, and reporting built to feed the GDJ's centralized flow and monitoring systems. Identity checks enforce 18+ and AML screening, and responsible-gaming limits and self-exclusion meet the protection criteria in the GDJ's selection process.

• French site language and XAF wallet
• Geo-controls opened only for a GDJ-selected operator
• Mobile money deposits and payouts on request
• Reporting and flow data for the GDJ's centralized systems
• 18+ identity and AML screening
• Responsible-gaming limits and self-exclusion

Sports betting and PMU-style racing are the established products; for a GDJ third-party operator the sportsbook leads and any casino or lottery content follows what the GDJ contract 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.

• Loi N° 040/2020 du 18/02/2021 portant ratification de l'ordonnance n°0012/PR/2020 portant réglementation des jeux de divertissement, d'argent et de hasard — Journal Officiel de la République Gabonaise, accessed 2026-09-11
• Décret N° 0085/PR/MI du 30/03/2021 fixant les modalités d'exploitation et de contrôle des jeux de divertissement, d'argent et de hasard — Journal Officiel de la République Gabonaise, accessed 2026-09-11
• Gabonaise des Jeux : le gouvernement confirme sa volonté de réforme et nomme un premier DG — Gabonreview, accessed 2026-09-11
• Jeux d'argent au Gabon : la GDJ lance un appel à manifestation d'intérêt pour l'attribution de licences — Gabonreview, accessed 2026-09-11
• Gabon : la Gabonaise des Jeux tient son premier Conseil d'administration — Agence Gabonaise de Presse, 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.