Online gambling in Morocco: regulation, licence and market guide

Is online gambling legal in Morocco?

Morocco has no single gambling regulator and no licensing process for private online operators. La Marocaine des Jeux et des Sports (MDJS) holds the legal monopoly on sports betting other than horse racing and sells online as well as at retail, with Sisal Jeux Maroc contracted since February 2023 to run its betting; the Société de Gestion de la Loterie Nationale runs draw and instant games including online; and SOREC runs horse-race pari-mutuel betting. Land-based casinos in tourist cities are licensed by the state. The 2025 Finance Law responded to foreign online gambling by taxing the player: a 30% final withholding on foreign-source online gambling winnings paid from 1 July 2025, plus a social solidarity contribution on the profits of gambling companies. MDJS tried to force telecom operators to block foreign betting sites, but the Casablanca Court of Appeal of Commerce annulled the blocking order on 10 February 2026, ruling that access providers are neutral carriers without ruling on the platforms' legality.

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

Who regulates gambling in Morocco?

• Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) — Supervises the state gaming operators, casino taxation and the 2025 Finance Law measures on gambling
• La Marocaine des Jeux et des Sports (MDJS) — State operator holding the exclusive right to organize sports betting (excluding horse racing) across the national territory, including online
• Société de Gestion de la Loterie Nationale (SGLN) — State operator of the national lottery draw and instant games, including online sales

Morocco gambling licence: how it works

There is no Morocco online gambling licence to apply for. Sports betting, lottery and horse-race betting are exclusive rights of MDJS (created 1962), the Loterie Nationale (1971) and SOREC, and the only commercial route for a private company has been a service contract with a monopoly holder, as when MDJS awarded Sisal Jeux Maroc an eight-year contract, renewable for two, in February 2023. Land-based casinos operate under state authorization in tourist cities such as Marrakech, Agadir, Tangier and El Jadida. Online casino and poker have no licensing route; the state's response to foreign sites has been fiscal (the 30% withholding) and litigious (MDJS's blocking action, which failed on appeal in February 2026). Whether accepting Moroccan residents from abroad is lawful is unresolved and a question for the operator's counsel.

What an applicant needs

• Sports betting, lottery and horse-race betting are exclusive rights of MDJS, the Loterie Nationale and SOREC; private participation is by service contract with a monopoly holder
• Land-based casinos require state authorization and are confined to designated tourist locations
• No authority licenses online casino, poker or private sports betting
• Banks and payment intermediaries must withhold 30% on foreign-source online gambling winnings and file an annual return (Finance Law 2025, Articles 154 quater and 160 ter of the General Tax Code)

Gambling taxes in Morocco

• Operators: State operators and casinos pay a levy on gambling revenue and corporate tax; the 2025 Finance Law added a social solidarity contribution on the profits of gambling companies (General Tax Code Articles 298–303, applicable from financial years opened on or after 1 January 2025). Rates for the levy are not published in one place and vary by product.
• Players: 30% final withholding tax on winnings from foreign-source online gambling, deducted by the bank or payment intermediary on amounts paid from 1 July 2025 (General Tax Code Article 73-II-G-9° and Article 160 ter, Finance Law 2025).
• Also: Intermediaries that fail to file the annual return of foreign-source gambling winnings face the surcharges of Article 203 ter. Trade press reports a 2% solidarity contribution linked to gambling; the primary text creates a social solidarity contribution on the profits of gambling companies (Articles 298–303), and the current rate should be confirmed in the General Tax Code.

Advertising, player protection, KYC and payments

Advertising

Only the three state operators and authorized casinos have lawful products to advertise. Foreign betting platforms and the local intermediaries that facilitate deposits for them were the targets of MDJS's 2025–2026 litigation, which relied on a bailiff's report of December 2025 documenting their accessibility from Morocco.

Responsible gaming

Play is restricted to adults aged 18 and over at the state operators and casinos; MDJS and the Loterie Nationale publish responsible-gaming commitments and Sisal brings its own program to the MDJS contract. No statutory responsible-gaming code covers online play.

Identity and age verification

State operators verify identity for online accounts and prize payment; banks apply Bank Al-Maghrib AML rules and, since July 2025, must identify recipients of foreign online gambling winnings by national ID or residence card for the withholding return.

Payments

Legal products are paid in dirhams through cards, bank transfer and cash at retail. Banks and payment institutions act as withholding agents for the 30% tax on foreign-source winnings, an obligation the February 2026 appeal ruling did not disturb; MDJS's action also named local intermediary sites that moved deposits through Moroccan bank accounts.

Notable restrictions

• Sports betting outside MDJS, lottery outside the Loterie Nationale and horse-race betting outside SOREC are unauthorized
• No online casino or poker licence exists
• Casinos are land-based, in tourist locations, and may not offer online play
• 30% withholding on foreign-source online gambling winnings since 1 July 2025
• Telecom operators are not obliged to block foreign betting sites following the 10 February 2026 appeal ruling; the underlying legality of those sites was not decided

Morocco iGaming market: size, players and payments

No consolidated public estimate. Le Desk reported in 2026 an unlicensed betting ecosystem worth several billion dirhams a year; the state operators publish their own turnover in annual reports.

MDJS and the Loterie Nationale both sell online and by app; the blocking litigation shows that unlicensed play is also mobile-led.

Three state monopolies (MDJS with Sisal Jeux Maroc as contractor, the Loterie Nationale and SOREC) plus land-based casinos; no licensed private online operator.

Timeline: how Morocco got here

1. 1962La Marocaine des Jeux et des Sports created with the monopoly on sports betting
2. 1971Loterie Nationale established
3. 2023-02MDJS contracts Sisal Jeux Maroc to run its sports betting for eight years, renewable for two
4. 2024-12Finance Law 2025 enacts the 30% withholding on foreign-source online gambling winnings and a solidarity contribution on gambling companies' profits
5. 2025-07Withholding on foreign-source online gambling winnings applies to payments from 1 July
6. 2026-01MDJS obtains a first-instance order requiring Maroc Telecom, Orange and Inwi to block about twenty foreign betting sites; the operators refuse and obtain a stay on 26 January
7. 2026-02Casablanca Court of Appeal of Commerce annuls the blocking order on 10 February; reasons published 23 February

Outlook

MDJS may take the blocking question to the Court of Cassation or seek legislation obliging access providers to act; the appeal court left the legality of foreign platforms undecided, so a statutory answer is the likely next step. Watch the Finance Law for further gambling measures and Bank Al-Maghrib guidance on the withholding regime. No proposal to license private online operators has been published.

GameBridge and Morocco

Not served by GameBridge. Morocco has no private online licence, reserves betting and lottery to state operators and has answered foreign online gambling with taxation and litigation, so GameBridge brands exclude Morocco by default; this page exists so compliance teams can verify the position quickly.

Morocco is on the default exclusion list of every GameBridge brand: geo-controls block Moroccan IP ranges and registrations, Moroccan identity documents are rejected at onboarding, and the dirham 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. Whether an internationally licensed operator may accept Moroccan residents is unresolved in Moroccan law and is a question for that operator's counsel; GameBridge provides the geo lists, KYC and responsible-gaming tooling to enforce whatever position counsel takes, and does not present itself as a route around the monopoly.

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 de finances n° 60-24 pour l'année budgétaire 2025 (Bulletin officiel) — Articles 73, 154 quater, 160 ter, 203 ter and 298–303 of the General Tax Code — Bulletin officiel du Royaume du Maroc (via Casablanca Invest), accessed 2026-09-11
• Paris sportifs : le blocage des sites illégaux annulé en appel — Médias24, accessed 2026-09-11
• Paris illégaux : pourquoi le blocage des sites a été annulé — Médias24, accessed 2026-09-11
• Les opérateurs télécoms déliés de l'obligation de blocage de paris illégaux en ligne — Le Nouvelliste Maroc, accessed 2026-09-11
• Série : MDJS vs 1XBET : les telcos refusent le blocage — Le Desk, accessed 2026-09-11
• Morocco Gambling Licence and Regulation (2026) — iGaming Times, accessed 2026-09-11
• Is Gambling Legal in Morocco? — SOFTSWISS, 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.