Legal casino gambling age in Lebanon
Lebanon follows a monopoly model of gambling regulation, meaning that the state grants a single company the exclusive right to run casino gaming. That company is Casino du Liban, a privately incorporated but largely state-linked company that operates the country’s only lawful casino at Maameltein, north of Beirut. Its exclusivity rests on Law No. 417 of 1995 and a concession contract signed with the state the same year. Since 2022 Casino du Liban has also run an online gaming and sports betting platform, BetArabia, under a licence issued by the Ministry of Finance. The legal basis of that online activity has been contested, and in 2025 it became the subject of a criminal investigation. Outside these channels, gambling is unlawful, and the Internal Security Forces (ISF) maintain a dedicated anti-gambling bureau.
Key points
- Law No. 417 of 1995 gave Casino du Liban the exclusive right to operate gambling at its Maameltein casino for 30 years; the concession is widely reported to expire in 2026.
- The Ministry of Finance licensed Casino du Liban’s online platform in November 2022, with an operating contract held by Onlive Support Services (OSS). Lebanon has no dedicated statute on online gambling, and in April 2025 the Audit Bureau reportedly concluded that the casino lacked legal standing to organise it.
- In 2025 prosecutors investigated the online platform and a network of unauthorised gaming halls; the casino’s chief executive was detained in July 2025. In June 2026 the Mount Lebanon indictment chamber dropped the embezzlement, money laundering and illicit enrichment charges.
- The ISF Anti-Gambling Bureau continues to arrest organisers of illegal online gambling networks, and Lebanon has blocked offshore gambling websites since at least 2013.
- Casino du Liban pays the state a share of its gaming revenue, reported at 50% in recent years. A draft law to regulate online gaming was under discussion in a parliamentary subcommittee in June 2025.
Last reviewed: 7 October 2026.
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Historical development
Organised casino gaming in Lebanon is closely tied to a single institution. According to a detailed account by the Beirut research firm Information International, published in its The Monthly magazine, a law permitting gambling was approved in 1954 and the Casino du Liban company was established by Decree No. 16694 of 30 July 1957 with an initial capital of LBP 12 million. The casino opened in 1959 at Maameltein, on the coast near Jounieh. It stopped operating during the civil war (in 1988 according to The Monthly, in 1989 according to other accounts) and reopened in 1996 after a reconstruction reported at about US$50 million (Casino du Liban overview).
The present legal framework dates from the casino’s post-war reopening. The Monthly states that Law No. 417 of 1995, enacted under President Elias Hrawi and Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, granted Casino du Liban “the right to invest exclusively in gambling games” at its Maameltein site, and that the concession contract with the state was signed on 14 July 1995 for 30 years. A 2000 report in Executive magazine described the same arrangement as a monopoly running until 2026.
In the decades that followed, gambling outside the casino grew in a regulatory grey zone. A 2018 report in Public Gaming International stated that in 2008 the state and Casino du Liban agreed to close gambling centres operating outside the casino, and that the casino paid LBP 83 billion (about US$55 million) in arrears at that time. The same report noted that a 2012 draft that would have placed gaming outside the casino under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance, and a Finance Ministry proposal to regulate online gaming, had not been approved, and that about 1,000 video poker and gaming centres were operating with permits from the Interior Ministry and local governors. These figures come from press reporting and have not been confirmed by an official register.
Lebanon’s economic and banking crisis, which began in 2019, also affected the casino. In an interview reported by LBCI at the start of 2024, the chief executive Roland Khoury said that Casino du Liban would become fully dollarised, meaning that it would transact entirely in US dollars, and that it had made neither a profit nor a loss in 2023.
Legal framework
Law No. 417 of 1995 and the concession
The central statute is Law No. 417 of 1995, which, as summarised by The Monthly, grants Casino du Liban an exclusive right to operate gambling at its casino in Maameltein. The detailed terms of the arrangement are set out in a concession contract between the state and the company, which has been amended several times. Some sources also refer to a Decree No. 6919 of 29 June 1995: in 2013 the digital rights organisation SMEX and Global Voices cited that decree as granting Casino du Liban “monopoly over all gambling activities to protect public morals”. The official texts of Law No. 417 and the decree could not be retrieved from an official legislation portal for this guide, so their exact wording has not been verified here.
The concession has a fixed term. Several sources place its end in 2026: the casino’s chief executive told LBCI in early 2024 that the licence expires in 2026 and that the company had asked for a ten-year extension. This guide could not find a published decision on renewal or extension as of October 2026.
The Penal Code
Gambling outside authorised channels is addressed by the general criminal law. Lebanon’s Penal Code, enacted as Legislative Decree No. 340 of 1 March 1943, is generally described as containing provisions on gambling offences, and secondary sources commonly cite Articles 632 to 634, but the official text of those articles could not be obtained and checked for this guide, so their precise scope and penalties are not stated here. In practice, the prosecutions described below have been brought for operating illegal gambling networks and, in the Casino du Liban case, for financial offences such as embezzlement of public funds and money laundering.
No dedicated online gambling statute
Lebanon has no law that specifically regulates online gambling. According to An-Nahar, Casino du Liban has argued that its existing monopoly extends to online games. The same newspaper reported that the Audit Bureau, Lebanon’s public audit court, concluded in April 2025 that the casino “lacks legal standing to organise online gambling” and that amendments to the concession contract in 2008 and 2023 did not create an exclusive online right. Whether online gaming falls within the 1995 monopoly therefore remains contested.
Regulator and licensing model
Lebanon has no independent gambling regulator. Oversight is divided between ministries and law enforcement:
- Ministry of Finance: the counterparty to the concession and the authority that licensed the online platform in 2022. It also receives the state’s share of casino revenue.
- Ministry of Tourism: co-signatory, with the Ministry of Finance, of the 2023 amendment to the concession contract, according to An-Nahar.
- Internal Security Forces: the Anti-Gambling Bureau of the Judicial Police Unit investigates illegal gambling and betting networks under the supervision of the public prosecution.
- Judiciary: the financial prosecutor and the Mount Lebanon courts have handled the recent online gambling investigation.
The model is a closed monopoly rather than a licensing system: there is no application process for new casino or online operators. Casino du Liban’s ownership is mixed. The Monthly reports that Intra Investment Company holds 53% of the shares, with Banque du Liban, the central bank, owning 35% of Intra, and that other shareholders include Banque du Liban directly (10%) and the National Deposit Guarantee Institution (6%). The land-based casino has long been managed under contract by London Clubs International, a subsidiary of Caesars Entertainment (Casino du Liban overview).
Two other forms of lawful gambling are commonly identified. Arab News reported in 2023 that Beirut horse racing is the only licensed betting venue other than the casino. Lebanon also has a national lottery. La Libanaise des Jeux, which describes itself as having been established in 2001, offers draw games such as Loto, Zeed and Yawmiyeh, as well as scratch cards, and states that players must be over 18. This guide could not verify the legal basis on which it operates, or its relationship with the historical Loterie Nationale Libanaise and the Ministry of Finance, from an official source.
Online gambling and enforcement
Casino du Liban’s online platform
Casino du Liban announced in 2019 that it planned to launch online gambling and sports betting; European Gaming reported that its chairman expected the government to “block the rest of the online gambling sites” to protect the monopoly. According to the trade publication SiGMA, the Ministry of Finance granted BetArabia, the casino’s online brand, “the first and only licence to operate online gambling and sports betting” in November 2022. The platform is run for the casino by Onlive Support Services (OSS), selected through a public request for proposals, and operates “under the structure and direct supervision of Casino Du Liban”. SiGMA notes that current law makes no provision for further licences.
An-Nahar reported that on 22 March 2023 the Finance Minister and the Tourism Minister signed an amendment to the concession contract authorising the casino and its operator to run the platform, without new legislation or parliamentary approval. In June 2026, during the football World Cup, L’Orient Today described the platform as holding a licence issued by the Finance Ministry and reported a 40% increase in players since the tournament began.
Unlicensed operators and gaming halls
Illegal online betting is widespread. In August 2023 Arab News described betting through cafés and mobile phones, often funded with prepaid recharge cards, and reported that about 90% of patrons in one raided café in the south were aged 15 to 35. The newspaper reported that the Public Prosecution at the Court of Cassation had approved the arrest of a well-known organiser and his associates.
The 2025 investigation exposed a different problem: unauthorised physical outlets linked to the licensed platform. L’Orient Today reported allegations that OSS “used this legal cover to fuel a large black market” of gaming halls in Kesrouan, the Metn and Beirut’s northern suburbs, in breach of the casino’s contract. An investigating judge later found that branches had been opened in several regions in violation of the contract’s terms (L’Orient Today, August 2025).
Website blocking and policing
Blocking means instructing internet service providers to prevent access to particular websites. Lebanon has blocked gambling sites for more than a decade. In 2013 Global Voices reported that gambling websites had become inaccessible following a judicial order, which the then Telecommunications Minister said he disagreed with; SMEX recorded nine gambling websites blocked that year and observed that the blocks were easy to bypass. This guide could not find an official, current list of blocked gambling domains.
Most enforcement is carried out by the ISF Anti-Gambling Bureau. In December 2025 the ISF announced the arrest on 8 December of a man described as linked to “one of the largest promoters of illegal online gambling”, after earlier arrests of network members operating in North Lebanon and Hermel; phones, computers and other equipment were seized (L’Orient Today). In May 2026 the ISF reported breaking up a network at the Beirut racecourse that ran illegal betting and allegedly manipulated race results; accounts used for the betting were frozen. No dedicated rules on gambling advertising or payment blocking were identified for this guide.
Position of players
The sources reviewed for this guide focus on operators, organisers and promoters rather than on individual players. The ISF statements cited above concern people who managed or promoted networks, and no published case was found in which a person was prosecuted solely for placing bets with an offshore website. Because the text of the Penal Code’s gambling articles could not be verified, this guide does not state whether, or on what terms, participating in unlawful gambling is itself an offence.
Players should nevertheless be aware of three points. First, the only online service presented as licensed is Casino du Liban’s platform; other websites have no Lebanese authorisation and may be blocked. Second, at an awareness event reported by International College in November 2025, a lawyer speaking to students stated that gambling is prohibited for anyone under 21 and warned that violations can lead to a criminal record, while the head of the ISF Anti-Gambling Unit, Colonel Bilal Mahfouz, said that the unit monitors gambling apps and websites and coordinates with money transfer companies to trace suspicious transactions. The statutory basis of the age limit could not be verified for this guide. Third, a person who lends a bank or payment account to a betting network may be drawn into a criminal investigation, as the freezing of accounts in the May 2026 case illustrates.
Taxation
Lebanon taxes casino gambling mainly through the state’s share of Casino du Liban’s revenue rather than through a separate gaming tax. The share has risen over the life of the concession:
- Executive reported in 2000 that the contract provided for 30% of gaming revenue (excluding slot machines) in the first ten years, 40% in the next ten and 50% in the final ten.
- The Monthly reported that these percentages were later amended to 40%, 50% and 60% respectively.
- In 2019 European Gaming reported that the casino paid 50% on slot machine revenue, amounting to about US$45 million a year, and that its chairman had proposed cutting this to 40% if unlicensed gaming centres were closed.
- In early 2024 the chief executive told LBCI that the casino pays the state 50% of its revenues, not its profits.
These figures come from press reports and interviews and may not reflect the current contractual rate. The financial terms of the online platform have not been published. An-Nahar reported in June 2025 that the casino’s revenue was about US$16 million a month, and cited estimates that a regulated online market could yield about US$250 million a year; these are unofficial estimates.
No official source was found on the taxation of players’ winnings from the casino, the lottery or the online platform, so this guide does not state a rate. Readers with questions about the tax treatment of particular winnings should consult the Ministry of Finance or a qualified adviser.
Consumer protection and responsible gambling
Lebanon’s protective framework is thin compared with jurisdictions that have a dedicated regulator. The measures that could be identified are:
- Age limits: a lawyer speaking at the 2025 International College event said gambling is prohibited for anyone under 21 (statutory basis not verified); La Libanaise des Jeux states that lottery players must be over 18.
- Restriction to authorised channels: the monopoly structure and website blocking are presented by the authorities partly as protective measures, as reflected in the “public morals” rationale cited in 2013.
- Enforcement against illegal outlets: the ISF’s raids target cafés and networks that, according to press reports, draw in teenagers and young adults.
No national self-exclusion register or gambling-specific helpline was found. Self-exclusion means a scheme that lets a person bar themselves from gambling venues or sites for a set period. The National Lifeline run by the NGO Embrace with the National Mental Health Programme, on 1564, offers free, confidential emotional support and suicide prevention 24 hours a day; it does not describe itself as a gambling service, but it is a first point of contact for people in distress. General guidance is available in our responsible gambling guide.
Recent and upcoming developments
- Audit Bureau opinion (April 2025). According to An-Nahar, the Audit Bureau concluded that Casino du Liban lacked legal standing to organise online gambling.
- Draft online gaming law (June 2025). A parliamentary subcommittee chaired by MP Tony Frangieh met on 17 June 2025 to discuss a draft law regulating online games (L’Orient Today). An-Nahar reported that the draft would create an independent regulator, require licensed operators to hold capital of LBP 1 billion and lodge a frozen guarantee of LBP 50 billion, permit sports betting, horse-race betting, online poker and casino games, and impose anti-money laundering duties. No record of its adoption was found as of October 2026.
- Raid and detention (June–July 2025). State Security raided Casino du Liban’s premises in mid-June 2025 (L’Orient Today reports give both 18 and 19 June) as part of an inquiry into money laundering linked to illegal online gambling. Roland Khoury was placed in provisional detention on 2 July 2025 by the acting financial prosecutor, Dora al-Khazen; at least ten owners of gaming halls had been arrested (L’Orient Today).
- Procedural disputes (July–September 2025). Appeals filed on 28 July 2025 suspended the financial prosecutor’s investigation (L’Orient Today). After the file moved to Mount Lebanon investigating judge Tarek Bou Nassar, he charged Khoury and the OSS chief executive Jad Gharios on 5 September 2025 with squandering public funds; the prosecution appealed on 8 September, arguing for the embezzlement charge originally brought by the financial prosecutor and citing suspected money laundering and tax evasion (L’Orient Today; indictment chamber report).
- Charges dismissed (June 2026). The Mount Lebanon indictment chamber, presided over by Judge Fadi Aridi, dismissed the embezzlement, money laundering and illicit enrichment charges, treating the remaining alleged offences as misdemeanours for a single criminal judge (L’Orient Today). The outcome of those remaining proceedings was not known at the time of review.
- Concession expiry (2026). Casino du Liban’s 30-year concession is reported to end in 2026. Whether it will be renewed, extended or replaced, and how any renewal would treat online gaming, had not been publicly settled in the sources reviewed.
Casino listings for players in Lebanon
The listings below are generated automatically from our casino database. They do not show that an operator is licensed in Lebanon, and Lebanon publishes no public register of licensed operators. Casino du Liban holds the only gambling concession, and its online platform is the only service presented as licensed by the Ministry of Finance. Other operators have no Lebanese authorisation and their websites may be blocked, so the listings must not be read as an indication that playing with them is lawful.
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Sources and further reading
- Information International, The Monthly, 60 Years after Establishment: Casino du Liban … Where Does All That Money Go? (accessed 7 October 2026).
- Executive magazine, Games People Play (2000).
- LBCI, Casino du Liban Rings in New Year: A 100 Percent Dollarization Revelation (2024).
- Public Gaming International, Illegal Gambling Results in Loss of Millions in Lebanon (2018).
- European Gaming, Casino du Liban to Launch Online Gambling and Sports Betting (2019).
- SiGMA, Lebanon: BetArabia Granted Exclusive Licence to Operate (accessed 7 October 2026).
- An-Nahar, Finance and Tourism Signed the Online Gambling Contract: Do They Share Responsibility for the “Violation” with the Casino? (in Arabic) (2025).
- An-Nahar, The “Online Gambling” Law Would Control the Black Market and Multiply the Profits of the Casino and the Treasury (in Arabic) (2025).
- L’Orient Today, Casino du Liban in Authorities’ Crosshairs amid Money Laundering Accusations (2025).
- L’Orient Today, Casino du Liban CEO Placed in Custody (2025).
- L’Orient Today, Illegal Online Gambling Investigation Stalled by Appeals against Prosecutor (2025).
- L’Orient Today, Illegal Online Gambling Investigation Closed (2025).
- L’Orient Today, Former Casino du Liban CEO, OSS Director Accused of Embezzling Public Funds (2025).
- L’Orient Today, Illegal Online Gambling Case before Baabda Indictment Chamber (2025).
- L’Orient Today, Betarabia Case: Casino du Liban Former Director, OSS CEO Cleared of Public Funds Embezzlement (2026).
- L’Orient Today, Sports Betting Fever Catches on among Lebanese (2026).
- Internal Security Forces, The Anti-Gambling Bureau Arrests One of the Most Dangerous Managers of Illegal Gambling and Betting Networks (2025).
- Internal Security Forces, Statement on an Illegal Betting Network at the Beirut Racecourse (2026).
- Arab News, Illegal Betting Invades Cafes in Lebanon, Targeting Young People (2023).
- International College, Gambling Isn’t Just a Game: Understanding the Legal Consequences (2025).
- Global Voices, Online Gambling No Longer Accessible from Lebanon? (2013).
- SMEX, Blocked Websites in Lebanon 2013 (2014).
- Refworld (UNHCR), Lebanon: Penal Code, 1943 (Legislative Decree No. 340) (accessed 7 October 2026).
- La Libanaise des Jeux, Official website (accessed 7 October 2026).
- Embrace, National Lifeline 1564 (accessed 7 October 2026).
- Wikipedia, Casino du Liban (accessed 7 October 2026).
