Legal casino gambling age in Burundi
Burundi has no single modern gambling statute. Gambling is framed by a chapter of the Penal Code on games of chance, lotteries and prediction contests, by government decisions on the state-owned Loterie Nationale du Burundi (LONA), and, since 2024, by joint ministerial orders that set levies and collection rules. LONA has long been both an operator and the de facto regulator: it grants concessions to private lottery, sports betting and casino operators and supervises them. Sports betting has spread quickly through Bujumbura and provincial towns in recent years. The sector was temporarily suspended in 2021, and a national gambling policy was adopted in 2023, followed by a new system of digital revenue monitoring. A draft decree on gambling was examined by the Council of Ministers in June 2024 but sent back for revision, and no adopted text had been found at the time of this review.
Key points
- The Penal Code, revised by Law No. 1/27 of 29 December 2017, restricts games of chance in public places; there is no stand-alone gambling act in force that could be traced.
- The Loterie Nationale du Burundi, a public enterprise, licenses and supervises lottery, betting and casino concessionaires. A national policy adopted on 5 July 2023 provides for it to give up commercial activity and become a gambling regulatory agency.
- A draft decree governing games of chance, lotteries and prediction contests was examined on 26 June 2024 and returned for revision; its adoption could not be confirmed.
- Joint Ministerial Order No. 760/540/319 of 12 August 2026 sets 10% levies on player deposits, withdrawals and operators’ gross profit, with a 50% penalty and possible licence suspension for late payment.
- A small number of locally licensed online betting platforms operate under LONA concessions; no blocking of foreign gambling websites has been documented.
Last reviewed: 13 October 2026.
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Historical development
The Loterie Nationale du Burundi is a state-owned public enterprise based in Bujumbura. According to the state news agency, the Agence Burundaise de Presse (ABP), LONA alone ran games of chance nationally until 2000, chiefly through instant scratch cards. From then on it began to sign concession contracts with private partners, and by mid-2024 it had 15 approved partners, with further applications pending. A concession in this context is a contract under which the state body authorises a private company to run a gambling activity in return for fees and a share of revenue.
Sports betting grew rapidly in the following years. In April 2022 the economic weekly Burundi Eco reported that about ten bookmakers were active, both in shops and online, and that betting rooms could be found in almost every neighbourhood of Bujumbura and in towns in the interior. A LONA communications adviser told the paper that the lottery supervised bookmakers regularly but “cannot follow them in real time”. A further Burundi Eco report of April 2023 described crowded betting halls in the Buyenzi and Bwiza areas of the capital, with screens showing virtual sports, and bettors who described their betting as compulsive.
The sector was briefly shut down in 2021. Radio Inzamba, an exiled Burundian broadcaster, reported in August 2021 that LONA’s then director general had notified a temporary suspension of activities “until further notice” on 16 June 2021, covering the national lottery, sports betting and gambling houses. No official reason was published; employees attributed the measure to suspected mismanagement at the lottery. New management for LONA was appointed by Decree No. 100/224 of 30 September 2021. Activity later resumed, and by 2023 public concern about betting had become a recurrent political issue (see below).
Legal framework
The Penal Code
The basic rules on gambling are found in criminal law rather than in a dedicated gambling act. The Penal Code of 2009 (Law No. 1/05 of 22 April 2009) contains, in its title on economic offences, a chapter “on games of chance, lotteries and prediction contests”, divided into separate sections on each. The Code was revised by Law No. 1/27 of 29 December 2017. As summarised by Burundi Eco in 2022 and 2023, Article 463 of the revised Code prohibits games of chance in public places or places open to the public, in unenclosed places visible to the public, and in private premises to which anyone wishing to gamble is freely admitted. A full official text of the 2017 Code’s gambling chapter could not be consulted for this review, so the exact penalties and exceptions are not stated here.
In practice, lawful gambling consists of activities conducted by LONA or by companies holding a LONA concession. A game of chance is one in which the outcome depends mainly on luck rather than skill; a prediction contest (concours de pronostics) is the term used in French-language law for betting on the results of sporting or other events.
Policy and implementing instruments
The main policy document is the national gambling policy and its strategic implementation plan for 2023–2035. According to the ABP account of the Council of Ministers of 5 July 2023, the policy, presented by the minister responsible for trade, aims to promote the orderly development of the different kinds of gambling, to limit and frame supply and consumption, and to control and regulate operators. Its central measure is that the national lottery will cease commercial activity and be transformed into a gambling regulatory agency. The Council adopted the policy with observations, including that gambling should be banned in poor neighbourhoods and that the places where gambling may be organised should be specified.
The policy has been followed by several implementing texts:
- January 2024. On 3 January 2024 the Council of Ministers adopted a public-private partnership contract with a private technology consortium to monitor the gambling sector and optimise revenue, together with a draft joint ministerial order on the collection of gambling fees and contributions (ABP, 9 January 2024).
- June 2024. A draft decree governing games of chance, lotteries and prediction contests was examined on 26 June 2024 but not adopted (see “Recent and upcoming developments”).
- February 2025. On 26 February 2025 the Council adopted a joint ministerial order implementing Article 118 of Law No. 1/127 of 30 December 2024, which amended the 2024/25 budget law, on the fees and contributions LONA collects from all types of games of chance, including tombolas (ABP, 8 March 2025).
- August 2026. Joint Ministerial Order No. 760/540/319, signed on 12 August 2026, implements Article 156 of the 2026/27 Finance Law and restates the levy and collection regime (Focus Gaming News, 23 August 2026).
The result is a framework built largely through fiscal legislation and ministerial orders, while the substantive rules on who may offer which games, where and on what conditions remain to be set by the pending decree.
Regulator and licensing model
Burundi’s model is best described as a state-controlled concession system. Rather than an independent regulator issuing licences under a statute, the state lottery company authorises private operators by contract and supervises them. LONA is a public enterprise under ministerial supervision; the trade ministry has presented the main gambling policy texts, and the finance ministry the fiscal ones. ABP’s 2024 report noted that LONA had become both operator and regulator at the same time, a dual role that the 2023 policy is designed to end.
No official register of licensees was found online. Published counts vary with the date and the scope of what is counted:
- about ten bookmakers operating in shops and online in 2022 (Burundi Eco);
- 15 approved partners with signed concession contracts in mid-2024 (ABP);
- six licensed online operators and a single licensed land-based operator for casino and ticket-based gaming in July 2026, according to LONA’s commercial director as reported by SiGMA News.
Licence conditions, fees and durations have not been published in a consolidated form. When it sent the June 2024 draft decree back, the Council of Ministers asked that conditions for operating, locations and opening hours, the length of authorisations and the conditions for renewal all be specified, which indicates that these matters were not yet settled in regulation (ABP, 22 July 2024). Under the August 2026 order, operators must give LONA full access to their information systems (SiGMA News, 31 August 2026), and LONA stated in July 2026 that raffles and lottery promotions require its prior approval (SiGMA News, 7 July 2026).
Under the 2023–2035 plan, LONA is to become a dedicated regulatory agency, phasing out its own commercial products while existing concession contracts run to expiry (Focus Gaming News, 14 October 2025). SiGMA News reported in May 2026, citing reports on the reform process rather than an official statement, that the transition was expected to be completed by mid-2026, but no decree creating the agency had been located at the time of this review.
Online gambling
No Burundian law specifically addresses remote gambling, meaning gambling over the internet or by mobile phone. In practice, online sports betting and lottery products are offered by companies operating under LONA concessions, and LONA’s commercial director listed six licensed online operators in July 2026 (SiGMA News). In July 2026 LONA also announced a transaction monitoring network developed with four local mobile-money and banking payment providers, intended to improve the visibility of gambling payments and ensure that gambling taxes and levies are collected accurately (SiGMA News, 7 July 2026).
Online casino games have no distinct legal category. The Penal Code’s restrictions focus on places where gambling takes place, and LONA’s concession model does not, on the available evidence, include a separate online casino licence. The minister of the interior said publicly in October 2023 that other games of chance, including casino games, had been suspended across the country (Burundi Eco, 12 October 2023); the scope and duration of that suspension could not be confirmed from official sources.
Offshore operators, meaning companies licensed abroad that accept Burundian customers over the internet, are not authorised by LONA. No blocking of their websites by internet service providers, and no payment blocking, has been documented. Enforcement has instead concentrated on revenue. At a press conference in Bujumbura on 26 June 2026, LONA urged gambling companies, mobile agents and payment houses involved in unlicensed gambling to comply with the law or face sanctions, without specifying the sanctions (Focus Gaming News, 30 June 2026). Under the August 2026 order, failure to connect machines and systems to the state’s electronic financial monitoring is classed as a serious fault punishable under the Penal Code (SiGMA News, 31 August 2026).
No specific rules on gambling advertising were found. As early as 2022, a LONA official acknowledged that the lottery lacked software to follow bookmakers’ activity in real time (Burundi Eco, 2022), and in 2023 a bettor told Burundi Eco that minors turned away from betting halls simply bet online instead.
Position of players
The sources reviewed do not show that Burundian law makes it an offence for an individual to place a bet with a foreign online operator. The Penal Code provision described above targets gambling in public or freely accessible places, and its precise application to players, as opposed to organisers, could not be checked against the official text. No reported prosecution or fine of an individual player was found.
Players are, however, directly affected by the levy regime. Since mid-2026 LONA has stated that players pay 10% of every deposit and 10% of every withdrawal made through authorised platforms (Focus Gaming News, 30 June 2026). Winnings that remain unclaimed for three months with no account activity are transferred to the Public Treasury (Focus Gaming News, 23 August 2026).
On age limits, Burundi Eco reported in 2022 that sports betting was prohibited for people under 18, while noting that minors easily gained access to betting halls. In 2023 the same paper found that betting halls were in practice accessible to anyone, including under-18s. No legal text setting a minimum age could be located.
Taxation
Gambling revenue is collected through LONA, which acts as the state’s channel for fees and contributions, rather than directly by the Office Burundais des Recettes (OBR), the national revenue authority. The rates have changed several times:
| Date | Instrument | Main levies |
|---|---|---|
| January 2024 | Public-private partnership contract and draft joint order adopted by the Council of Ministers | State commitment to levy 10% on players’ stakes, 10% on players’ winnings and 5% on operators’ gross gaming product |
| February 2025 | Joint order implementing Article 118 of Law No. 1/127 of 30 December 2024 | Rules on LONA’s fees and contributions from all games of chance, including tombolas; LONA revenue split 40% to the Treasury, 60% to LONA |
| June 2026 | LONA public announcement | 10% on deposits, 10% on withdrawals, 10% of concessionaires’ profits |
| 12 August 2026 | Joint Ministerial Order No. 760/540/319 (Article 156, Finance Law 2026/27) | 10% on deposits, 10% on withdrawals, 10% contribution on gross profit, 10% on the value of prizes in promotional games and tombolas |
Sources: ABP (9 January 2024; 8 March 2025); Focus Gaming News (30 June and 23 August 2026).
Under the 2026 order, gross profit is defined as net turnover minus winnings paid to players, and net turnover as total stakes minus the levy on stakes. Gross profit in this sense is close to the concept of gross gaming revenue (GGR), the amount operators retain after paying out winnings. Fees are calculated and paid monthly, operators have ten days from receipt of an invoice to pay, late payment attracts a penalty of 50% of the invoiced amount, and a licence may be suspended if a sum remains unpaid for more than one month (SiGMA News, 31 August 2026). Payments are made into a segregated account at the Bank of the Republic of Burundi held jointly by LONA and its private partner; LONA’s share is divided 40% to the Public Treasury and 60% to LONA (Focus Gaming News, 23 August 2026).
The fiscal results of the sector have been the subject of parliamentary attention. In May 2024 the minister of finance told the Senate that LONA was among more than seventeen public or mixed enterprises that had never paid a dividend to the state (Iwacu, 24 May 2024). Whether gambling winnings are also subject to personal income tax administered by the OBR could not be verified.
Consumer protection and responsible gambling
Burundi has no national self-exclusion register, no published code on responsible gambling and no dedicated gambling helpline that could be identified. Player protection appears in policy documents rather than in enforceable rules. The 2023 national policy refers to limiting the supply and consumption of gambling, and its adoption was accompanied by a recommendation to ban gambling in poor neighbourhoods (ABP, 11 July 2023). Burundi Eco reported that the strategic plan also envisaged protecting children and vulnerable people and specifying which games the Penal Code punishes (Burundi Eco, 12 October 2023). One of the stated aims of the June 2024 draft decree was to protect “the population in general and players in particular” (ABP, 22 July 2024).
Evidence of harm comes mainly from the press. In July 2024 Iwacu published accounts of young bettors who had lost large sums, borrowed to bet and fallen into debt, and of a mother whose son had left school. At a public meeting in Gitega in October 2023, a resident asked the government to suspend sports betting, saying that it drained household money and kept parents from raising their children properly; the minister of the interior responded that sports betting was a scam (escroquerie) that had to be fought at all costs (Burundi Eco, 12 October 2023). No national prevalence survey of problem gambling was found.
Treatment for addiction is available at the Centre Neuro-Psychiatrique de Kamenge (CNPK) in Bujumbura, whose addiction unit opened in March 2011 and accepts only patients who are willing to be treated; the report includes gambling in its definition of addiction (Iwacu, 28 September 2011). LONA discussed responsible gaming and player protection with Guinea’s gaming regulator during a study visit to Conakry in August 2026 (Focus Gaming News, 25 August 2026). General guidance on recognising and limiting gambling harm is available in our responsible gambling guide.
Recent and upcoming developments
- Draft gambling decree (pending). The draft decree governing games of chance, lotteries and prediction contests was examined on 26 June 2024 and sent back for revision. The Council asked for clearer rules on the amounts paid to the state, operating conditions, locations and hours, licence periods and renewal, and decided that it would be re-examined together with a draft decree creating a gambling regulatory agency (ABP, 22 July 2024). No adoption had been reported by October 2026.
- Digital monitoring. Following the January 2024 partnership, a gambling management system is being introduced in phases: lotteries, online platforms, sports betting and horse racing first, casino operations later (Focus Gaming News, 14 October 2025). A payment monitoring network with four payment providers was announced in July 2026.
- Levies and enforcement (2026). LONA’s June 2026 press conference and Joint Ministerial Order No. 760/540/319 of 12 August 2026 set the current 10% levies, the 50% late-payment penalty and the possibility of licence suspension.
- Transition to a regulator. LONA’s planned conversion into a regulatory agency remains in progress. At a retreat in Gitega on 21 August 2026 its management reviewed and approved plans for the next five years (Focus Gaming News, 11 September 2026).
- Regional cooperation. LONA has pursued exchanges with regulators in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Focus Gaming News, 14 October 2025) and Guinea (August 2026).
Casino listings for players in Burundi
The listings below are generated automatically from our casino database. They do not show that an operator is licensed in Burundi. Lawful gambling in Burundi is limited to LONA and the companies holding its concessions, and no separate online casino licence is known to exist; LONA does not publish an online register of licensees. The listings must not be read as an indication that an operator is authorised in Burundi or that playing with it is lawful.
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Related country guides
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Sources and further reading
- Agence Burundaise de Presse (ABP), Le Conseil des ministres adopte la stratégie nationale de la coopération au développement (2023).
- Agence Burundaise de Presse (ABP), Le projet de contrat de partenariat public-privé entre l’Etat du Burundi et le consortium … adopté lors du Conseil des ministres (2024).
- Agence Burundaise de Presse (ABP), Analyse du projet de décret régissant les jeux de hasard, les loteries et les concours de pronostics au Burundi par le Conseil des ministres du mercredi le 26 juin 2024 (2024).
- Agence Burundaise de Presse (ABP), Analyse et adoption des plafonds d’engagement des dépenses du troisième trimestre 2024-2025 (2025).
- Republic of Burundi, Loi n°1/05 du 22 avril 2009 portant révision du Code pénal (2009; copy hosted by UNICEF).
- Présidence de la République du Burundi, Décret n°100/224 du 30 septembre 2021 portant nomination du directeur général et des directeurs à la Loterie Nationale du Burundi (2021).
- Nkurunziza, G. (Burundi Eco), Paris sportifs : dangereux pour la société (2022).
- Nkurunziza, G. (Burundi Eco), Prolifération des maisons qui proposent les paris sportifs : un danger pour la société ? (2023).
- Tuyubahe, M. (Burundi Eco), Paris sportifs : quel gaspillage de ressources ? (2023).
- Akimana, S. (Iwacu), Face cachée des paris sportifs : témoignages d’une addiction dévastatrice (2024).
- Akimana, S. (Iwacu), Les dividendes des entreprises publiques en débat au Sénat (2024).
- Iwacu, Santé mentale : les accros à l’alcool et aux jeux de hasard appelés à se faire soigner au CNPK (2011).
- Radio Inzamba, Sous suspension, les employés des maisons de jeux de hasard viennent de passer deux mois sans salaire (2021).
- Focus Gaming News, Burundi accelerates 2035 plan as LONA transforms into sole gambling regulator (2025).
- Focus Gaming News, Burundi LONA warns against illegal betting at Bujumbura press conference (2026).
- Focus Gaming News, Burundi sets licence suspension rule for unpaid gambling fees (2026).
- Focus Gaming News, Burundi National Lottery deepens gaming regulatory cooperation with Guinea (2026).
- Focus Gaming News, Burundi National Lottery maps out five-year project plans (2026).
- Verma, A. (SiGMA News), Burundi expands gambling payment monitoring network (2026).
- Seal, R. (SiGMA News), Burundi tightens gambling oversight with 50% late fee penalty (2026).
- Limouzy, G. (SiGMA News), Burundi transforms industry by launching instant payment system (2026).
