Djibouti is a small Muslim-majority state in the Horn of Africa whose legal system is largely modelled on French law. It has no dedicated gambling statute, no independent gambling regulator and, as far as the published record shows, no national lottery. What the public record does show is narrow but specific. Casinos and gaming establishments exist as a recognised category of business. They must declare their activity to the Ministry of the Interior, and they are subject to the country’s anti-money laundering law. An international assessment in 2024 counted a single casino in the country. Online gambling is not addressed by any law located for this guide. No Djiboutian authority licenses online casinos or sportsbooks, and no blocking regime aimed at offshore gambling sites could be identified. This guide sets out what can be verified, and is explicit about what cannot.
Key points
- The Constitution of 1992 (as revised in 2010) states in Article 1 that Islam is the religion of the State; the wider legal system is described as largely inspired by French legislation.
- No specific gambling act or gambling regulator was identified. The anti-money laundering law as amended in 2025 designates the Ministry of the Interior as the supervisory authority for casinos and gaming establishments.
- A 2024 mutual evaluation by the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF) recorded one casino in Djibouti and rated gaming establishments as a high money-laundering risk.
- No state lottery, national betting operator or online gambling licence could be found in official or reputable sources.
- No published law located for this guide makes playing on a foreign online gambling site an offence, but no law authorises it either, and players have no local recourse against offshore operators.
Last reviewed: 13 October 2026.
Top Rated Online Casinos for Djibouti
Lincoln Casino
Sign Up100% up to
$100
+ 25 Spins
Vegas Casino Online
Sign Up400% up to
$500
Liberty Slots Casino
Sign Up100% up to
$259
Sloto'Cash Casino
Sign Up100% up to
$500
Tsars Casino
Sign Up100% up to
€300
+ 100 Spins
Slot Hunter
Sign Up100% up to
$/€1,000
+ 100 Spins
Lincoln Casino
Sign Up100% up to
$100
+ 25 Spins
Vegas Casino Online
Sign Up400% up to
$500
Liberty Slots Casino
Sign Up100% up to
$259
Sloto'Cash Casino
Sign Up100% up to
$500
Tsars Casino
Sign Up100% up to
€300
+ 100 Spins
Slot Hunter
Sign Up100% up to
$/€1,000
+ 100 Spins
Historical development
Djibouti is a former French territory, and its institutions reflect that history. A 2022 research guide published by New York University’s GlobaLex service describes Djibouti’s legal and judicial systems as “largely inspired by French legislation”. It identifies a mixture of civil law inherited from the French codes, Islamic law (Sharia) and customary law, with Islamic law historically applied to family matters such as marriage, divorce and inheritance (GlobaLex, Researching the Legal System of the Republic of Djibouti). The current Constitution was adopted in September 1992 (WIPO Lex record of the 1992 Constitution) and revised in 2010. Its Article 1 declares that “Islam is the Religion of the State” (Constitute Project translation).
That combination is important for gambling policy. In many states with a French legal heritage, gambling is governed by a general prohibition in the penal code together with exceptions granted by decree for casinos, lotteries and pari-mutuel betting. In many Muslim-majority states, gambling (in Arabic, maysir) is regarded as religiously forbidden and is either banned or tolerated only for foreign visitors. Djibouti sits between these models. It has not adopted a comprehensive gambling statute, but it has allowed at least one casino to operate under administrative authorisation.
The earliest legal text located for this guide that expressly mentions casinos is the anti-money laundering law of 2002, Loi n°196/AN/02/4ème L on money laundering, confiscation and international cooperation regarding the proceeds of crime, dated 29 December 2002. It listed “casinos et établissements de jeux” (casinos and gaming establishments) among the businesses subject to the law. Article 2-2-10 imposed specific duties on them, including the application of national accounting principles to “casinos et cercles de jeux” (casinos and gaming clubs) and the recording of all fund transfers between such establishments. The law therefore assumed that casinos could lawfully operate in Djibouti, even though it did not itself create a licensing regime.
Trade press reports document the opening of a casino in Djibouti City in 2009. According to Intergame, a gaming trade publication, the venue opened on 19 March 2009 inside an international chain hotel in the capital. It was run by a gaming company based in the United Arab Emirates, and the Prime Minister of Djibouti attended the opening ceremony (Intergame, April 2009). The report described slot machines with a ticket-in, ticket-out system, live table games and a private poker room. A later Intergame report in February 2013 described the same UAE-based company opening a new casino in Djibouti as the latest in its string of African casinos (Intergame, February 2013). Neither report referred to a licensing law or a named regulator.
Legal framework
No dedicated gambling statute
No Djiboutian statute dedicated to gambling, casinos, lotteries or betting could be located for this guide, whether on official government websites, the Central Bank of Djibouti’s legal library or recognised legal research guides. GlobaLex notes that Djiboutian laws take effect on publication in the Journal Officiel de la République de Djibouti, the official gazette, and the guide lists no official online archive of the gazette (GlobaLex). It is therefore possible that decrees or ministerial orders on gaming exist without being publicly available online. Readers should treat the absence of a located text as a gap in the available record, not as proof that no rule exists.
The Penal Code
A publicly available copy of Djibouti’s Penal Code hosted by the human rights organisation Equipo Nizkor (Code pénal de Djibouti) is incomplete: it ends part-way through Book II, at Article 161, and the portion available contains no provision on gambling, lotteries or gaming houses. This guide was unable to verify whether the full code contains offences of keeping an unauthorised gaming house or running an unauthorised lottery, as the French penal tradition did. Equally, no reliable source reporting prosecutions for gambling offences in Djibouti was found. Statements elsewhere that the Penal Code “bans” or “permits” gambling should be treated with caution unless they cite the article concerned.
The anti-money laundering law
The clearest current legal text on gaming is the anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing law. Loi n°106/AN/24/9ème L was adopted in 2024 and was amended by Loi n°178/AN/25/9ème L, which the National Assembly adopted at its public session of 2 June 2025. As amended, the law provides that:
- Coverage (Article 2-1-1). “Les casinos et les établissements de jeux” are among the businesses subject to the law’s preventive obligations.
- Supervisor (Article 2-3-1). The Ministry of the Interior is the supervisory authority “en ce qui concerne les casinos, les établissements de jeux”.
- Declaration of activity (Article 2-3-6(a)). Before starting business, casinos and gaming establishments must send a declaration of activity to the Ministry of the Interior, in order to obtain the authorisation to open and operate provided for by national legislation, and must justify the lawful origin of the funds needed to set up the establishment.
- Accounts and records (Article 2-3-6(b), (d) and (e)). They must keep regular accounts for at least five years. They must keep registers, stamped by the competent administrative authority, recording large player transactions and all transfers of funds between casinos and gaming clubs.
- Player identification (Article 2-3-6(c)). They must verify, using a valid official identity document, the identity of players who buy, bring or exchange chips or plaques for more than 500,000 Djibouti francs (DJF).
- Chips (Article 2-3-6, final paragraph). Where a gaming establishment is run by a company with several subsidiaries, chips must identify the subsidiary that issued them, and chips issued by one subsidiary may not be redeemed at another, including abroad.
The Agence Nationale de Renseignements Financiers (ANRF), Djibouti’s financial intelligence unit, includes “les casinos et établissements de jeux” among the designated non-financial businesses and professions (DNFBPs) to which its operational guidance applies (ANRF guidance for reporting entities). A DNFBP is a business outside the financial sector, such as a casino, notary or estate agent, that international standards treat as vulnerable to money laundering.
This framework is important but limited. It treats casinos as legitimate businesses that must be supervised for financial crime. It does not define which games are permitted, how many casinos may operate, what fees or taxes apply, or what protections players are owed.
Regulator and licensing model
Djibouti does not have an independent gambling regulator, meaning a dedicated statutory body that licenses and supervises gambling operators. Its model is best described as administrative authorisation: the government permits individual establishments case by case, with the Ministry of the Interior as the responsible ministry. The 2024 MENAFATF mutual evaluation report, which reflects an on-site visit from 18 February to 7 March 2024 (FATF summary page), states that “the Ministry of the Interior is in charge of issuing registration permits to gaming establishments” and of ensuring police surveillance. It links checks on whether managers and shareholders are fit and proper to the registration procedure (MENAFATF mutual evaluation report, 2024).
The report gives the following picture of the sector:
| Item | Position recorded in the 2024 MENAFATF report |
|---|---|
| Number of casinos | 1 |
| Licensing or registration authority | Government (registration permits issued by the Ministry of the Interior) |
| Sanctioning authority | Ministry of the Interior |
| Money-laundering risk of gaming establishments (national risk assessment) | High |
| Weight given to casinos in the evaluation | Medium |
Djibouti’s first national money-laundering and terrorist-financing risk assessment was carried out in February 2022 and approved in July 2022 by the National Counter Terrorism Committee. As summarised by the evaluators, that assessment rated gaming establishments as high risk. They also found that designated non-financial businesses in Djibouti had no written anti-money laundering policies, procedures or controls and had received no internal training on these subjects (MENAFATF, 2024).
The report does not identify the single casino. This guide does not name private operators, and it has not been able to confirm from an official source whether the hotel casino reported in 2009 is the one counted in 2024. No public register of authorised gaming establishments, no published licence fees and no official list of permitted games could be found.
Lotteries and betting
No state lottery, national lottery company or pari-mutuel betting operator for Djibouti could be identified in official sources, international lottery bodies’ public materials or the trade press reviewed for this guide. A pari-mutuel (PMU-type) system is one in which all stakes are pooled and the winnings are shared among winning bettors after a deduction. The 2002 and 2024–2025 money laundering laws refer to casinos, gaming establishments and gaming clubs but not to lotteries. Several African states with a French legal heritage operate a national lottery that also runs sports betting. Djibouti does not appear to follow that model, although the absence of online records means that this cannot be stated with certainty.
Online gambling
No Djiboutian law or official statement located for this guide authorises, licenses or expressly prohibits online gambling. There is no online casino or online betting licence, and no Djiboutian authority publishes a list of approved websites. The money laundering law’s provisions on casinos are framed around physical establishments, chips and registers, and it does not mention remote or online gaming.
The practical position is that online gambling is unregulated rather than licensed. Any online casino or sportsbook that accepts players in Djibouti does so from abroad, under a foreign licence or none, and outside Djiboutian supervision.
Enforcement: blocking, payments and advertising
No blocking regime aimed at gambling websites was identified. Blocking here means an order requiring internet service providers to make sites inaccessible. No payment-blocking rules for gambling were identified either, and nor were any advertising rules specific to gambling. Djibouti’s telecommunications sector has historically been dominated by Djibouti Telecom, which is wholly owned by the state through the Djibouti Sovereign Wealth Fund. In April 2025 African Business reported that the company “can no longer rely on its former monopoly position” because new fixed-internet providers had entered the market. It also reported that a Digital Code bill had been tabled in Parliament (African Business, 3 April 2025). This guide found no evidence that these developments have been used to restrict gambling sites.
Mobile money and electronic money services operate in Djibouti and could in principle be used to fund gambling accounts. The 2024 MENAFATF report lists two e-money issuers licensed and supervised by the Central Bank of Djibouti (MENAFATF, 2024). No rule restricting their use for gambling payments could be found. Payments to foreign gambling sites may, however, fall within the general customer-identification and reporting duties that the money laundering law imposes on financial institutions. These include identification for occasional transactions above DJF 177,000 and enhanced review of transactions above DJF 1,000,000 (Loi n°178/AN/25).
Position of players
The sources reviewed do not establish that gambling, as such, is an offence for players in Djibouti. Players at a lawfully operating casino must be prepared to identify themselves with an official document when their chip purchases or exchanges exceed DJF 500,000, and their transactions may be recorded in the casino’s registers. That obligation falls on the casino, but in practice it affects the player.
For online gambling, no law located for this guide makes it an offence to play on a foreign website, and no reported prosecution of a player was found. That is not the same as saying online play is lawful. No Djiboutian authority licenses or supervises online operators, so players have no local regulator to complain to, no guarantee that games are fair, and no domestic mechanism for recovering funds if an operator refuses to pay. Because the full Penal Code could not be reviewed, this guide cannot exclude the possibility that general provisions on unauthorised gambling apply. Religious and social attitudes are a further consideration in a state that declares Islam its official religion, even where they are not reflected in criminal law.
Taxation
No gambling-specific tax could be verified for this guide, whether a tax on casino revenue, a betting duty or a withholding tax on players’ winnings. GlobaLex notes that Djibouti’s General Tax Code was reformed by Law No. 108/AN/00 (GlobaLex), but no current consolidated text of that code was available for review. The initial state budget law for 2012, Loi n°150/AN/11/6ème L, contains no provision on casinos, gaming or lotteries. Any casino operating in Djibouti would be expected to be subject to the general company tax rules, but the specific terms of any authorisation, which may include levies, have not been published. Readers who need a definitive answer on the tax treatment of gaming income or winnings should consult the Direction des Impôts or a Djiboutian tax adviser.
Consumer protection and responsible gambling
Djibouti has no national self-exclusion scheme, statutory responsible gambling code or dedicated problem gambling helpline that could be identified for this guide. Self-exclusion is an arrangement under which a person asks to be barred from gambling venues or sites. The only player-facing rules located are the identification and record-keeping duties in the money laundering law. These are designed to detect financial crime rather than to protect gamblers from harm.
In practice, people in Djibouti who are worried about their own gambling, or that of a family member, will need to rely on general health and social services and on international online resources. General information on recognising and limiting gambling harm is available in our responsible gambling guide. Anyone using foreign online sites should be aware that the tools such sites offer, such as deposit limits and self-exclusion, are governed by the operator’s foreign licence, if any, and cannot be enforced by any Djiboutian authority.
Recent and upcoming developments
- New anti-money laundering law (2024). Loi n°106/AN/24/9ème L established the current anti-money laundering framework. As amended in 2025, it places casinos and gaming establishments under the supervision of the Ministry of the Interior.
- MENAFATF mutual evaluation (2024). The report, based on an on-site visit in February and March 2024, recorded one casino, rated gaming establishments as high risk and found weak anti-money laundering controls among non-financial businesses (FATF).
- Amending law (2025). Loi n°178/AN/25/9ème L, adopted on 2 June 2025, amended the 2024 law and restated the declaration, identification and record-keeping duties for casinos (text). The ANRF has since issued operational guidance that covers casinos (ANRF).
- Telecommunications reform (2025). African Business reported in April 2025 that a Digital Code bill had been tabled and that the state operator’s former monopoly was being eroded (African Business). No gambling-related provisions have been reported.
- No gambling reform identified. As of October 2026, no bill or decree to regulate online gambling, create a gambling regulator or establish a national lottery was found in the sources reviewed.
Casino listings for players in Djibouti
The listings below are generated automatically from our casino database. They do not show that an operator is licensed or authorised in Djibouti. No Djiboutian authority licenses online casinos and there is no public register to check them against. The listings must not be read as an indication that online play is regulated or protected under Djiboutian law.
Vegas Casino Online
No Deposit Bonus
$ 20
Liberty Slots Casino
No Deposit Bonus
$ 18
Sloto'Cash Casino
100% up to
∞
Tsars Casino
100% up to
€300
+ 100 Spins
Casino Extreme
200 Spins
Slot Hunter
20% up to
∞
22Bet Casino
100% up to
$/€300
+ 30 Spins
1Red Casino
20% up to
∞
Lucky Tiger Casino
No Deposit Bonus
$ 55
Shazam Casino
Exclusive No Deposit Bonus
$ 50
Casino Brango
500% up to
$/€100
+ 500 Spins
Red Stag Casino
25% up to
∞
Lincoln Casino
No Deposit Bonus
$ 18
Highway Casino
$ 30
Rich Palms Casino
250% up to
∞
Miami Club Casino
50 Spins
BitStarz Casino
100% up to
₿1
+ 180 Spins
Omni Slots
100% up to
€300
+ 50 Spins
Yabby Casino
202% up to
∞
LOKI Casino
50% up to
€500
+ 60 Spins
Casino Classic
1 Spins
Uptown Aces
250% up to
∞
LeoVegas
50 Spins
Fair Go Casino
200% up to
∞
PlayCroco Casino
300% up to
∞
+ 60 Spins
VAVADA Casino
100 Spins
DuckyLuck Casino
500% up to
$/€2,500
+ 150 Spins
Betsafe Casino
100% up to
€100
+ 150 Spins
CasinoCasino
100% up to
€100
Las Vegas USA Casino
No Deposit Bonus
$ 20
Fruits4Real
125% up to
€125
+ 60 Spins
Zodiac Casino
$ 80
Sun Palace Casino
No Deposit Bonus
$ 20
Casilando
10 Spins
Gold Prize Casino
10% up to
$100
EnergyCasino
100% up to
$/€200
+ 400 Spins
Slots Plus
No Deposit Bonus
$ 20
Omni Casino
100% up to
$/€250
.jpg?x15984){kind=logo}
Everygame Classic Casino
200% up to
∞
+ 50 Spins
El Royale Casino
230% up to
∞
NetBet Casino
100 Spins
Slots And Casino
500% up to
∞
+ 150 Spins
EmuCasino
100% up to
∞
Slots Empire
230% up to
$7,500
Casino Max
400% up to
∞
+ 20 Spins
Red Dog Casino
Slotsroom Casino
400% up to
∞
+ 20 Spins
Spinfinity Casino
400% up to
∞
+ 20 Spins
PokerStars Casino
JacksPay
200% up to
$2,000
Luxury Casino
100% up to
$/€150
House of Jack Casino
100% up to
€500
+ 200 Spins
Jackpot Capital
25% up to
∞
888 Casino
100% up to
€200
Villento Casino
100% up to
$/€150
BlackJack Ballroom
100% up to
$/€150
Las Atlantis Casino
$ 2,500
Slotastic
250% up to
∞
Ripper Casino
25% up to
∞
Scatters Casino
100 Spins
North Casino
100% up to
$/€100
SlotsPalace Casino
25% up to
$/€200
.jpg?x15984)
Eddy Vegas Casino
30% up to
∞
Yeti Casino
10% up to
∞
Wicked Plays
45% up to
∞
Fun Casino
100 Spins
LadyLuck Casino
100 Spins
Cherry Jackpot
400% up to
∞
+ 20 Spins
Playzee Casino
100% up to
$/€300
+ 100 Spins
10bet Casino
100% up to
£25
Grande Vegas
150% up to
$300
TrueFortune
200% up to
€2,000
Ozwin Casino
$ 10
Roaring 21 Casino
400% up to
∞
+ 20 Spins
21 Casino
21 Spins
Dreamz Casino
10% up to
∞
Grand Mondial
PlayOJO Casino
50 Spins
DBbet Casino
100% up to
€100
La Riviera Casino
5% up to
∞
Casino Mate
100% up to
$/€200
+ 20 Spins
MELBET Casino
50% up to
€350
+ 30 Spins
Cadoola Casino
25% up to
$/€200
Justspin Casino
100% up to
$/€100
+ 500 Spins
777 Casino
100% up to
$/€20
Dafabet Casino
100% up to
$140
Nomini Casino
100% up to
€500
+ 200 Spins
Slot Planet
100% up to
€222
+ 22 Spins
Wazamba
50% up to
∞
+ 200 Spins
Slottica Casino
200% up to
∞
BetOnline Casino
100 Spins
Betway Casino
150 Spins
Bet365 Casino
CasinoClic
100% up to
€200
+ 30 Spins
Betmaster Casino
Betfair Casino
Related country guides
- Ethiopia gambling guide
- Saudi Arabia gambling guide
- Kenya gambling guide
- Uganda gambling guide
- Qatar gambling guide
Sources and further reading
- Constitute Project, Djibouti’s Constitution of 1992 with Amendments through 2010 (accessed 13 October 2026).
- World Intellectual Property Organization, WIPO Lex, Constitution de la République de Djibouti (1992) (accessed 13 October 2026).
- Mustafe Mohamed H. Dahir, GlobaLex, NYU School of Law, Researching the Legal System of the Republic of Djibouti (2022).
- République de Djibouti, via Banque Centrale de Djibouti, Loi n°196/AN/02/4ème L sur le blanchiment, la confiscation et la coopération internationale en matière de produits du crime (2002).
- République de Djibouti, via Banque Centrale de Djibouti, Loi n°178/AN/25/9ème L portant modification de la Loi n°106/AN/24/9ème L relative à la lutte contre le blanchiment des capitaux, le financement du terrorisme et la prolifération des armes de destruction massive (2025).
- Agence Nationale de Renseignements Financiers, via Banque Centrale de Djibouti, Ligne directrice: lutte contre le blanchiment de capitaux et le financement du terrorisme, guide opérationnel à l’intention des entités assujetties (accessed 13 October 2026).
- Financial Action Task Force, Djibouti’s measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing (2024).
- MENAFATF, Anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing measures: Republic of Djibouti, Mutual Evaluation Report (2024).
- Equipo Nizkor, Code pénal de Djibouti (partial text) (accessed 13 October 2026).
- République de Djibouti, via Chambre de Commerce de Djibouti, Loi n°150/AN/11/6ème L portant budget initial de l’Etat pour l’exercice 2012 (2011).
- Intergame, News report on the opening of a hotel casino in Djibouti City (3 April 2009).
- Intergame, News report on a UAE-based operator’s new casino in Djibouti (12 February 2013).
- African Business, Djibouti Telecom, at a crossroads (3 April 2025).
Sweden’s Credit Gambling Ban Puts Casino Payment Flows Back in Focus
GLI Approved to Test New Zealand iGaming Market
Brazil Sets December Deadline for Former Betting Operators
Tonybet Adds Poker to Its Irish Platform
SBC Awards 2026 Winners Announced in Lisbon