Mayotte, an island territory in the Mozambique Channel between Madagascar and the east African coast, has been a French overseas department since 31 March 2011. Under Article 73 of the French Constitution, national laws apply there automatically, so its gambling rules are in principle those of France as a whole. Gambling is prohibited unless a statute expressly allows it. The lawful offer in Mayotte is narrow. The pari-mutuel operator PMU has taken bets in local points of sale since 2012, the national lottery operator FDJ opened its first retail outlets on the island in November 2020, and residents can use the online sports betting, horse-race betting and poker sites licensed by the Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ). There is no casino in Mayotte, and online casino games are prohibited throughout France.
Key points
- Mayotte became a single department and region governed by Article 73 of the Constitution on 31 March 2011, after a referendum on 29 March 2009. French gambling law applies there as of right, subject to any adaptations.
- French law starts from a general prohibition of gambling, set out in the Code de la sécurité intérieure, with exceptions for casinos, exclusive-rights operators (FDJ and PMU) and ANJ-licensed online operators.
- No casino operates in Mayotte. Two 2026 Senate bills would widen the criteria under which communes in the overseas departments, including Mayotte, may host one, but neither had been adopted at the time of review.
- Online sports betting, horse-race betting and poker are legal only through ANJ-licensed sites. All online casino games, including online slot machines, remain prohibited.
- Players’ winnings are generally exempt from income tax. Operators pay levies on gross gaming revenue, several of which were raised on 1 July 2025.
- The national voluntary gambling ban (minimum three years) and the Joueurs Info Service helpline (09 74 75 13 13) are available to residents of Mayotte as elsewhere in France.
Last reviewed: 13 October 2026.
Top Rated Online Casinos for Mayotte
Historical development
For decades before 2011 Mayotte held an atypical status within the French Republic. A Senate report of 2016 describes this status, announced as provisional, as that of a territorial collectivity under Article 72 of the Constitution rather than a department. On 29 March 2009 voters approved the transformation of Mayotte into a single collectivity called a “Department”, with 95.2% of votes cast in favour and a turnout of 61.37% of registered voters. The new Department of Mayotte, “a single collectivity governed by Article 73 of the Constitution”, came into being on 31 March 2011 with the first meeting of its council (French Senate, Report No. 703 (2015–2016)).
The change also altered Mayotte’s relationship with the European Union. Under European Council Decision 2012/419/EU, Mayotte ceased to be an overseas country or territory and became an outermost region of the EU within the meaning of Article 349 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union from 1 January 2014 (European Parliament Legislative Observatory). From that date EU law applies to Mayotte, subject to the specific measures that Article 349 permits for outermost regions; the same Parliament summary notes a parallel proposal to exclude Mayotte, like the other French outermost regions, from the scope of the EU VAT and excise directives.
The gambling framework that applies in Mayotte therefore has a metropolitan history. A report of the National Assembly’s Law Committee notes that French law has prohibited gambling in principle since the ban on lotteries in 1836, with exceptions created one by one by Parliament; casinos are among the oldest of those exceptions (National Assembly, Report No. 1873, 2023). Online gambling was opened to limited competition by the law of 12 May 2010, which allowed licensed operators to offer sports betting, horse-race betting and poker online while leaving casino games prohibited. The present regulator, the ANJ, was established by an ordinance of 2 October 2019 and began operating in June 2020 (ANJ, Une autorité indépendante).
On the island itself, the retail offer arrived late. A local news report of November 2020 noted that the first PMU points of sale had been open in Mayotte since 2012, while FDJ had until then been accessible to residents only online. FDJ opened counters in three points of sale in Mamoudzou on the day after publication, selling the Loto, EuroMillions and scratch cards (L’info Kwezi, 3 November 2020).
Legal framework

Application of French law in Mayotte
Article 73 of the Constitution of 4 October 1958 provides that “in the overseas departments and regions, laws and regulations apply as of right”, and that they “may be adapted to take account of the particular characteristics and constraints of these collectivities”. Article 72-3 lists Mayotte among the overseas territories, and Mayotte now falls under Article 73. The national gambling statutes and the powers of the national regulator therefore extend to Mayotte. The sources reviewed for this guide did not identify any gambling-specific adaptation for Mayotte. The only overseas-specific casino rule identified concerns French Guiana (see below).
The general prohibition and its exceptions
Gambling (jeux d’argent et de hasard) is governed mainly by Book III of the Code de la sécurité intérieure (Internal Security Code, CSI). Article L320-1 sets the general prohibition. According to the National Assembly report cited above, the prohibition is justified by public order, the prevention of addiction, the fight against fraud and the economic balance of the sector. Lawful gambling exists only where a statute creates an exception. The principal exceptions are:
- Casinos, which may be authorised only in categories of communes listed in Article L321-1 CSI;
- Exclusive rights: FDJ’s monopoly on lotteries, sold in shops and online, and PMU’s monopoly on horse-race betting in its network of points of sale (ANJ, categories of games and distribution channels);
- Online gambling under licence: sports betting, horse-race betting and poker offered online by operators approved by the ANJ;
Casinos: the Article L321-1 criteria
Article L321-1 limits casinos to particular kinds of commune. As summarised by the National Assembly’s Law Committee in November 2023, these are communes classified as seaside, spa or climatic resorts before 3 March 2009; classified tourist resorts, and certain large tourist towns that support major cultural institutions; tourist towns or resorts in the department of French Guiana; communes where a casino was regularly operated on 3 March 2009; and certain communes whose resort classification was pending in 2006. Opening a casino requires a binding opinion of the municipal council and an authorisation from the Minister of the Interior, given after an administrative inquiry and the opinions of the prefect and of an advisory commission (National Assembly, Report No. 1873). None of the criteria refers to Mayotte specifically.
In practice there is no casino in Mayotte. A June 2026 report by the overseas news service Outremers360 counted ten casinos in the French overseas territories (two in Guadeloupe, two in Martinique, three in La Réunion and three in New Caledonia) and stated that there are no casinos in Saint-Barthélemy, Saint-Pierre-and-Miquelon, Mayotte or Wallis and Futuna (Outremers360, 18 June 2026). We found no record of a casino authorisation for Mayotte.
Associative lotteries and lotos
Under Articles L322-1 to L322-6 CSI, associations may hold lotteries and tombolas with the authorisation of the mayor of the commune where they have their registered office, provided the proceeds go entirely to a qualifying non-profit purpose and the prizes are goods rather than cash. A traditional loto needs no authorisation if it is non-profit, held in a restricted circle, with stakes below €20 and prizes that are not cash. Both must be held in person; online lotteries are prohibited (Service-Public.fr, checked 25 August 2026).
Regulator and licensing model
France, and therefore Mayotte, operates a hybrid model. Some segments are reserved to monopolies (a single operator granted exclusive rights by law), others are open to a limited number of licensed competitors, and the rest are prohibited.
The ANJ is an independent administrative authority. It regulates all authorised types of game, including lotteries, horse-race betting, sports betting and poker and is charged with preventing excessive gambling, protecting minors and preventing fraud (ANJ). Land-based casinos are authorised by the Minister of the Interior, as described above.
The ANJ’s published list of approved operators shows 16 operators approved for online sports betting, 5 for online horse-race betting and 7 for online poker, or 28 category approvals in total; the page does not give an “as of” date (ANJ, list of approved operators).
| Segment | Legal regime | Available in Mayotte |
|---|---|---|
| Lotteries and scratch cards | FDJ monopoly, retail and online | Yes: online, and in retail outlets since November 2020 (local press report) |
| Sports betting in shops | FDJ exclusive right in its retail network | Not confirmed for Mayotte in sources reviewed |
| Horse-race betting in shops | PMU exclusive right in its retail network | Yes: PMU points of sale since 2012 (local press report) |
| Online sports betting, horse-race betting, poker | ANJ licence | Yes, through ANJ-licensed sites |
| Casino games (land-based) | Ministerial authorisation in eligible communes | No casino exists |
| Online casino games | Prohibited | No |
For scale, the ANJ reports that the French gambling market produced gross gaming revenue (GGR, meaning stakes minus winnings paid out) of about €14.1 billion in 2025, of which €2,617 million came from the online market (ANJ, Annual Report 2025). The ANJ does not publish separate figures for Mayotte.
Online gambling: what is permitted and how it is enforced

Since 2010, online sports betting, horse-race betting and poker have been open to licensed operators, and FDJ sells its lottery games online under its monopoly. Online casino games, including slot machines, roulette, blackjack, baccarat and video poker, are not authorised; the ANJ states that “all online casino games remain prohibited in France” (ANJ, Annual Report 2025; ANJ, categories of games). This prohibition applies equally in Mayotte.
According to Joueurs Info Service, the public information service on gambling, organising or offering a game of chance outside the legal framework is a criminal offence punishable by up to three years’ imprisonment and a €90,000 fine, and websites not approved by the ANJ are illegal (Joueurs Info Service, La réglementation des jeux d’argent et de hasard). Service-Public.fr gives the same maximum penalty for breaches of the rules on games of chance (Service-Public.fr). The text of the Code could not be checked directly for this guide.
Enforcement against offshore sites relies mainly on blocking, meaning orders to internet service providers to prevent access to a site, and delisting, meaning orders to search engines to remove it from results. Since the law of 2 March 2022, the President of the ANJ can order these measures administratively, without first going to court. The ANJ says the procedure, in use since June 2022, takes about two months, compared with six to nine months under the earlier judicial route (ANJ, Lutter contre l’offre illégale). The ANJ issued 232 orders covering 1,337 URLs in 2024, of which 910 were mirror sites (ANJ), and 227 orders covering 1,290 URLs in 2025 (ANJ, Annual Report 2025). The procedure is national.
The ANJ also expects payment providers not to serve illegal operators. A 2023 study commissioned by the ANJ estimated that between 3 and 4 million people in France had played on an illegal online offer in the previous 12 months, and the regulator notes that one consumer in two does not know that the offer they use is illegal (ANJ). No equivalent estimate exists for Mayotte.
Position of players
The official sources reviewed describe criminal and administrative measures aimed at those who organise, offer or promote unlawful gambling. They do not describe a penalty for a person who simply plays on an unlicensed website, and we found no record of a player in Mayotte, or elsewhere in France, being prosecuted for doing so. That is not the same as legal approval. A player who uses an unlicensed site is outside the protections of French regulation: the ANJ’s mediator handles disputes only with approved and exclusive-rights operators (ANJ), illegal sites are not bound by the voluntary gambling ban, and the regulator warns that illegal offers pose dangers to players (ANJ).
Lawful options in Mayotte are limited to FDJ lottery products, PMU retail betting and ANJ-licensed betting and poker sites. Selling gambling to minors is prohibited both in shops and online (ANJ, Protéger les joueurs). Because there is no casino on the island, land-based casino games are available to residents only by travelling, for example to La Réunion.
The social context matters for consumer protection. INSEE, the national statistics institute, estimated Mayotte’s population at about 329,000 on 1 January 2025, reports that 77% of residents lived below the national poverty threshold in 2018, and records an unemployment rate of 29% of the labour force in 2024 (INSEE, L’essentiel sur… Mayotte, 2026).
Taxation
Operators
Gambling taxation in France consists of a set of levies on operators, most of them calculated on GGR. The 2025 social security financing law raised several rates from 1 July 2025. According to the ANJ’s 2024 market review (ANJ, Bilan du marché 2024):
- the social contribution on online sports betting rose from 10.6% to 15% of GGR, bringing the total compulsory levies on that segment to 59.3%;
- online poker became subject to a contribution of 10% of GGR, replacing a 0.2% levy on stakes;
- the contribution on FDJ lottery games rose from 6.2% to 7.2% of GGR, and on FDJ retail sports betting from 6.6% to 7.6%;
- the casino contribution rose from 11.2% to 11.9%, applied to a base of 68% of GGR;
- a new 15% levy applies to operators’ advertising and promotional spending, excluding sports sponsorship;
- levies on online and retail horse-race betting were unchanged.
Players
Players’ winnings are generally exempt from income tax. The tax administration treats them as exceptional receipts rather than income from a profit-making activity; only intensive play with a significant element of skill, in practice professional poker or bridge, may be reclassified as taxable non-commercial profits. The Conseil des prélèvements obligatoires, a public advisory body on taxation, has recommended studying the taxation of net winnings, with a threshold of around €500 a year, but this remains a recommendation rather than law (Actu-Juridique, 23 January 2025). The same treatment applies in Mayotte.
Anti-money laundering
Gambling operators are subject to France’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) rules in the Code monétaire et financier. The ANJ is the AML/CFT supervisor for licensed online operators and exclusive-rights operators, and it cooperates with Tracfin, France’s financial intelligence unit (ANJ, Lutter contre le blanchiment de capitaux). Tracfin receives suspicious-activity reports from more than 50 regulated professions, including casinos (Tracfin). In September 2026 the ANJ announced the first sanctions imposed by the national sanctions commission against a licensed online operator, one of its directors and its compliance officer, for failings including non-compliance with the asset-freezing regime, an absence of internal procedures for it and a failure to inform the economy minister; the decision was taken on 8 July 2026 (ANJ, 21 September 2026).
Consumer protection and responsible gambling
The national protection tools apply in Mayotte without modification:
- Voluntary gambling ban (interdiction volontaire de jeux): a person can ask the ANJ to bar them for a minimum of three years from casinos and gaming clubs, from ANJ-licensed betting and poker sites, and from FDJ and PMU games played through a player account. Applications are made online with identity verification or by registered post (ANJ, interdiction de jeux). At the end of 2025, 87,182 people were registered, about 19% more than a year earlier (ANJ, Annual Report 2025).
- Helpline: Joueurs Info Service offers an anonymous telephone line on 09 74 75 13 13, charged as a local call, and an online chat.
- Local treatment: the addiction consultation service of the Centre Hospitalier de Mayotte in Mamoudzou accepts people with non-substance addictions, explicitly including pathological gambling (Alcool Info Service directory).
- Protection of minors: the sale of gambling to under-18s is prohibited in shops and online (ANJ).
These tools reach only players who use regulated operators. General guidance is available in our responsible gambling guide.
Recent and upcoming developments
- Online casino debate (2024–2026). In October 2024 the government proposed an amendment to the 2025 finance bill to authorise online casinos, then withdrew it within a week, mainly to avoid harming land-based casinos, and announced a consultation (Bird & Bird, October 2024). According to iGaming Business, the ANJ’s 2024 annual report said any opening would need careful consideration because of the addictive nature of the format, and called for a highly controlled regulatory approach (iGaming Business, 27 June 2025). The ANJ’s 2025 annual report, published in June 2026, states that all online casino games remain prohibited.
- Overseas casino bills (2026). Senate bill No. 305, registered on 27 January 2026, would add an eighth category to Article L321-1 allowing casinos in communes of the overseas departments and regions that have natural hydrothermal sites within or next to a national park or marine protected area (French Senate, PPL No. 305). Bill No. 725, registered on 10 June 2026, repeats that provision and adds further categories based on population, cultural designation and UNESCO heritage (French Senate, PPL No. 725). Neither names Mayotte. Both apply to the overseas departments governed by Article 73, which include Mayotte, but the sources reviewed do not show whether any Mayotte commune meets the hydrothermal and protected-area conditions. Outremers360 reported in June 2026 that bill No. 725 was with the Senate Law Committee and had not been debated; no adoption of either bill was found at the time of review.
- Tax and enforcement. Higher operator levies took effect on 1 July 2025, and in 2026 the ANJ’s national sanctions commission imposed its first AML sanctions.
Casino listings for players in Mayotte
The listings below are generated automatically from our casino database. They do not show that an operator is licensed in France or in Mayotte. Online casino games are prohibited throughout France, including Mayotte, and no operator can lawfully offer them to residents, so the listings must not be read as an indication that playing is lawful. Only the betting and poker sites on the ANJ’s list of approved operators may lawfully serve players in Mayotte.
Related country guides
- Comoros gambling guide
- Madagascar gambling guide
- Malawi gambling guide
- Tanzania gambling guide
- Réunion gambling guide
Sources and further reading
- Conseil constitutionnel, Constitution du 4 octobre 1958 (texte intégral en vigueur) (accessed 13 October 2026).
- French Senate, Commission des lois (Sueur, J.-P.), Rapport n° 703 (2015–2016) sur la proposition de loi relative au mode de scrutin du Conseil général de Mayotte (2016).
- European Parliament, Legislative Observatory, Document summary: change of status of Mayotte (Decision 2012/419/EU) (accessed 13 October 2026).
- INSEE, L’essentiel sur… Mayotte (2026).
- National Assembly, Commission des lois (Saint-Paul, L. and Meunier, F.), Rapport n° 1873 sur la proposition de loi relative aux casinos (2023).
- Outremers360, Sénat : une proposition de loi vise notamment à étendre le régime des casinos aux communes ultramarines (2026).
- French Senate (Théophile, D.), Proposition de loi n° 305 visant à adapter le régime d’autorisation des casinos dans les départements et régions d’outre-mer (2026).
- French Senate (Pointereau, R. et al.), Proposition de loi n° 725 portant extension du régime des casinos aux communes métropolitaines et ultramarines à vocation culturelle ou touristique (2026).
- L’info Kwezi, La Française des Jeux fait enfin son apparition à Mayotte (2020).
- Autorité nationale des jeux, Catégories de jeux et canaux de distribution (accessed 13 October 2026).
- Autorité nationale des jeux, Opérateurs agréés (accessed 13 October 2026).
- Autorité nationale des jeux, Lutter contre l’offre illégale (accessed 13 October 2026).
- Autorité nationale des jeux, Rapport annuel 2025 (2026).
- Autorité nationale des jeux, Bilan du marché des jeux d’argent et de hasard en France – 2024 (2025).
- Autorité nationale des jeux, Une autorité indépendante (accessed 13 October 2026).
- Autorité nationale des jeux, Lutter contre le blanchiment de capitaux (accessed 13 October 2026).
- Autorité nationale des jeux, Lutte contre le blanchiment de capitaux : une première sanction de la commission nationale des sanctions (2026).
- Autorité nationale des jeux, Interdiction volontaire de jeux (accessed 13 October 2026).
- Ministère de l’Économie, Tracfin, le service de renseignement financier (accessed 13 October 2026).
- Joueurs Info Service, La réglementation des jeux d’argent et de hasard (accessed 13 October 2026).
- Service-Public.fr, Loterie, tombola ou loto traditionnel organisé par une association (2026).
- Pando, A. (Actu-Juridique), Vers une taxation des jeux d’argent et de hasard ? (2025).
- Vuchot, A. and Bettach, S. (Bird & Bird), Towards the legalisation of online casinos in France (2024).
- Cook, D. (iGaming Business), ANJ calls for “highly controlled approach” to regulating iGaming in France (2025).
























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