Is online gambling legal in Tanzania?
The Gaming Board of Tanzania (GBT), created by the Gaming Act in 2003, issues separate annual licences for internet casino, internet sports betting, online virtual games, land-based casinos, slot routes and lotteries, and processes applications through its GLICA e-licensing portal. Internet casino and sports betting pay 25% of monthly gross gaming revenue plus a withholding tax on player winnings (15% for internet casino, 12% for sports betting), and the Finance Act 2026 added a 5% excise duty on every stake from 1 July 2026. The market is mobile-money led and grew gaming tax receipts to about TZS 260 billion in 2024/25.
| Vertical | Status in Tanzania |
|---|---|
| Online casino | Regulated |
| Sports betting | Regulated |
| Online poker | Regulated |
| Lottery | Regulated |
| Social casino (free to play) | Permitted |
Regulated: Private operators can hold a local licence for online casino and/or betting.
Who regulates gambling in Tanzania?
- Gaming Board of Tanzania (GBT) — Licenses and supervises all gaming activities including internet casino and sports betting, sets technical standards, approves advertising and runs enforcement against illegal gaming
- Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) — Collects gaming tax on gross gaming revenue and the withheld tax on winnings, plus excise on stakes from July 2026
Tanzania gambling licence: how it works
Section 14 of the Gaming Act prohibits any gaming business without a GBT licence, and section 17 lists the licence types in the First Schedule. Online operators apply for an internet casino licence, an internet sports betting licence (usually with a sports betting principal licence for retail) or an online virtual games licence through the GBT's GLICA portal. Applications require a Tanzanian-registered company, fit-and-proper checks on shareholders, directors and key employees, technical certification of the platform and games, a gaming management system that reports to the Board, and KYC and anti-money-laundering procedures. Licences run for one year; the national lottery licence runs eight years with annual renewal. The Act does not impose a local shareholding quota for internet licences.
What an applicant needs
- Company registered in Tanzania with a tax identification number and certificate of suitability for principals
- Fit-and-proper vetting of shareholders, directors and key employees, who need their own annual key employee licences
- Technical certification of the platform, random number generator and games, and a gaming management system reporting to the GBT
- KYC, anti-money-laundering and responsible gaming procedures, with players aged 18 or over
- Approved premises or online domain, and GBT approval of advertising
- Monthly gaming tax returns and payment to the TRA by the seventh day of the following month
Gambling taxes in Tanzania
- Operators: Internet casino and sports betting: 25% of monthly gross gaming revenue; land-based casino 18% of weekly GGR; virtual games 10%; national lottery 20%; forty-machine sites 25%; slot routes TZS 100,000 per machine per month. From 1 July 2026 a 5% excise duty applies to the value of each stake on land-based and internet sports betting, casino, forty-machine and virtual games operations. Corporate income tax is 30%.
- Players: Gaming tax withheld on winnings: 15% for internet casino, virtual games, SMS and national lottery; 12% for sports betting and 13% for land-based casino since the Finance Act 2025 (up from 10% and 12%). The withheld amount is final and the winnings are not subject to income tax.
- Also: The Finance Act 2025 earmarked part of the winnings tax for the AIDS Trust Fund (70%) and Universal Health Insurance Fund (30%) and added a 10% withholding tax on commissions from gaming advertising or promotion. The Finance Act 2026 allocates 10% of the new stake excise to the GBT. Gaming tax returns are filed electronically by the seventh day of the following month.
Advertising, player protection, KYC and payments
Advertising
Section 92 of the Gaming Act gives the GBT power to regulate gaming advertisements with particular regard to protecting children and vulnerable persons; advertising of unauthorized lotteries is an offence. Gaming advertising commissions carry 10% withholding tax since 2025, and operators submit campaigns for Board approval under the Gaming Regulations.
Responsible gaming
Minimum age 18 for all gaming and lottery participation; licensees must keep a gaming management system, display responsible gaming information and follow GBT directives on player protection; the Board runs anti-illegal gaming operations against unlicensed slot machines.
Identity and age verification
Licensees verify identity and age at registration, apply anti-money-laundering controls under the Anti-Money Laundering Act and report to the Financial Intelligence Unit; the GBT inspects compliance and requires real-time data access through the gaming management system.
Payments
Deposits and withdrawals run through mobile money wallets (M-Pesa, Mixx by Yas, Airtel Money, HaloPesa) and bank transfers; there is no statutory ban on cards. Winnings are paid net of the withheld gaming tax, and from July 2026 the 5% stake excise is collected on each wager.
Notable restrictions
- No gaming business without a GBT licence; unlicensed slot machines are seized
- Separate licences for internet casino, internet sports betting and online virtual games
- Players must be 18 or over; lottery ticket sales to minors are prohibited
- Withholding of gaming tax on winnings is mandatory and final
- Monthly electronic returns and payment by the seventh of the following month
Tanzania iGaming market: size, players and payments
Gaming tax revenue rose from TZS 131.99 billion in 2020/21 to TZS 260.21 billion in 2024/25 according to the GBT (September 2025); the Board itself collected TZS 17.42 billion in fees and levies in 2024/25 and targets TZS 29.89 billion in 2025/26.
Mobile money subscriptions reached 71.7 million accounts by September 2025 (TCRA figures reported by Focus Gaming News), and licensed sportsbooks run almost entirely on mobile wallets.
Betting in Tanzania is a mobile-wallet product; operators list M-Pesa, Mixx by Yas and Airtel Money as the default deposit and payout methods.
The GBT had licensed 62 gaming companies with 8,549 individual licences by June 2025, including the national lottery operator Ithuba Tanzania, which launched in April 2025; betPawa, WasafiBet, Meridianbet and Premier Bet are among the visible sportsbook brands.
Timeline: how Tanzania got here
- 1967Pools and Lotteries Act; national lottery becomes the only significant legal gaming product
- 2003-07Gaming Act (Cap. 41) takes effect and establishes the Gaming Board of Tanzania
- 2022Gaming (Amendment) Regulations set internet casino and internet sports betting fees and penalties
- 2023Revised edition of the Gaming Act consolidates gaming tax rates and the gaming management system duty
- 2025-04Ithuba Tanzania launches the national lottery under an eight-year licence
- 2025-07Finance Act 2025 raises winnings tax on sports betting to 12% and land-based casino to 13%, with health fund earmarks
- 2026-07Finance Act 2026 introduces 5% excise duty on stakes across betting, casino, forty-machine and virtual games
Outlook
The 5% excise on stakes that took effect on 1 July 2026 is the change operators are pricing in for 2026/27, alongside the GBT's target of TZS 29.89 billion in board revenue and a planned 14,124 licence issuances. Expect continued enforcement against unlicensed slot machines and closer data integration between the GBT gaming management system and the TRA, with fee and tax adjustments arriving through each year's Finance Act.
Launching in Tanzania with GameBridge
Turnkey (your licence, our platform). Tanzanian licences are issued to a locally registered company that the operator controls, so the operator holds the GBT licence and runs on GameBridge; GameBridge does not hold a Tanzanian licence and cannot guarantee approval.
A Tanzanian brand on GameBridge runs in English and Swahili with a TZS wallet, geo-controls limited to Tanzanian residents who pass age and identity checks, and mobile money rails (M-Pesa, Mixx by Yas, Airtel Money, HaloPesa) connected on request through the operator's own agreements. The wallet models the 25% GGR tax, the withheld winnings tax by vertical and the 5% stake excise so monthly TRA returns reconcile, and the reporting layer feeds the gaming management system the GBT requires. Responsible gaming defaults include age gating, deposit and loss limits and self-exclusion, and the catalog is curated to games with certification the Board accepts; GameBridge Studios and Originals ship with the certification package a testing laboratory needs.
- TZS wallet with M-Pesa, Mixx by Yas, Airtel Money and HaloPesa rails on request
- Per-vertical GGR tax, winnings withholding and stake excise modeled in-wallet
- Gaming management system data feed for GBT real-time oversight
- Geo lists and 18+ age gates limited to Tanzanian residents
- Separate configuration for internet casino, sports betting and virtual games licences
- Certification package with every GameBridge Studios and Originals release
Football and virtual sports lead, with crash games and slots growing; the aggregated catalog of {providersAvailable} game providers covers the games Tanzanian players already use, and GameBridge Studios builds exclusive titles to the operator's brief.
Frequently asked questions
Is online gambling legal in Tanzania?
How much does a Tanzania gaming licence cost?
What is the gambling tax rate in Tanzania?
Which payment methods do Tanzanian players use?
Can a foreign company get a Tanzanian gaming licence?
How does GameBridge help operators launch in Tanzania?
Sources and review
Reviewed against the sources below on 11 September 2026. Regulation changes; confirm the current position with local counsel before launch.
- The Gaming Act, Cap. 41 (Revised Edition 2023) — Gaming Board of Tanzania, accessed 2026-09-11
- GBT fee schedule — Gaming Board of Tanzania, accessed 2026-09-11
- Gaming tax — Tanzania Revenue Authority, accessed 2026-09-11
- Tanzanian Finance Act, 2025 analysis — EY, accessed 2026-09-11
- The Finance Act, 2026 — Office of the Attorney General, Tanzania, accessed 2026-09-11
- Gaming Board of Tanzania Collects Over TZS 260.21 Billion in Four Years — Gaming Board of Tanzania, accessed 2026-09-11
- Mobile money drives Tanzania betting industry to new heights — Focus Gaming News, 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.