The Gambia: Gambling laws, betting and lotteries

Legal overview

Legal overview

The Gambia has a Betting and Gaming Act administered by the Gambia Revenue Authority for revenue purposes, while the Financial Intelligence Unit covers casinos, lotteries and games of chance for AML/CFT. The official public material reviewed does not provide a modern consolidated licensing framework or operator register.

Regulatory developments

No verified published online-gambling licensing framework was found. All operator permissions, permitted audiences and channels require direct written confirmation from the relevant Gambian authority before commercial publication.

Responsible gambling

Responsible gambling

No sufficiently authoritative current minimum age or detailed national responsible-gambling code was identified in the official sources reviewed. Publication should apply a conservative 18+ editorial policy without falsely presenting it as a verified statutory threshold.

Legally unclear

Casino

Current position

The Gambia should not be presented as a routine licensed casino market. Official sources confirm that the Gambia Revenue Authority administers a Betting and Gaming Act and that the FIU treats casinos as an AML/CFT sector, but they do not expose a current consolidated licensing system or public operator list. A country page should explain this evidence gap, avoid naming a casino as approved and require direct confirmation of the licence, permitted customers and channel before adding any commercial link.

Licensing

The Betting and Gaming Act exists, but the current licence issuer, eligibility rules and licensed casino register were not established from accessible official material.

Online availability

No verified local online-casino licence category or approved-operator register was found.

Advertising and commercial links

Casino promotions should not be published until the operator, audience and advertising authority are confirmed in writing.

Responsible gambling

Until the statutory threshold is verified, casino material should use a conservative 18+ gate, provide loss and addiction warnings and explain that users may lack a clear public licensing or complaint route.

Legally unclear

Sports betting

Current position

Official Gambian tax material recognises pool and betting activity, but a tax schedule is not the same as a transparent bookmaker licence. The sources reviewed do not show which entity currently issues remote permissions, which operators are approved or whether an offshore licence has any local effect. A Gambia betting page should therefore remain informational, distinguish tax administration from consumer protection and withhold affiliate rankings until each operator’s legal basis is documented.

Licensing

GRA collects pool and betting taxes, but taxation alone does not establish the current operating licence or its scope.

Online availability

No official public rules for remote bookmakers or an online operator register were identified.

Advertising and commercial links

Do not rank or advertise a bookmaker without written confirmation of its Gambian operating and marketing authority.

Responsible gambling

Betting content should be 18+ as an editorial safeguard, never promise profit or loss recovery, and provide spending-limit advice while clearly stating that the legal age still requires official confirmation.

Restricted

Predictions

Current position

A Gambia prediction article can discuss sport, form and probability without taking money. The risk changes when the publisher accepts a stake, pools entries, sells a chance to win or directs the user into an unverified bookmaker. Because the public regulatory record is incomplete, the safest long-term page structure is to keep analysis independent and dated, label uncertainty honestly and disable commercial operator links until written Gambian authority for the underlying transaction has been obtained.

Licensing

Free analysis is distinguishable from accepting bets, pools or paid chance-based entries, which require legal and licensing review.

Online availability

Any digital forecast tied to a stake or operator transaction inherits the unresolved online-licensing risk.

Advertising and commercial links

Sponsored predictions require disclosure and should not link to wagering until local authority is verified.

Responsible gambling

Forecasts must not be described as certain or as employment. Any future betting integration should be adults-only, use hard budget limits and include warnings against chasing losses.

Legally unclear

Lotteries

Current position

The Financial Intelligence Unit expressly identifies lotteries and other games of chance within its sector remit, showing that such activity is recognised for compliance purposes. That does not reveal who may lawfully organise a draw, sell tickets online or advertise to residents. A Gambia lottery page should document this distinction, avoid treating tax or AML registration as an operating licence and refrain from rankings until the organiser and approval can be checked against a current official record or written response.

Licensing

Lotteries are recognised in official FIU material, but the current licensing route and authorised organiser register were not publicly established.

Online availability

No verified permission for online ticket sales or offshore lottery distribution was found.

Advertising and commercial links

Lottery promotion should wait for confirmation of the organiser, licence, draw rules and authorised sales channel.

Responsible gambling

Use a conservative 18+ editorial rule, explain ticket cost and random outcomes, reject investment language and make the absence of a verified statutory age and public licence register explicit.

Regulators and contacts

Regulators and contacts

Primary sources

Primary sources

• Casinos, Lotteries and Other Games of Chance — Financial Intelligence Unit of The Gambia
• Contact Us — Gambia Revenue Authority
• Legal and Board Services Department — Gambia Revenue Authority
• Domestic Taxes FAQs — Gambia Revenue Authority