Senegal Gambling Sector Generates CFA40.9bn (US$71m) In Revenue During the First Quarter of 2026
Senegal Finance Minister Cheikh Diba reported that the country amassed CFA40.9bn (US$71m) from the gambling sector during the first quarter of 2026.
The figures were disclosed during the opening of the recent African Lotteries Association (ALA) seminar in Dakar. Lottery leaders and gaming stakeholders gathered at the event under the theme “Development and innovation of African lotteries”. Addressing delegates, Diba emphasized that the Senegalese government was prioritizing domestic resource generation amid growing budgetary pressure.
He said, “In a context marked by resource scarcity and increasing budgetary pressure, the Government of the Republic of Senegal has opted for diversification and strengthening the mobilisation of domestic resources.”
He added, “It is within this framework that the introduction of double taxation of the gambling sector took place in 2025. it will support the mobilization effort and better regulate this rapidly growing sector.”
The minister said that 40,900,000,000 was mobilized during the first quarter of 2026. This representing a coverage rate of 71 per cent. Diba said, “The results observed so far demonstrate the sector’s dynamism and its potential for resource mobilization.”
National Lottery of Senegal Adapting to Government New Terms
At the seminar, Diba also praised the National Lottery of Senegal (LONASE). The firm supports the government’s objectives through innovation and sector reforms. LONASE headed by director general Toussaint Manga has been adhering and supportive of the country’s reforms. Cheikh Diba praised the commitment and said, “I commend the work of the Director General of LONASE and congratulate him on the innovations implemented and for his participation in putting the government’s directives into practice.”
Diba added that proceeds generated from the sector were directed towards public spending priorities. The resources from the mobilization will be reinvested in the social priorities of the State, in a constrained budgetary context.
The minister noted that a large part of games are carried out online in a digitized environment. They often cross-border according to seminar transcript remarks published on Dailymotion. He called for strengthening online operational traceability tools, improving revenue collection mechanisms and establishing appropriate cooperation frameworks, particularly in the perspective of cross-border criminality.
Read Also: LONASE Opens Agency in Kaffrine to Strengthen Presence Across Senegal
A call for ALA Support!
Finally Minister Diba urged the ALA to continue supporting cooperation and innovation across the continent’s lottery sector. He emphasized that the lottery board has a decisive role to play, it has to unify the actors, serve as a vanguard and also as a framework for consultation and formulation of innovative solutions adapted to our African realities.
The minister made a call for under age gambling and possible addictions in the gaming sector. He urged for measures and effective sustainable solutions to address such risks.
