Starting a Gambling Business in DRC Congo – Full Guide

We review how to invest in the gambling industry in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in this Article. Gambling Business DRC Congo

Legal Background

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, gambling, including internet betting activities, is permitted and legal. This is in accordance with the decree governing lotteries from August 17, 1927, Ministerial Order No. 041/MJS/CAB/2100/2011 from December 28, 2011, Interministerial Order No. 001/CAB/MIN/SL/2019 from November 13, 2019, and Interministerial Order No. CAB/MIN/FINANCES/2019/133 from November 13, 2019, all of which set the rates of rights, taxes, and royalties to be collected from the initiative of the Ministry Responsible for Youth and Sports.

Additionally, article 10 of the aforementioned order goes far in designating organizations that engage in games of chance or lotteries as permitted establishments for the purposes of utilizing a variety of lottery games, including instantaneous bills, matched numbers, sports betting, internet betting, etc.

Targets of the tax on licenses to run gaming or lottery operations include:
– The permanent game;
– The occasional game (raffle, contest by message, sale of services and products for promotional purposes accompanied by risks, etc.)

The organizer, who is the legal debtor, must pay the ad valorem tax at the conclusion of the count or draw on the winnings of participants or bettors in games of chance, lotteries, prediction competitions, betting, and activities of a similar nature.

Read More: Starting a Gaming Business in Tanzania- Full Guide

How to get started

1. Incorporation of a company in Congo in order to do gambling/betting business

You must incorporate a company [a subsidiary of full entity] that will handle all statutory actions including:

• Representation before authorities for all steps in the establishment of gambling in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, such as getting permission to form the company, registering the articles of association, applying for a national identification number, applying for an import-export number, publishing notice of the formation of the company in a legal journal, registering with the tax authorities, and declaring the establishment of the company with the inspectorate of labor (l’Inspection du Travai).
• Assistance with obtaining Operational Permit, Import Export, Leiser facilities and etc.

The Company shall have powers:

• To carry on the business (together with any and all related activities) of opening, managing, operating, or consulting casinos, gambling halls, or any other business relating to games, machines, lotteries, or other games of chance; online gaming; Sports Betting; all other gaming activities which are not prohibited in DRC,

• Restaurants, bars;

• Any sort of purchase, sale, or rental of products is acceptable, as are openness and export outlets for such products, either fixed or mobile.

2. Applying for the license by way of the ministerial order/ decree

To allow your business to operate in Congo, a Ministerial order or decree must be requested. After receiving a favorable report from the commission created by law to assess the conformity of your request and being approved by the General Secretary of Sports and Hobbies, this will be received.

With this authorization or permit/ Licence, your company will be authorized to operate all games of chance in the DRC e.g. land-based, online, sportsbook, casino, slot machine, etc.).

3. Duration of the authorization/license and restrictions

The authorization/license’s duration is unrestricted, but you must continue to pay the annual authorization renewal price.

However, the authorization will state that if you extend your activities past their scope, it will stop producing consequences. This means that, in accordance with your license, you are only permitted to run games of chance and not any other business. 

Source: Yav & Associates, DR Congo

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Bizin Africa is Africa’s number agency for helping igaming businesses to launch their operations in Africa. Our goal is to promote Africa to the world as the best investment destination for gambling business owners. In addition to that, we help organizations to venture into new markets in Africa.

We are also playing a key role in advocating for initiatives that could see more African youth get employment opportunities. Inviting more investors into the African continent is one of the key initiatives we are involved in which will help us in achieving our goal. Gambling Business DRC Congo