DRC sets July 31 compliance deadline as gambling reform enters enforcement phase
Gambling operators face a July 31 deadline to submit required information as the DRC advances its national oversight platform, with non-compliant operators facing possible penalties after the pilot phase ends on August 30.
DRC.- The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) Ministry of Finance has given gambling operators until July 31 to identify themselves, complete the official identification form and submit it electronically as the government advances reforms to centralise the regulation and supervision of the gambling sector.
The requirement forms part of a broader government reform approved by the Council of Ministers, which has placed the Ministry of Finance in charge of leading reforms of the country’s gambling and games of chance sector through the Gambling and Games of Chance Supervision Unit (CSJA), pending the establishment of the Gambling Regulatory Authority (ARJA). The draft gambling law underpinning the reform is currently under consideration by Parliament.
According to the official communiqué issued on July 10, “all companies operating gambling activities, including sports betting, casinos, lotteries, prediction contests” are required to complete the official identification form and submit it electronically by July 31.
The Ministry said the CSJA is currently deploying a national platform for the regulation and supervision of the gambling sector, certified to the ISO/IEC 27001:2022 information security standard to help protect functions and information against loss, theft, alteration, cyber intrusion and other information security incidents.
The communiqué states that the reform’s pilot phase will end on August 30, after which operators that have not completed the required compliance procedures could face administrative measures and penalties under applicable laws and regulations. Operators already integrated with the national platform will benefit from an exemption relating to the standardised invoice requirement.
The platform is being deployed with the support of a technical partner selected in accordance with the DRC’s public procurement rules, with the contract signed after all required approvals had been obtained. The communiqué also states that technical integration has already been completed for the majority of electronic money institutions, while the integration of gambling operators is continuing in line with the implementation timetable established by the CSJA.
The Ministry also stressed that any initiatives undertaken outside the resolutions adopted by the Council of Ministers would not bind the Government and urged gambling-sector stakeholders not to enter into contracts with any state entity that has not received an explicit mandate from the Council of Ministers.
The reform follows the establishment of the CSJA in January 2026, which brings together the Ministry of Portfolio, the National Lottery Company (SONAL), the security services, the Central Bank of the Congo (BCC) and the Regulatory Authority for Posts and Telecommunications of the Congo (ARPTC), and serves as the institutional framework guiding implementation of the country’s gambling reform pending the creation of the Gambling Regulatory Authority.
