Madagascar Parliament advances major gambling regulation overhaul
Bill No. 019/2026 proposes tighter rules for sports betting and online gambling, including national data monitoring, stronger player protection and tougher penalties for unauthorised operators.
Madagascar.- Madagascar’s Parliament has put a gambling overhaul on its August agenda, with the draft bill proposing mandatory national data monitoring for licensed online operators and tougher player-protection, anti-money-laundering and licensing rules.
According to the official communiqué of Madagascar’s National Assembly on August 25, 2026, Parliament opened its second extraordinary session with seven bills on the agenda. Madagascar-Tribune reported that legislation regulating gambling activities and gaming establishments was among the texts due to be considered.
The legislation is Bill No. 019/2026 of June 2, 2026, a government proposal to regulate gambling activities and gaming establishments. The Assembly’s detailed legislative record identifies it as a government bill and records its initial official deposit on June 16, 2026
The government had already approved the proposal and provided for its presentation to Parliament in June. Decree No. 2026-1445, dated June 3, 2026, states that Bill No. 019/2026 was considered by the Council of Ministers on June 2 and would be presented to Parliament, with the Interior and Decentralisation Minister tasked with explaining the bill and supporting its parliamentary discussion.
The government says the growth of gambling, particularly online gambling, and the disappearance of responsible operators have highlighted the need for stronger regulation. It says some gambling activities are escaping regulatory control because of their “clandestine nature or their online character”, according to the explanatory statement to Bill No. 019/2026, by Madagascar’s Ministry of Interior and Decentralisation (translated into English from French).
The government says the proposed law would establish a “harmonised framework” for gambling, strengthen the security and integrity of gambling operations, protect players, promote responsible gambling, prevent excessive gambling and combat gambling addiction. It also seeks to strengthen the integrity, reliability and transparency of gambling operations and prevent fraudulent or criminal activities, money laundering and terrorist financing.
According to the draft text of Bill No. 019/2026, the proposed changes cover sports betting, lotteries, online gambling, licensing, player protection, gambling-data monitoring, anti-money-laundering controls and penalties for unauthorised operators.
Under the bill, animal betting, sports betting, lotteries and scratch cards are placed in Category 3, while online gambling is placed in Category 4. The Interior Ministry would be responsible for regulating, supervising and authorising gambling activities.
Tougher online gambling rules
Online gambling operators would face requirements covering server hosting in Madagascar, player access, protection of minors, player-data storage and use, personal-data protection, technical standards and measures against fraud, scams and hacking.
The bill proposes a national platform for monitoring, controlling and collecting gambling data under the Interior Ministry. The platform would support monitoring of gambling operations, administrative and financial oversight, efforts against fraud, money laundering and terrorist financing, and monitoring of taxes and fees.
All authorised online gambling operators would be required to connect to the national platform. Failure to connect, blocking data transfers or submitting inaccurate or incomplete data could result in administrative sanctions. The draft also states that data held by the platform would remain the exclusive property of the Malagasy state.
The proposed rules would set the minimum gambling age at 21. Operators would have to introduce measures to prevent excessive gambling, including self-exclusion and limits on deposits, stakes and playing time. Gambling on credit would also be prohibited. The bill would require gambling operators, organisers, intermediaries and gaming establishments to comply with anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing requirements.
The draft proposes criminal penalties for unauthorised gambling operations and gaming establishments, including one to five years’ imprisonment and fines of Ar10m to Ar50m (US$2,300 to US$11,550). Advertising unauthorised gambling could attract fines of Ar10m to Ar30m (US$2,300 to US$6,930).
The proposed law would also repeal conflicting provisions of earlier legislation, specifically including Decree No. 2026-472 of February 5, 2026, which regulates activities related to gambling and gaming establishments.
Bill No. 019/2026 remains a draft and has not yet become law. The document still contains blank fields for the National Assembly adoption date and Constitutional High Court decision. The August 25 session puts Madagascar’s proposed gambling overhaul into the legislative process, with sports betting and online gambling facing proposed tighter licensing, state data monitoring, player protection, AML and enforcement requirements.
