Republic of Congo proposes 10% levy on gambling stakes
Operators would have to collect gambling stakes exclusively through electronic money and connect to the national gambling supervision platform by March 1, 2027.
Key takeaways:
- The Republic of the Congo (Congo-Brazzaville) has proposed a 10 per cent levy on gambling stakes paid using electronic money.
- Operators would have to use electronic money exclusively to collect gambling stakes.
- ARPCE would implement the national gambling supervision platform on behalf of the state.
- Operators must connect to the platform by March 1, 2027, under the proposed provisions.
- Revenue would be allocated 50 per cent to the Public Treasury, 20 per cent to ARJHA, 20 per cent to ARPCE and 10 per cent to the Tourism Development Fund.
Republic of the Congo.- The Republic of the Congo (Congo-Brazzaville) has proposed a 10 per cent levy on gambling stakes paid using electronic money. The draft also requires operators to collect all stakes electronically and connect to a national gambling supervision platform. The gambling proposals form part of a broader 2027 Draft Finance Bill covering taxation, customs duties, telecommunications, electronic communications, special economic zones and local authority funding.
The Ministry of Finance published the draft on its website on October 30, 2026, after finance minister Christian Yoka presented it to the National Assembly and Senate on October 29.
Article 4 requires every gambling operator operating in the country to connect to the national gambling supervision platform, with Article 8 setting March 1, 2027 as the deadline for compliance. The document, translated from French, states: “From 1 March 2027, no gambling operator may conduct its activities without being connected to the national gambling supervision platform.”
Article 7 sets the proposed levy at 10 per cent of electronic-money stakes. It states: “The rate of the levy on gambling and games of chance is set at 10 per cent of the amount of stakes placed using electronic money.”
Article 3 also requires operators to use “exclusively electronic money as the means of collecting stakes”. This would make electronic money the only permitted method for collecting gambling stakes under the proposed provisions.
Under Article 2, the national platform would supervise gambling operations and collect, centralise and process financial and statistical data. The Agency for Regulation of Posts and Electronic Communications (ARPCE) would implement the platform on behalf of the state.
The proposed system brings together six categories of participants: gambling operators, electronic-money establishments, the Authority for Regulation of Games of Chance and Gambling (ARJHA), ARPCE, Public Treasury services and the Tourism Development Fund (FDT), according to Article 5.
Under Article 6, revenue from the proposed levy would be distributed with 50 per cent allocated to the Public Treasury, 20 per cent to ARJHA, 20 per cent to ARPCE and the remaining 10 per cent to the Tourism Development Fund.
The proposed measures would introduce a levy on electronic-money gambling stakes and require operators to use the national supervision platform. They remain part of the draft Finance Bill for 2027 and are subject to the legislative process.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
- Is the Republic of the Congo the same country as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)? No. The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, is a separate country from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The two neighbouring countries are easily confused because of their similar names, but they have separate governments and regulatory systems.
- What is the proposed gambling levy in the Republic of the Congo? The draft Finance Bill proposes a 10 per cent levy on gambling stakes placed using electronic money. The levy is calculated on stakes, not gross gaming revenue or operator profits.
- Will gambling operators have to accept electronic payments? Yes. Article 3 requires gambling operators to use electronic money exclusively as the means of collecting stakes.
- Which agency will implement the national gambling supervision platform? The Agency for Regulation of Posts and Electronic Communications (ARPCE) would implement the platform on behalf of the state.
- How will revenue from the proposed levy be distributed? Article 6 proposes allocating 50 per cent to the Public Treasury, 20 per cent to ARJHA, 20 per cent to ARPCE and 10 per cent to the Tourism Development Fund (FDT).
