{"id":27918,"date":"2026-06-30T19:29:24","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T22:29:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/?p=27918"},"modified":"2026-07-02T04:16:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T07:16:07","slug":"burundi-lona-warns-against-illegal-betting-at-bujumbura-press-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/burundi-lona-warns-against-illegal-betting-at-bujumbura-press-conference","title":{"rendered":"Burundi LONA warns against illegal betting at Bujumbura press conference"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Licensed concessionaires are required to contribute 10 per cent of the profits generated from their operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Burundi.- The Loterie Nationale du Burundi (LONA) <\/strong>has warned gambling companies, street agents and payment service providers against participating in illegal gambling operations, as it steps up enforcement of the country\u2019s regulated gaming market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The warning was issued during a press conference held on June 26 at the Zion Mount Hotel<\/strong> in Bujumbura<\/strong>, where the regulator addressed illegal gambling practices and reminded stakeholders of the obligations that apply to licensed operators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LONA said unlicensed gambling reduces government revenue and operates outside regulatory oversight. The organisation urged companies, mobile agents and payment houses involved in illegal activities to comply with the law or face sanctions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the briefing, the head of LONA\u2019s commercial department also explained the contribution structure for lottery games offered through licensed concessionaires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said players are required to contribute 10 per cent of every deposit and 10 per cent of every withdrawal made through authorised lottery platforms. Licensed concessionaires are also required to contribute 10 per cent of the profits generated from their operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the regulator, these contributions are part of the financial obligations governing licensed lottery operations in Burundi and go towards funding public interest programmes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LONA said enforcing the legal framework is intended to protect government revenue, and ensure licensed operators meet their statutory obligations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The announcement comes as Burundi continues implementing reforms aimed at strengthening oversight of its gambling industry. The country is moving towards a centralised regulatory framework that will increase supervision of licensed operators, improve revenue collection and enhance measures against illegal gambling.<\/p>\n\r\n\t\t

\r\n\t\t\tSee also:<\/span>\r\n\t\t\t
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\r\n\t\t\t\t\tSee also:<\/span> Uganda gaming regulator resolves\u00a0nearly 90%\u00a0of betting payout complaints, says operators are highly responsive\u00a0\u00a0<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\r\n\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Licensed concessionaires are required to contribute 10 per cent of the profits generated from their operations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2395,"featured_media":27921,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"The Loterie Nationale du Burundi (LONA) has issued a stern warning to gambling companies, street agents, and payment service providers regarding participation in illegal gambling operations, as part of broader reforms to strengthen market oversight. LONA clarified the financial obligations for licensed concessionaires, including a 10% contribution from profits and 10% levies on player deposits and withdrawals, aimed at protecting government revenue and funding public interest programs.","focusai_entities":"Loterie Nationale du Burundi, LONA","focusai_location":"Burundi, Bujumbura","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.9), regulator (1.0), compliance_legal (0.9), operator_casino (0.9), affiliate_publisher (0.7), payments_fraud_aml (0.9), investor_analyst (0.9), supplier_vendor (0.7), journalist_researcher (0.9)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"LONA Enforcement Mechanisms?","query":"What specific enforcement mechanisms will LONA deploy to ensure compliance from payment service providers and street agents, beyond issuing warnings?"},{"label":"Player Levy Impact?","query":"How will the 10% levy on player deposits and withdrawals impact player acquisition and retention strategies for licensed operators in Burundi, and what is the projected effect on GGR?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[60013,60019],"tags":[2689,73,74],"class_list":["post-27918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-east-africa","category-regulation-news","tag-gambling-regulation","tag-illegal-gambling","tag-lottery"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2395"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27918"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27918\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27922,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27918\/revisions\/27922"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27921"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}