According to the official communiqu\u00e9 of Madagascar\u2019s National Assembly<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The legislation is Bill No. 019\/2026<\/strong> of June 2, 2026, a government proposal to regulate gambling activities and gaming establishments. The Assembly\u2019s detailed legislative record identifies it as a government bill and records its initial official deposit on June 16, 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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<\/strong> 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The government says the growth of gambling, particularly online gambling, and the disappearance of responsible operators have highlighted the need for stronger regulation<\/strong>. It says some gambling activities are escaping regulatory control because of their \u201cclandestine nature or their online character\u201d, according to the explanatory statement to Bill No. 019\/2026, by Madagascar\u2019s Ministry of Interior and Decentralisation (translated into English from French).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The government says the proposed law would establish a \u201charmonised framework<\/strong>\u201d 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the draft text of Bill No. 019\/2026, the proposed changes cover sports betting, lotteries, online gambling<\/strong>, licensing, player protection, gambling-data monitoring, anti-money-laundering controls and penalties for unauthorised operators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Under the bill, animal betting, sports betting, lotteries and scratch cards are placed in Category 3<\/strong>, while online gambling is placed in Category 4. The Interior Ministry would be responsible for regulating, supervising and authorising gambling activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The bill proposes a national platform for monitoring, controlling<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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<\/strong>. The draft also states that data held by the platform would remain the exclusive property of the Malagasy state. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The proposed rules would set the minimum gambling age at 21. Operators would have to introduce measures to prevent excessive gambling, including self-exclusion<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The draft proposes criminal penalties<\/strong> for unauthorised gambling operations and gaming establishments, including one to five years\u2019 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).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The proposed law<\/strong> 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/09\/MADAGASCAR-BILL-705x600.jpeg\")
Tougher online gambling rules<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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