Zambia

Zambia is a smaller gambling market than regional peers Uganda and Tanzania, though it is probable that the market is more corporately formalised than those comparators. The population is approximately 20 million, and sports betting driven by football is the dominant licensed vertical. Mobile money penetration is high, with Airtel Money and MTN Mobile Money dominating payment rails, which supports digital betting adoption.

The statutory basis for Zambian gambling licensing changed materially this cycle. The Gaming and Lotteries Act No. 4 of 2024 repeals and replaces the Betting Control Act (Cap. 167), the Casino Act, and the Lotteries Act; the Act took effect on 1 January 2025. Licensing authority has moved from the Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) to the newly created Zambia Gaming and Lotteries Board (ZGLB), which is now the current licensing authority for gambling in Zambia. The operative statutory basis for all Zambian gambling licence classes is the Gaming and Lotteries Act No. 4 of 2024, and no longer the repealed Betting Control Act, Casino Act, or Lotteries Act. This rests on primary legislation rather than ministerial circular or regulator guidance, giving the new framework a durable statutory basis. The finding is Probable-confidence, sourced from a single Tier-1 primary-legislation document with no corroborating Tier-2 or Tier-3 coverage identified within the collection window; substantive licensing conditions, fees, and obligations beyond the identity of the regulator and instrument were not addressed by evidence available this cycle.

Prospective entrants to Zambia's gambling market face a changed issuing authority this cycle. The operative statutory basis for all Zambian gambling licence classes is now the Gaming and Lotteries Act No. 4 of 2024, not the repealed Betting Control Act (Cap. 167), Casino Act, or Lotteries Act. The Zambia Gaming and Lotteries Board (ZGLB) is now the current licensing authority for gambling in Zambia, operating under that Act, which came into force on 1 January 2025 and replaced the previous Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) regime.

Player protection obligations in Zambia are light relative to mature common-law jurisdictions. Licence conditions issued by the Betting Control and Licensing Board impose responsible gambling messaging and an 18-plus age limit — probable requirements from T2 sources carrying FRAGILE durability as licence conditions. There is no national self-exclusion register, no mandatory deposit limits, and no mandatory spend limits identified in the available evidence. The age verification standard is not specified in available sources, representing a gap for operators designing onboarding flows.

Marketing is conducted via television, radio, SMS, and social media with basic responsible gambling messaging; there is no dedicated gambling advertising code and bonus advertising is largely unrestricted in practice. The practical burden of player protection compliance is low relative to jurisdictions with mandatory self-exclusion registers, deposit limit regimes, and advertising watershed rules. The modernisation bill approved by Cabinet in June 2025 may introduce more structured player protection obligations if enacted, but no detail on proposed player protection provisions has been confirmed.

Zambia's April 2026 revised national budget sharpened tax-compliance and revenue-accountability oversight across betting, casino and lottery operators, placing them alongside mining, telecoms, alcohol and tobacco as sectors receiving closer fiscal scrutiny. This is probable rather than confirmed evidence, and it derives from a budget-driven administrative measure rather than an amendment to the underlying gambling licensing statutes: in durability terms it is fragile, revocable by a future budget cycle rather than embedded in primary legislation.

No new enforcement powers were created and no enforcement events against named operators were evidenced this cycle; the finding is about intensified compliance monitoring and revenue-accountability attention, not about a change to the statutory enforcement architecture itself. Operators should read this as a signal that fiscal-compliance scrutiny has tightened, distinct from and independent of the payments-infrastructure reform tracked separately this cycle under payments and money flow.

Zambia is confirmed as not currently FATF grey-listed, though this status carries FRAGILE durability as a point-in-time assessment. The AML and CFT framework develops under the Financial Intelligence Centre Zambia, and gambling operators are probably subject to AML and CFT obligations under this framework.

The Betting Control and Licensing Board reviews platform technology at application and through the licence lifecycle. There is no mandated RNG certification body, making the technical certification burden lighter than in mature common-law jurisdictions. Licence conditions impose responsible gambling messaging and an 18-plus age limit.

The dominant cost driver is the 10% excise duty on betting stakes introduced under the Customs and Excise Amendment Act 2025, effective from September 2025 and remitted monthly. This is a confirmed, DURABLE primary-legislation obligation upheld by the Constitutional Court. Because the duty applies to amounts staked rather than to gross gaming revenue, the effective burden on operators is confirmed as materially higher than the headline corporate income tax rate of 35% — a probable figure from T2 sources.

A separate presumptive tax on gaming and betting also applies, though precise rates are not confirmed from primary ZRA sources. A 15% withholding tax on winnings applied for the 2023 and 2024 charge years. Licence fees are uncertain but moderate to low by regional standards: a retail sportsbook licence is approximately ZMW 100,000 (roughly USD 4,500 to 5,000) and full casino operations roughly ZMW 150,000 initial with ZMW 50,000 renewal, per T2 ballpark estimates that should be confirmed with the BCLB. The effective rate after deductions has not been quantified from available sources.

Zambia's National Payment System Act, 2026 (Act No. 5) repeals and replaces the 2007 National Payment Systems Act and introduces a new Bank of Zambia payment-services licensing and authorisation regime. This is confirmed, durable primary legislation, and it bears directly on how betting and lottery operators receive and settle player funds, since those flows typically move through payment-service providers now subject to the reformed Bank of Zambia framework.

The Interpreter carries this as an open finding this cycle: the statute itself is confirmed, but its operational consequences for the gambling sector specifically remain probable rather than settled, because the practical effect on which providers operators can use to receive and settle funds has not yet fully worked through. No licensing change to the betting, casino or lottery licence classes themselves accompanies this reform; the change sits entirely in the payments infrastructure operators depend on.

Sports betting driven by football is the dominant licensed vertical in Zambia. The competitive landscape has been materially disrupted by the 10% excise duty on betting stakes: BetLion has suspended operations, betPawa has paused its casino and jackpot products while continuing sports betting, and Betway has suspended services entirely and ended its Zambian Premier League sponsorship — all confirmed exits triggered by the stake excise.

The reform pipeline item most relevant to Zambia has resolved this cycle. A long-pending initiative to harmonise gaming and lottery regulation under a single regulator has moved from draft or consultation stage to enactment: the Gaming and Lotteries Act No. 4 of 2024 repeals and replaces the Betting Control Act (Cap. 167), the Casino Act, and the Lotteries Act, and took effect on 1 January 2025.

Licensing authority has consolidated under the newly created Zambia Gaming and Lotteries Board (ZGLB), replacing the Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB). This closes out the previously tracked reform-horizon item, though implementation mechanics, including any transition guidance, application-procedure detail, or licence-renewal grace period for BCLB-era licensees, remain unconfirmed by independent sourcing.

The underlying finding is Probable-confidence, resting on a single Tier-1 primary-legislation source with no corroborating Tier-2 or Tier-3 trade-press coverage identified within the collection window; operators should treat the reform as enacted in principle but not yet fully legible in administrative practice.