Zambia
Zambia betting and casino licensing: regulator and requirements
The Betting Control Act establishes the Betting Control and Licensing Board for bookmakers and betting premises; casino licensing follows a separate tourism/ministry route. The Betting Levy Act, 2025 introduces a betting levy framework, not a replacement general gambling licensing authority; standalone online-casino licensing was not conclusively verified.
Land-based betting · Land-based casino
Last reviewed: 2 November 2026
Regulator
Betting Control and Licensing Board (Ministry of Finance and National Planning); Ministry responsible for tourism for casinosCompany & local presence
Bookmaker applications must identify the applicant and relevant premises, and the Board must be satisfied that the premises are suitable. The reviewed official sources did not conclusively establish a universal local-incorporation rule or a foreign-operator remote-entry route; obtain written establishment requirements before structuring the business. 1
Ownership requirements
No general local-shareholding percentage was conclusively verified in the reviewed official betting legislation. This is not confirmation that unrestricted foreign ownership is permitted: seek written requirements for shareholders, controllers and the proposed company structure.
Required documents
For betting, apply in the prescribed form and manner with information about the applicant and intended premises. The Board may investigate and demand further information to determine suitability; request its current forms and documentary checklist. 1
For casinos, obtain the current tourism-authority checklist rather than treating the parliamentary Casino Act PDF as a fully consolidated current procedure. The government licensing registry identifies a separate tourism casino-licence route. 2
Financial requirements
Fees
The Betting Control (Amendment) Act, 2021 states first-issue and renewal fees of “five hundred thousand fee units” and “two hundred and fifty thousand fee units”, respectively, with a separate small-business scale. These are statutory fee units, not kwacha amounts; no current conversion or subsequent tariff reconciliation was verified. Confirm the current amount with the regulator. 3
Capital
No current fixed minimum capital figure for the proposed online or land-based product was conclusively verified. Confirm the current amount with the regulator and ask what evidence of financial capacity and ability to pay customers must accompany the application.
Guarantees / bonds
No current generally applicable fixed bookmaker bond or bank-guarantee amount was conclusively verified in the sources reviewed. Confirm the current amount with the regulator and obtain the required form, issuer criteria and release conditions before arranging security.
Application process
For bookmaking, submit to the Betting Control and Licensing Board; the Act permits investigation and requires the applicant to be fit and proper and premises suitable. The Finance Ministry lists the Board among its bodies. Casino enquiries should follow the separate tourism route. 1 4 2
The parliamentary Casino Act PDF documents the historical casino framework, but its current interaction with later tourism legislation was not fully verified. The enacted Betting Levy Act, 2025 recognises licensed betting companies and customer gaming accounts; tax recognition alone is not proof of permission for any particular remote casino or betting product. 5 6
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Timelines
The Betting Control (Amendment) Act, 2021 states that a licence issued under its replacement fee section is valid for “one year”. No current guaranteed application-processing period was verified; seek the next Board consideration date and allow for information requests. 3
Official sources
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Requirements change; always confirm with the regulator or speak to our team.