BBonGuideResponsible gambling

Country guide · BI

Burundi: Gambling laws, betting and lotteries

A practical overview of local rules, online availability and safer-gambling safeguards.

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Minimum age (may vary by product)18+
Research reviewed11 Sept 2026
Research confidenceHigh

Legal overview

Legal overview

Burundi permits gambling only through public authorisation. Loterie Nationale du Burundi is currently the sole body issuing nationwide operating licences and supervises bookmakers, lotteries and casinos, although it also operates games itself. The Penal Code prohibits unauthorised public gambling and lotteries and bars gambling by persons under 18. AML/CFT law covers casinos and organisers of lotteries, betting and sports predictions.

Regulatory developments

The 2023–2035 national strategy is intended to end LONA’s dual commercial and regulatory role. Existing concessions are expected to expire progressively, LONA is to cease commercial activity and a dedicated Gambling Regulatory Agency is planned by 2035. GMS transaction monitoring is being deployed in stages, initially covering lotteries, online platforms and betting, followed by casinos and machines.

Responsible gambling

Responsible gambling

The Penal Code expressly prohibits gambling by minors under 18. LONA presents responsible play as part of its licensing and supervisory mission and may suspend, refuse renewal or withdraw licences. Editorial content should supplement the public framework with transparent odds, spending and time limits, loss-chasing warnings and clear routes to report an illegal operator.

Responsible gambling →

How we review

Rules by gambling category

We separate casinos, sports betting, sports predictions and lotteries because the rules and authorised channels may differ.

Regulated

Casino

Current position

Casino gambling in Burundi is an authorised exception to the Penal Code’s general restrictions and requires approval from LONA, the present sector regulator. LONA reports direct casino participation and licensing powers, but the regulator also remains commercially active during a long institutional transition. That conflict makes independent verification especially important. A Burundi casino page should identify the legal entity and venue, confirm the current concession directly with LONA and avoid extending a land-based approval to casino games on a website unless the digital channel is expressly covered.

Licensing

Casino operation requires a LONA licence or concession and remains subject to inspection and sanction; LONA also reports a casino partnership during the transitional model.

Online availability

LONA’s current materials do not clearly identify a standalone online-casino licence or authoritative list of approved casino domains; GMS casino integration is described as a later phase.

Advertising and commercial links

Promote only a casino whose current LONA approval, legal entity, premises and any authorised digital channel have been verified. Disclose commercial relationships and exclude minors.

Responsible gambling

Casino play is prohibited below age 18. Pages should require clear age verification, explain random loss, encourage deposit and time limits and provide warnings against borrowing, intoxicated play and chasing losses.

Regulated

Sports betting

Current position

Sports betting in Burundi operates through concessions supervised by LONA. The authority names several betting partners and is introducing a Gambling Management System to trace transactions and revenue, particularly for online platforms. A list on an affiliate site must remain narrower than the general internet market: the operator’s name, company, domain and live approval should match LONA’s current record. Because concessions will change as LONA transitions away from commercial activity, every ranking needs a review date and an automatic removal rule when approval expires or cannot be reconfirmed.

Licensing

Bookmakers require a LONA operating licence or concession, and the authority publishes named supervised partners and can inspect, suspend or withdraw approval.

Online availability

LONA recognises online betting partners and is deploying real-time GMS monitoring, but each brand, legal entity and domain must be checked rather than inferred from accessibility.

Advertising and commercial links

Only a currently approved operator and channel should receive a link. Rankings must disclose affiliate placement and avoid guaranteed winnings or youth-oriented promotion.

Responsible gambling

Betting is prohibited for people under 18. Content should explain odds and possible total loss, reject guaranteed predictions and promote fixed budgets, session limits, breaks and early help for harmful play.

Verified online sportsbooks

Evidence-based local ranking

Restricted

Predictions

Current position

Burundian law and the 2025 AML framework expressly recognise sports and horse-racing predictions when organised as gambling. Independent articles can still discuss form, statistics and likely outcomes without accepting money or awarding prizes. The distinction depends on what the service does, not what it calls itself. If readers stake value, join a paid pool or trade an event result, LONA licensing must be addressed. Editorial forecasts should stay free of transactions, carry dates and methodology and express uncertainty, while any betting link is verified separately against the current concession record.

Licensing

Free sports commentary remains editorial, while paid prediction contests, pooled stakes or wagering on outcomes fall within regulated betting and prediction activity.

Online availability

A transactional online prediction product requires LONA approval and GMS treatment where applicable; no general exemption for a foreign platform was found.

Advertising and commercial links

Sponsored forecasts must be labelled and may link only to a verified licensed operator without implying certainty or financial success.

Responsible gambling

Any forecast connected to wagering is strictly 18+. It must not promise income or recovery of losses and should include probability context, budget limits, breaks and harm-prevention guidance.

Regulated

Lotteries

Current position

Lotteries in Burundi are prohibited by default unless they fall within a public-authority authorisation. LONA both runs national products and supervises private concessions, including a mobile lottery, while the national strategy plans to separate those roles. A Burundi lottery page should therefore distinguish operator from regulator, identify the precise product and confirm that its approval remains active. Rankings should not include foreign draws solely because tickets can be purchased online, and each listing should publish the cost, drawing process, prize conditions and claim route from current official rules.

Licensing

LONA operates national lottery products and issues licences or concessions for authorised lottery businesses; unauthorised lotteries remain criminally prohibited.

Online availability

Mobile and electronic lottery products exist under LONA oversight. A lottery website or mobile service must be tied to a verified LONA operation or concession.

Advertising and commercial links

Lottery content should identify the organiser, approval, ticket price, draw and claim terms and must not present an unrelated private promotion as a national product.

Responsible gambling

Lottery participation is restricted to adults aged 18 or over. Pages should show ticket cost and random-loss risk, discourage repeated buying to recover losses and avoid savings, investment or guaranteed-return language.

Regulators and contacts

Regulators and contacts

Cellule Nationale de Renseignement Financier

National financial intelligence authority responsible for AML/CFT analysis and the risk framework applying to casinos, lotteries, betting and sports predictions.

Bujumbura, Burundi

https://cnrf.gov.bi/

Loterie Nationale du Burundi

Sole national authority currently issuing gambling operating licences, supervising operators and inspections, while also operating games during the transition to a regulator-only agency.

Quartier INSS, 14 Avenue d’Italie, Bujumbura, Burundi
+257 22 226 935
[email protected]

https://lona.gov.bi/

Ministry responsible for Commerce and Tourism

Provides ministerial oversight of LONA and jointly establishes gambling royalties and sector policy.

Bujumbura, Burundi

https://mctit.gov.bi/

Primary sources

Primary sources