Mozambique has approved a dedicated regulatory framework for online gambling, separating digital operations from the concession system governing land-based casinos.
The Council of Ministers adopted the Regulation on the Operation and Practice of Games of Chance through Electronic & Computerised Platforms on July 14th.
Inocêncio Impissa, Government spokesperson, said the decree establishes the legal basis for gambling offered remotely through electronic platforms, computer systems and other digital channels. Online gambling will now be recognised as an independent segment requiring its own licence, rather than being treated as an extension of a land-based casino concession.
The government has not yet published details covering licence fees, taxation, technical standards, eligible products or the timetable for applications.
The reform follows a sharp shortfall in casino tax receipts, which the government has partly attributed to customers moving towards online gambling. Mozambique collected MZN359.5m (US$5.6m) in casino taxes during 2025, reaching only 54% of its MZN666.1m target. Revenue was also 7.3% lower than collected in 2024. The 2024 result had represented only 34% of the government’s MZN1.24bn projection, showing that casino tax receipts have repeatedly fallen below budget expectations.
Mozambique currently has casino and gaming machine concessions in Maputo, Matola, Beira, Tete, Nampula and Pemba. The existing casino framework applies a special gaming tax based on GGR, with rates ranging from 20-35% according to the duration of each concession.
Mozambique has lacked a distinct framework for online casino gambling, although some forms of remote betting operated under the wider gambling regime. The new decree provides the government with a clearer route to license digital businesses and collect revenue from activity that has increasingly taken place outside the traditional casino sector.
The commercial impact will depend on the secondary regulations and licensing conditions still to be issued, including whether Mozambique intends to open the market to international operators or impose local ownership and infrastructure requirements.
