Gambling laws in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

This chapter was kindly submitted by  Kalema Legal & Associates.

1. Is there a Gambling Act (or equivalent) in place?

Yes.

Ordinance Law N ° 18/003 of March 13, 2018, fixing the listing of the duties, taxes and fees paid to the benefice to the Central Government.

Ordinance N ° 84/156 of July 04, 1984, giving the monopoly of lottery games to the Societe Nationale de Lotterie, SONAL;

Ordinance N ° 20/017 of March 27, 2020, fixing the roles of the ministries;

Interministerial Order N ° 001 / CAB / MIN / SL / 2019 and N ° CAB / MIN / FINANCES / 2019/139 of

November 13, 2019, setting the rates of duties, taxes and fees to be collected at the initiative of the Ministry of Sports and Leisure.

2. Is online gambling a regulated activity?

Yes. 

3. Who are the regulators?

Ministry of Sports and Leisure.

SONAL.

4. Do laws set out a clear licensing framework for gambling (including licensing process, criteria, submission requirements, licensing conditions and ongoing compliance requirements)

Yes. Law set out a clear licensing framework for gambling and/or gaming (including licensing process, criteria, submission requirements, licensing conditions and ongoing compliance requirements.

5. Is gambling regulation specific to:

5.1 Betting?

Yes.

5.2 Sports?

Yes.

5.3 Skill games?

No.

5.4 Card games?

No.

5.5 Casinos?

Yes.

5.6 Lotteries?

Yes.

5.7 Arcades?

No.

6. Are there Data Protection laws in place?

No.

6.1 If yes, do they apply extra territorially?

N/A.

7. Is there a Data Protection Regulator?

N/A.

8. Are there any exchange controls restricting the transfer of cash out of and into the country?

Transfers made abroad or currency exchanges are free in the DRC, but for any such transfer or exchange in an amount exceeding USD10,000, a "Modèle RC" form must be issued by the intermediary approved commercial bank and certain documents justifying the transfer must be provided.

9. Are there any tax implications of transferring cash in/out of the country?

No. But regardless of the customer or the beneficiary, the Central Bank of Congo receives an exchange control fee of 2% on all transactions subject to its regulation.

10. Are there any tax implications of offering trading activities remotely into the country?

No.

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Fulgence Kalema Bwatunda
Managing Partner, Kalema Legal & Associates