Online betting in Burkina Faso is legal but tightly restricted around the state. The clearly sanctioned online product is Lonabet, the sports-betting platform run by the state monopoly operator LONAB (publicly launched December 2023). The country’s framework was built for land-based gambling and there is no open licensing route for online-only or offshore operators. In February 2025, on instruction from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the electronic-communications regulator ARCEP directed mobile operators to block online gambling platforms not authorised through LONAB - so unauthorised offshore sites are being restricted, not freely tolerated. Payments run overwhelmingly on regulated mobile money; cryptocurrency has no specific legal status and is not a recognised payment instrument.

Gambling has been permitted in Burkina Faso for decades, organised around LONAB (Loterie Nationale Burkinabè), a state company that holds the monopoly on games of chance. The sector sits under the oversight of the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Prospective, with taxation administered by the national tax authority (DGI).

The key nuance for online play: the legal architecture was designed for land-based operations. LONAB brought the state into the digital era by publicly launching Lonabet (www.lonabet.bf) in December 2023; the platform had been available from around July 2023, and at the launch LONAB reported roughly 45,000 registered users and more than 40,000 active players. There is no open licensing pathway for private online-only bookmakers.

Crucially, in early 2025 the state moved to enforce this. Following a February 2025 instruction from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the regulator ARCEP directed mobile-network operators to block online gambling platforms that were not authorised through LONAB, citing non-compliance with national gambling rules. A small set of LONAB-linked platforms were reportedly left accessible. This makes the market best classified as restricted - legal through a narrow, state-controlled channel, with active blocking of unauthorised sites.

Authorised vs unauthorised

  • Authorised / domestic: LONAB and its Lonabet platform are the sanctioned local option, backed by the state monopoly. A limited number of LONAB-partnered platforms have reportedly remained accessible after the 2025 blocking order.
  • Unauthorised offshore: International sites operating outside the LONAB framework are the specific target of the ARCEP blocking order. Even where such sites remain reachable, they are not authorised locally, offer no domestic consumer protection, and may be blocked at any time.

Payments: mobile money and crypto

Mobile money is the backbone of everyday finance in Burkina Faso and is the standard way to fund and withdraw from LONAB/Lonabet accounts, operating within the regulated framework of the BCEAO, the central bank for the West African CFA franc (XOF) zone.

Cryptocurrency is a different matter. Burkina Faso has no crypto-specific legislation, crypto is not legal tender, and it is not admitted as a recognised payment instrument in the WAEMU zone. The BCEAO has repeatedly warned about crypto-asset risks - volatility, fraud and money-laundering exposure - and is working on a regional framework. If you use crypto with an unauthorised gambling site, you have no local recourse and take on both volatility and counterparty risk.

Taxes on winnings

Good news for players: there is no specific personal tax on gambling winnings. The tax burden falls on operators. Under the 2025 Finance Law (approved 24 December 2024), Burkina Faso moved to a unified 5% gambling tax across all games of chance, repealing Article 517 of the General Tax Code and ending the earlier split between LONAB’s monopoly games and other categories.

Safety and safer gambling

Burkina Faso does not publish a widely documented national gambling helpline. If gambling is affecting you or someone close to you:

  • Set strict deposit and time limits before you play, and never chase losses.
  • Prefer the domestic LONAB/Lonabet channel over unauthorised offshore sites, which offer no local protection and may be blocked.
  • Seek support from a doctor, local health service or a trusted community or religious leader if play becomes compulsive.

You must be an adult to gamble in Burkina Faso. Gambling should be entertainment, not a way to make money - if it stops being fun, stop. Play responsibly.

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