Online betting in Cape Verde sits in a tolerated grey zone: gambling is legal and regulated under the Games Law (Law 77/VI/2005, amended by Law 62/VII/2010) through the Inspeção Geral de Jogos (IGJ), but there is no active locally licensed online casino or sportsbook. The Games Law does allow special licences for betting via electronic means, and one exclusive 10-year online/sports-betting concession was granted to Macau Legend in 2015, but the government cancelled it in November 2024. So while land-based casino play is properly regulated, residents who bet online do so on unlicensed offshore sites that Cape Verdean authorities neither license nor actively block.

Gambling is legal and regulated in Cape Verde (Cabo Verde) under the Games Law, Law no. 77/VI/2005 of 16 August, amended and republished by Law no. 62/VII/2010. The right to operate games of fortune or chance is reserved to the State and made available through concessions or special licences. The sector is supervised by the Inspeção Geral de Jogos (IGJ), established under Decree-Law no. 30/2010. The legal minimum age to gamble is 18.

In practice, regulation has focused on land-based gaming inside licensed venues, typically in tourist areas. The country currently has one operational casino, the Casino Royal in Santa Maria on Sal island.

Licensed vs Offshore Online Betting

This is the crucial distinction. The Games Law does contemplate special licences for accepting bets or running games through data-communication means (Article 9), but in practice Cape Verde has no open, working online-gambling licensing system with multiple operators. In 2015 the government granted the Hong Kong-listed operator Macau Legend a concession that included the exclusive right to run online gaming and sports betting nationwide for ten years. That deal unravelled: the casino-resort project stalled, and in November 2024 Cape Verde formally cancelled the concession, citing “flagrant and repeated” breaches. In January 2026 the government completed its takeover of the unfinished hotel-casino assets.

The upshot for 2026: there is no active, locally licensed online betting brand. Residents who gamble online use international offshore sites. These are not authorised by the IGJ, carry no local consumer protection, and depend entirely on their own foreign licences (if any).

Payments (Local and Crypto)

Cape Verde’s currency is the Cape Verdean escudo (CVE). Because there is no domestic online operator, there is no local deposit rail purpose-built for online betting. Players on offshore sites typically rely on international cards, e-wallets or cryptocurrency.

On crypto specifically: trading virtual assets is legal, and Law no. 30/X/2023 (published 21 June 2023, in force from 22 June 2023) created a framework requiring virtual-asset service providers to comply with anti-money-laundering and KYC duties, supervised by the Banco de Cabo Verde. Bitcoin is not legal tender. There is no crypto-gambling licence, so crypto wagering runs through the same unregulated offshore channels.

Are Winnings Taxed?

Yes, at least on paper. Under Cabo Verde’s personal income tax rules, a flat 20% rate applies to gains from gambling, lotteries, betting and prizes in sweepstakes or contests, per PwC’s Worldwide Tax Summaries. Offshore winnings are harder to trace in practice, but the statutory position is a 20% levy.

Safety and Responsible Gambling

Because offshore sites fall outside IGJ oversight, players carry more risk: no local recourse for disputes, withdrawal problems or unfair terms. Stick to operators holding a recognised licence in a credible jurisdiction, verify that licence, and use their own deposit-limit, cool-off and self-exclusion tools.

We could not identify a dedicated Cape Verdean problem-gambling helpline; this is a genuine gap. If gambling stops being fun, seek support from a local health professional and consider international resources such as GamCare’s directory of support agencies.

Sources

18+ only. Gambling should be entertainment, not a way to make money. If it stops being fun, seek help.