Mozambique’s first dedicated licensing regime for online games of chance takes effect on 20 November 2026. The rules set a high capital bar, a minimum national shareholding, and local-currency, local-domain requirements. They do not, by themselves, open a market on that date.
Decree No. 61/2026 of 21 September 2026 approves the Regulation on the Operation and Practice of Online Games of Chance. The decree was published that day and, by its own terms, enters into force 60 days after publication, on 20 November 2026. The effect of that date is to bring the new legal framework into force. It does not automatically authorise any operator to start taking bets.
This account draws on the decree as described in a Maputo law-firm briefing by JLA Advogados and in Diário Económico, which reported the text via the Lusa news agency. Where a detail appears in only one of those sources, that is made clear below. The official gazette text itself was not reproduced in full in those briefings.
Who may apply
The regulation puts online games of chance under a concession and licensing regime. According to Diário Económico, the activity is reserved to public limited companies incorporated under Mozambican law. JLA says interested entities must take the legal form required by the regulation and meet rules on incorporation, corporate structure and national participation.
On shareholding, both sources report a minimum national participation of 26% of capital where the shareholders are legal persons. JLA states that requirement specifically for cases in which the shareholders are companies.
Financial hurdles are high. JLA reports a minimum share capital of 100 million meticais (MZN), and two guarantees of MZN 15 million and MZN 10 million. Applicants must also show suitability and adequate technical and financial capacity. The regulation, JLA adds, creates express categories of “multiplier games” and “instant games”, including digital scratch cards, and makes clear that a licence under the new regime is separate from a licence for social and amusement games.
Diário Económico, citing Lusa, says authorised platforms must use a .mz internet domain, and that bets, deposits, winnings, withdrawals and other related transactions must be made only in meticais, through banks, e-wallets or other payment providers authorised in Mozambique. The same report says operators must keep, in Mozambique and for at least ten years, data on user accounts, bets, winnings, financial operations and access to the platforms.
Tax, contributions and player protection
JLA says the activity is subject to the special tax on online games of chance, and that the regulation also provides for contractual contributions of at least 2.5% each, calculated on annual gross revenue after prizes paid. The briefing does not, in the published summary, spell out the destination of each 2.5% share in more detail, so that point is not expanded here.
On advertising, JLA reports a duty to notify the competent authorities five business days in advance. The regulation also includes responsible-gambling and prohibition rules. Diário Económico says participation by anyone under 18 is prohibited, and that operators must offer self-exclusion, temporary account suspension and voluntary deposit limits.
For unlicensed sites, including those based abroad that target users in Mozambique, Diário Económico reports that the authorities may order the blocking of the websites, which telecommunications and internet-access providers would have to carry out within 48 hours of notification, and may also restrict related financial operations.
JLA says fines would be set by reference to the minimum wage in the financial sector, in bands of 100 to 150, 75 to 90, and 50 to 70 times that wage, depending on the offence, without prejudice to other legal consequences. The official briefing does not convert those bands into a metical amount, and this article does not invent one.
What 20 November does, and does not, do
The decree gives no public timetable, in the sources reviewed, for when applications will open or when the first licences will be granted. JLA says a licence is granted for a fixed period and may be renewed if the conditions are met, and that any transfer needs official approval. It does not, in that summary, state a standard term of two or three years, so no such term is used here.
The practical consequence of 20 November is that the legal basis for granting concessions now exists, and that offering the activity without a concession would fall under the new enforcement rules. It is not a launch date for a live, licensed online market. Anyone wishing to operate will still have to apply, meet the capital and shareholding tests, and wait for the competent authorities, including the inspectorate for games, to run the procedure.
Who is affected
For international operators, Mozambique is now a market with a clear, and demanding, onshore model: a local company, local capital participation, local-currency payments and a local domain. That is a different choice from a prohibition, and a different choice from an open offshore regime. For Mozambican investors, the 26% rule, where it applies, creates a required local stake. For players, the regulation promises an 18+ market with self-exclusion and deposit-limit tools, once any operator is actually licensed; until then, unlicensed sites remain the enforcement target.
The design sits in contrast with other recent Latin American and European debates about whether to license or prohibit online betting, including Chile’s Senate committee vote for a ban rather than a licensing plan and Bulgaria’s draft advertising crackdown. For anyone assessing an operator that claims to serve Mozambique, why a licence matters remains the first question, and after 20 November that licence has a specific legal meaning.
What happens next
The authorities still have to open and run the concession process, and to show how the 48-hour blocking power and the payment restrictions will work in practice. Operators that want to enter will need to incorporate, capitalise and prepare a .mz platform before they can lawfully accept play. The first test of the regime will be not the calendar date, but the first concession that is actually granted.
Gambling is for adults aged 18 and over. Anyone in Mozambique who is worried about their own or someone else’s gambling should use official national support services.
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