Mozambique's online casino regulation is due to take effect on 20 November, but a licensed market is still some way off. iGaming Business reports that the published text, Decree No. 61/2026 of 21 September, sets out ownership, capital, payment and data rules that were not public when ministers approved the framework in July.
The money is the sharpest part. Operators must provide MZN15 million to secure legal obligations, including estimated player balances and potential fines, and a further MZN10 million to guarantee the special online gambling tax. Together that is MZN25 million, which the outlet converts to $391,216. Minimum share capital is MZN100 million, or a higher figure set by the regulator.
Ownership is the second pressure point. Where shareholders are legal persons, at least 26% of paid-up share capital must be held by Mozambican shareholders with their registered office in the country. That stake must be kept for the life of the concession and cannot be reduced without prior authorisation. Analysis: the rule gives local partners real bargaining power, and foreign operators will need to find them before they can apply.
The regulation also makes deposit and betting limits mandatory at registration, requires daily, weekly and monthly deposit limits before gambling, and bars under-18s. Payments must use instruments authorised by the Bank of Mozambique and denominated only in meticais. Player data must be stored in the country for at least ten years. Unlicensed sites face a 48-hour deadline to stop, and intermediaries must block them if the operator does not comply.
The cost structure deserves a closer look. Articles 88 and 89 each set a minimum contribution of 2.5% of annual gross revenue, less winnings paid to players, so the two together come to at least 5% before any higher contractual amount. The regulation calls these contractual obligations rather than taxes. Analysis: those payments fall on revenue whether or not an operator is profitable, and the fixed guarantees weigh most heavily on smaller firms with less capital to tie up.
Several details remain open. The decree does not give a numerical gambling tax rate and refers to applicable fiscal legislation instead. Licence and concession-award fees are left to other instruments and contracts. There is no date for applications to open and no commercial launch timetable. Lusa, citing Finance Ministry budget-execution data, reports that special gaming tax receipts were MZN161 million in the first half of 2026, down from MZN175.2 million a year earlier. The question for the government is whether it will collect the revenue it expects once a licensed market exists to generate it.
This file draws on a public report from iGaming Business. Its source type is industry; we label this story reported. Analysis and reported claims are not independent confirmation.
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