Gabon's state gaming company Gabonaise des Jeux starts operations and launches its own online betting platform
Gabon's Gabonaise des Jeux (GDJ), the state company that holds the country's gambling monopoly, formally began operations in Libreville on October 22 and unveiled its own online platform offering sports betting, lotteries, casino games and horse racing.
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Overview
- Gabonaise des Jeux (GDJ), the state company created in December 2025 to hold Gabon's monopoly on games of chance, money and entertainment, formally launched its operations at a ceremony in Libreville on October 22, 2026, presided over by Vice-President of the Government Hermann Immongault.
- Director General Roméo Nguema Ondo unveiled the company's online platform, gdjbet.com, which offers sports betting, lotteries, virtual games, scratch games, casino games and horse racing, according to the Gabonese Press Agency (AGP).
- In a statement published on October 27, the Ministry of the Interior said the GDJ was created to be the sole regulatory body acting on behalf of the State, and that the government expects the reform to raise tax revenue to fund social and sports policies.
Gabonaise des Jeux launch: what the government announced
Interior Minister Edgard Moukoumbi, whose ministry is the GDJ's supervising authority, officially launched the company's operational activities, the ministry said. It described the launch as completing the restructuring of Gabon's gambling sector, a sector it said had long escaped the administration's control.
"The challenge is immense," Moukoumbi said at the ceremony, according to AGP. "This sector is now in the hands of Gabonese people." He said the lack of transparency in the sector had led the State to take the activity back under its control.
Nguema Ondo said the company would operate within the regulations in force and offer operators and partners "a relationship based on clear rules." He said participation would be subject to the age and access conditions set out in the regulations, and that preventing excessive gambling and informing players about its risks were among the company's priorities.
Gabon's gambling monopoly: legal basis and licensing
The GDJ was set up by Ordinance No. 0011/PR/2025, alongside Ordinance No. 0010/PR/2025 regulating games of entertainment, money and chance, both dated December 30, 2025. Parliament ratified them through Laws No. 010/2026 and No. 009/2026, promulgated by presidential decrees on September 8 and September 11, 2026, according to Gabon's Official Journal.
When its board met for the first time in August, AGP reported that the company's missions include operating games, monitoring the sector's compliance with the law, and centralising its financial flows to improve traceability and fight fraud and money laundering.
In February, the GDJ opened a call for expressions of interest to license third-party operators under its supervision, with applications due by March 2. Its notice said all earlier authorisations, licences and declarations would lapse from April 7, 2026. The October launch statements did not name any private operators licensed through that process.
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Patricia Cruz aims to bring a different perspective to familiar industry conversations. Through in-depth articles and thematic reports at AskSpinner News, Patricia draws attention to details worth questioning and connections that can be overlooked, using the news as a starting point for a closer look at the business of iGaming.
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