Ethiopia is preparing to relaunch sports betting and digital lotteries under tighter regulation after a draft audit identified a shortfall of about Br27.5 billion ($167 million) in payments due to the state.
The relaunch follows the revocation of every sports betting licence in December 2025. The Ethiopian Lottery Service said in July 2026 that no operator held a valid licence in the country.
The audit covered the period from July 2023, when operators first received licences, to their suspension in December 2025. Betting companies processed about Br199 billion ($1.21 billion) in transactions during that time, according to Capital Ethiopia.
About Br30 billion in commission was payable to the state, but operators transferred only Br3.6 billion ($21.8 million). The outstanding amount also includes penalties, licence-renewal fees and registration charges.
The audit attributed about Br8.64 billion, or 32% of the total, to the operator Dash Betting. About 10 other companies collectively account for approximately Br19 billion.
ELS Chief Executive Officer Beza Girma said the regulator would work with relevant government bodies to take legal measures to recover the liabilities once the audit is completed. She said the review was conducted to produce evidence-based findings to guide structural reforms.
The audit remains provisional. The full text has not been published, and the figures reported for individual categories do not align precisely.
Shutdown and criminal cases
ELS suspended 22 betting companies on Dec. 4, 2025, and revoked all sports betting licences nationwide on Dec. 15. Banks and payment providers were instructed to block betting-related transactions, and operators were ordered to preserve financial, server and customer records.
Enforcement continued in 2026. The Government Communication Service said on Aug. 6 that action had been taken against 38 betting enterprises that concealed customer data to evade taxes, hide revenue and conduct illicit financial flows. Their owners were taken into custody and the companies' bank accounts were frozen.
The announcement was made by Government Communication Service Minister Enatalem Melese at a briefing in Addis Ababa. The measures against betting firms were listed alongside cases in the fuel, mining and banking sectors as part of a wider campaign against corruption and the illegal economy. The statement did not identify the businesses or disclose the outcome of the cases.
Illegal betting has continued despite the closure of the licensed market. An investigation cited by Fana Media Corporation said about Br20 billion ($121 million) passed through unlicensed platforms in September 2026 alone.
Court ruling and dispute over authority
The Federal High Court set aside the regulator's decision against the operator Hulu Sport, finding that the company had not been given an opportunity to answer the allegations. Addis Fortune reported in July that the regulator had appealed and obtained a 15-day stay pending review by the Court of Cassation. The judgment concerned procedure rather than the substance of the financial allegations.
At a parliamentary discussion of the draft sports bill, Girma objected to a provision giving the Ministry of Culture and Sports a role in betting oversight. She said licensing and supervisory powers belong to the Ministry of Revenues, which had delegated them to ELS pending detailed legislation.
The House of Peoples' Representatives enacted the Federal Sport Development and Management Proclamation No. 1413/2026, gazetted on July 3. The disputed betting provision was not included in the final text. Article 56 established a Federal Sports Development Fund but did not name betting revenue as a funding source, leaving the fund's income and distribution arrangements to regulations to be issued by the Council of Ministers.
What comes next
ELS has not set out licensing requirements, an application process or a timetable for reopening the market. The agency is developing a unified digital system to monitor operators' transactions and financial obligations. No relaunch date has been announced.
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