Ethiopia Plans to Reopen Betting Market After Mass Arrests, Account Freezes and Licence Revocations

^{Beza Girma, Head of the Ethiopian Lottery Service}

Ethiopia is preparing to reopen its betting market after revoking all bookmaker licences in December 2025, reports iGaming Business. Authorities are developing new requirements for operators and preparing stricter oversight of their activities.

Meanwhile, an audit of betting and lottery companies has uncovered approximately $170.5 million owed to the government, a debt that built up before the betting ban took effect.

The audit covered the period from July 2023 to December 2025. According to its findings:

• $1.23 billion — the total value of transactions processed through betting and lottery services;
• $186 million — mandatory contributions operators were required to remit to the government;
• $22.3 million — the amount actually paid to the government.

The total outstanding debt also includes fines and licensing fees, but the amounts were not broken out.

Beza Girma, head of the Ethiopian Lottery Service, confirmed the preliminary audit findings. Once the audit is complete, the agency intends to recover the outstanding payments.

Ethiopia’s betting market was shut down in stages. On December 4, 2025, the regulator suspended the licences of 22 companies amid an investigation into suspected violations. On December 15, it revoked all betting licences and banned operators from accepting bets.

Illegal bookmakers continued to operate in the country despite the ban.

In August 2026, authorities announced enforcement action against 38 operators suspected of financial violations. The owners of the companies were arrested and their bank accounts were frozen.

In addition to reopening the betting market, authorities plan to resume electronic lottery operations. A centralised digital monitoring system is being developed to track operators’ financial transactions and ensure they meet their obligations to the government.

The final audit report has yet to be published. The requirements for obtaining new licences and the timeline for reopening the market also remain unclear.