Ethiopia sports betting and digital lotteries are set for a relaunch, with the Ethiopian Lottery Service (ELS) preparing the return, Capital newspaper reported on 20 September 2026. A draft audit found operators were expected to pay about 30 billion birr in commission but paid 3.6 billion birr before ELS revoked all sports betting licences on 15 December 2025.
Ethiopia’s sports betting audit
The draft audit covers the period from the first operator licences to the December 2025 suspension, according to Capital. Operators processed 199 billion birr in transactions over that time. The newspaper put the government’s lost revenue at 27.5 billion birr.
Dash Betting accounts for 32% of the uncollected amount, or 8.64 billion birr. The remaining 19 billion birr belongs to other companies, Capital reported, citing a report by Fana Media Corporation.
Bezawit Girma, CEO of the Ethiopian Lottery Service, confirmed the report’s accuracy, according to Capital. She said the investigation was meant to produce evidence for the structural reforms under way. ELS will work with government bodies to take legal measures to recover the funds.
Licence revocations
ELS suspended 22 sports betting agencies on 4 December 2025 over alleged illicit financial flows tied to more than 100 billion birr in lost revenue, Capital reported. The National Intelligence and Security Service, the Financial Security Service, the Federal Police and city security bodies detained owners, managers and associates.
On 15 December 2025, ELS revoked every sports betting licence nationwide. Banks and payment providers were told to block betting transactions, and operators were ordered to preserve server data, financial records and user information.
In July 2026, ELS said no licensed sports betting operator was active in Ethiopia and urged citizens not to deposit money through betting websites, apps, agents or social media pages. In August 2026, enforcement widened to 38 betting enterprises, and the Government Communication Service described the effort as a campaign against “economic sabotage”, according to Capital.
Dispute over revenue powers
A draft federal sports development law had already raised the question of who controls betting. Ethiopia Insider reported on 7 March 2026 that the draft lets the Ministry of Culture and Sport set up an operating system for sports betting with relevant bodies. The provision was debated at a public forum organised by the House of Peoples’ Representatives’ Standing Committee on Health, Social Development, Culture and Sport.
Girma told the forum that the Ministry of Revenues holds the legal responsibility for licensing and regulating lottery and gambling activity, and has delegated those tasks to ELS until detailed regulations exist. She said splitting the function between two ministries would complicate oversight and enforcement and create revenue gaps. ELS treats sports betting as a lottery activity under the National Lottery establishment proclamation.
Shewit Shanka, Minister of Culture and Sport, said the draft sets a framework that includes stakeholders and does not aim to override other bodies. She said sports betting had not been properly governed before.
The Ethiopia Insider report also noted that the Ministry of Women and Social Affairs had urged a suspension of betting guidelines pending study, citing family breakdown, in a 2024 post.
Next steps
ELS has not set a relaunch date, licensing process or operator conditions in the statements Capital reported. The audit remains a draft, and recovery action depends on ELS and government bodies. A Council of Ministers regulation would set how revenue under the sports development law is collected and distributed, according to Ethiopia Insider.
The case sits within a wider run of illegal gambling crackdowns outside the EU. More African market coverage and lottery news is on TGE.
Source: Capital Ethiopia
