The government of Mauritius is moving to eliminate the hotel casino licensing category and enhance fiscal monitoring within its gambling sector as part of the 2026/27 budget. This marks a substantial shift in the island's gaming regulations, a change that has not been seen since the consolidation of the Gambling Regulatory Authority Act in 2007.
Under the new budget, presented on June 19, hotel casino licensing will be abolished entirely. Additionally, the digital games regime, which was established in 2025, will now include limited payout machine operators, and all casino and Gaming House servers will need to connect to the Mauritius Revenue Authority's Central Electronic Monitoring System (CEMS).
Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam, during the presentation of the revised Finance Bill, noted that all betting terminals must be registered with the Director General of the Mauritius Revenue Authority and connect to the CEMS. This requirement is now extended to all casinos and Gaming Houses.
The move to reform gambling regulations stems from earlier initiatives aimed at restoring public trust in the Gambling Regulatory Authority, particularly its oversight of the horse racing industry. Ramgoolam stated in the Assembly on July 4, 2025, that the government was "committed to restoring public confidence in the Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA)" and enhancing its reliability as a regulator in the gaming and betting sectors.
Debate regarding the gambling reforms for 2026/27 will commence once the Finance Bill is introduced in the National Assembly. Cabinet meetings have confirmed that an economic committee, led by the prime minister, will finalize the legislation, with the initial meeting scheduled for July 8.
The budget's specifics concerning gambling law are outlined in Section 44 of the budget annex, which features over two dozen amendments to the Gambling Regulatory Authority Act. Key terms such as "hotel casino," "hotel casino games," and others are set to be removed from the legal framework, signaling that these activities will no longer be permitted. Future operations of hotel-based casinos will now require a standard casino license as stipulated by the revised regulations.
Additionally, the budget expanded the existing digital games licensing framework rather than creating a new one. The amendments allow for limited payout machine operators to be licensed, introduce a formal definition of "digital games," and mandate that all platforms obtain accreditation from independent gaming laboratories before launching.
A significant operational shift includes the mandate for the CEMS, managed by the Mauritius Revenue Authority, to extend to the casino floor. This change requires that the servers and terminals of all betting operators are connected to the GRA’s server, while casino and Gaming House licensees must connect their servers directly to the MRA’s CEMS.
To further enhance gambling oversight, the budget establishes a Responsible Gambling and Communications Division along with a Finance and Procurement Division within the GRA. Under the new regulations, bookmakers will be allowed to operate up to five betting terminals on approved premises, an increase from three, with one terminal designated solely for payouts. Additionally, horse race betting tax will now be calculated on the net stakes after payouts instead of on gross stakes.
These reforms follow the Anti-Money Laundering Bill, part of broader measures passed in April 2026, which aimed to improve regulatory oversight of the gambling sector. Financial Services Minister Jyoti Jeetun pointed out that the amendments will ensure transparency in ownership details for licensing applicants, limit cash transactions, and enhance investigation capabilities within the gambling oversight framework.
As these legislative changes finalize, Mauritius will greatly enhance its fiscal oversight, regulatory scrutiny, and compliance requirements within its gambling industry.
Earlier this year, local reports raised concerns about the regulation of the horse racing sector by the new Horse Racing Integrity Division; however, the regulator has since denied these claims.
