Equatorial Guinea Suspends All Nine Betting Operators in Tax and License Probe

A preliminary police report accuses 1xBet of moving about $4.2 million abroad in cash and crypto, and says most of the country's sportsbooks never held an online betting license.

Francis Gable

09/11/26 · 2 minNovember 9, 2026 · 2 min read

Equatorial Guinea suspended all nine of its gambling and betting operators on Nov. 5, after a preliminary police report accused the country's sportsbooks, 1xBet among them, of tax evasion and unlicensed operation.

The order, announced by Vice President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, holds until the investigation ends and back taxes are paid. The report alleges 1xBet moved about $4.2 million abroad between 2023 and February 2026, in cash through Cameroon and in cryptocurrency.

The suspension closes every sportsbook in the country. The government says its gambling law covers only casinos, lotteries and tombolas. Four of the five sportsbooks have taken bets for more than seven years without an online betting license, the report says.

Police Report Lists Missing Contracts and Undeclared Income

The National Gendarmerie, the country's military police, ran the review on the vice president's Oct. 28 order, according to the government press office.

The report says 1xBet staff made the transfers on a local manager's instructions, through a Malian intermediary known as "Baba." It alleges the other sportsbooks hid income and left workers without contracts:

Geloto: 100 employees, 46 with contracts
Africa Gamme: 52 employees, contracts for 12
Forzza: four employees, none with contracts

Investigators called Bettomax the only operator that looked legal. But its 10-year license, signed in 2021, has been annulled, and investigators will question Rufino Ndong Esono Nchama, the tourism minister who granted it.

No response from 1xBet or the other operators appears in government statements or local coverage.

Government Says It Wants Regulation, Not Closure

Nguema Obiang Mangue said the government wants the companies regulated, not closed, and that online betting needs a legal route.

An earlier attempt collapsed. In August 2025, the government declared a "master license" for online gambling awarded to Mascott Capital Partners void, saying the 1995 gaming law does not provide for it.

The government has set no end date for the investigation. Each company must settle its tax bill and answer for any other violations before it can reopen.

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