What the betting levy act charges from January 2026
The betting levy act, passed as Act No. 27 of 2025, sets one rate of 5% on all deposits into a customer's gaming account and on all withdrawals from it. It received assent on 23 December 2025 and came into force on 1 January 2026.
The betting company charges the levy, collects it and pays it over. Within 10 days after each month ends, it files a return with the ZRA Commissioner-General and remits that month's total. A late return costs the company 300,000 penalty units for every month the breach lasts.
One definition helps a punter who keeps playing. Winnings from earlier bets that stay in the balance fall outside the meaning of a deposit, so staking them again carries no fresh levy.
Each company also keeps electronic records of every deposit and withdrawal for 6 years, with the account number, the date and time, the amount and the levy deducted.
Breaking the record rule costs a company 300,000 penalty units, and the Commissioner-General can enter premises without notice to inspect the books.
Income tax on betting winnings in Zambia since 2026
Income tax on betting winnings in Zambia stopped on 1 January 2026, when the Income Tax (Amendment) Act No. 17 of 2025 deleted the withholding tax on winnings from gaming, lotteries and betting.
| Charge | 2025 | From 1 January 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Withholding tax on winnings | Deducted by the operator | Removed |
| Excise on betting services | 10% from 19 August 2025 | 0%, suspended |
| Levy on deposits | None | 5% |
| Levy on withdrawals | None | 5% |
The excise on betting services came in at 10% on 19 August 2025 under Act No. 11 of 2025, and it has been held at 0% since the day the levy began.
Big accumulators gain the most. A long-odds win that once lost withholding tax now lands in the balance whole, and the 5% exit levy is the cost that remains.
Betting levy Zambia rules at a shop counter
The betting levy Zambia charges online stops at the shop counter, because section 6 of the Levy Act exempts brick and mortar betting companies from the 5%. The Act describes that as betting at a physical premise where the customer bets in person, with cash or by electronic means.
The gap is easy to price. K500 placed online loses K25 to the deposit levy before any slip is struck, while K500 handed over at a counter goes onto the slip whole. On a K1,000 cash-out the counter keeps another K50 in your hand.
The Act also lets the Minister exempt other persons by statutory instrument, though the shop exemption is the one written into the text. Because the online rate is flat, ten deposits of K50 cost the same K25 as one deposit of K500.
A punter who deposits K2,000 a month and withdraws K2,000 pays K200 a month in levy, K2,400 a year. The same money at a shop counter pays nothing.
Do you pay taxes on online betting winnings in Zambia?
The 2026 answer for anyone asking “do you pay taxes on online betting winnings” in Zambia is no tax on the win itself, with the cost sitting at the two ends of the account.
| Step | Amount | Charge |
|---|---|---|
| Deposit from MTN MoMo | K200 | K10 levy |
| Balance to stake | K190 | None |
| Return at odds of 2.50 | K475 | No tax on the win |
| Withdrawal | K475 | K23.75 levy |
| Reaches the wallet | K451.25 | Total levy K33.75 |
Money that goes in and comes straight back out loses 9.75% across the two charges, since 95% of 95% is 90.25%. Withdrawing a balance and depositing it again pays the levy twice more, so money meant for next weekend's slips costs less left where it is.
A K10,000 jackpot win shows the scale: the win lands whole, and withdrawing it costs K500.
Betting tax in Zambia therefore rewards fewer trips between wallet and account. Zambian betting sites compared on our sheet carry each welcome offer with the levy priced in, and payout times by brand show how quickly the net amount lands.