Laws and regulation

Laos has a restrictive regime: gambling is generally prohibited for citizens, and legal formats are concentrated in specially licensed zones.

Casinos can operate on individual permits in special economic zones and border clusters and are focused primarily on foreigners; conditions include investment obligations, access control, KYC/AML and GGR/income tax.

The state lottery is legal and regulated by financial authorities; other mass formats are allowed only with separate approval.

Online gambling in national law is not highlighted as an independent licensed sector and is actually considered prohibited, so the authorities apply payment and network restrictions.

Supervision is distributed between the relevant ministries and administrations of the SEZ: issuing permits, reporting control, responsible play measures and combating money laundering.

The general logic is point licenses in development zones, careful fiscalization and public safety priority.