Haiti creates ANJHA regulator and separates licensing from the state lottery

The Haitian Council of Ministers created a national gambling regulator and moved regulation away from the Loterie de l'État Haïtien on 11 August 2026, with the decrees published in Le Moniteur on 21 August 2026. The executive issued three decrees—No. 43, No. 43-A and No. 43-B—that establish the Autorité Nationale des Jeux de Hasard et d'Argent (ANJHA), set licence classes and fees, fix a borlette paytable, and assign tax-collection powers to the Direction Générale des Impôts (DGI). A Ministry of Economy and Finance notice dated 5 October 2026, reported by Haitian media on 5 November 2026, clarifies that only the DGI may collect licence fees and taxes.

Creation and governance of the ANJHA

Decree No. 43 creates the Autorité Nationale des Jeux de Hasard et d'Argent (ANJHA) as an autonomous administrative body under the supervision of the Minister of Finance and based in Port-au-Prince. The decree is explicit that regulation must be separated from commercial operation "afin de garantir la neutralité, l'impartialité et la crédibilité de l'action de l'État." The preamble cites the 1958 laws governing the Loterie de l'État Haïtien and a 1960 decree reserving casinos to the state.

Article 4 of Decree 43 gives the ANJHA power to issue operating licences and authorisations, inspect operators, combat illegal supply, run responsible gambling campaigns and publish the list of authorised operators. The governing board consists of five members proposed by the Minister of Finance; the director general is appointed by the President of the Republic by arrêté taken in the Council of Ministers on the minister's recommendation. None of the published decrees or the Ministry notice names members of the board or the director general.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance connects the reform to anti-money-laundering objectives. Its 5 October 2026 notice instructs operators to pay licences and taxes only through official channels and states that the Direction Générale des Impôts (DGI) is the sole body authorised to collect sums owed by operators.

Licence classes, guarantees and operator obligations

Decree No. 43-A establishes five licence classes, each issued only to sociétés anonymes and valid for one year:

• luxury gaming houses

• online gaming

• borlette operators

• digital platform suppliers

• other gaming halls

Applicants must lodge a 5,000,000 gourde guarantee deposit with the Banque de la République d'Haïti, and submit shareholder criminal records and source-of-funds documentation. Telecommunications companies are explicitly barred from operating gambling.

Operational requirements include a legal age of 18, mandatory self-exclusion tools and limits on deposits, stakes and time. Operators other than online platforms must report wins of 100,000 gourdes or more within 72 hours, and such wins must be paid by bank transfer or banker's cheque rather than cash. Illegal operation carries a prison term of one to three years and a fine of 5,000,000 gourdes.

Incumbent authorisations issued by the Loterie de l'État Haïtien remain valid until they expire under Article 67 of Decree 43-A, but holders must register those authorisations with the ANJHA. Once an authorisation lapses, the borlette bank or other operator must qualify as a société anonyme, lodge the 5,000,000 gourde deposit and obtain a licence under the new regime.

Fees, taxes, GGR advance and borlette paytable

Decree No. 43-B fixes application and licence fees and tax mechanics. It sets a 50,000 gourde application fee and annual licence fees as follows:

• 10,000,000 gourdes for luxury gaming houses

• 5,000,000 gourdes for online operators (approximately $38,200 at the Banque de la République d'Haïti reference rate)

• 2,500,000 gourdes for borlette operators (approximately $19,100)

• 500,000 gourdes for platform suppliers and other halls (approximately $3,800)

Operators must pay a monthly 5% advance on gross gaming revenue (GGR). Payments to providers located outside Haiti are subject to a 15% withholding. Licences are payable by 31 October each year; Decree 43-B also requires the authority to send the DGI its operator list by 30 September.

The decree fixes the borlette paytable at 50, 20 and 10 gourdes per gourde staked on the first, second and third lots respectively, and it bans free "mariage" combinations.

Exchange calculations in public documents use the Banque de la République d'Haïti reference rate on 7 November 2026 of 130.7542 gourdes per US dollar, which underpins the approximate dollar conversions above.

Transition, timing and outstanding questions

The three decrees were signed by Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, Finance Minister Serge Gabriel Collin and the cabinet. The texts state that the legislature is "pour le moment inopérant" and that the executive will legislate by decree while that situation persists.

Key administrative deadlines in the decrees and notices have already passed. Decree 43-B makes licences payable by 31 October and requires the ANJHA to provide the DGI with an operator list by 30 September; both dates passed before the authority had publicly named leadership or published a transition calendar. The published texts do not specify how the first payment date applies to operators still trading under Loterie de l'État Haïtien authorisations, and there is no public list yet of operators registered with the ANJHA.

The Loterie de l'État Haïtien has updated its website to reflect the new division of roles, summarising the arrangement as: "l'ANJHA régule, la LEH exploite." That formulation leaves the LEH in an operating role while transferring regulatory functions to the ANJHA.

Legal form and possible future revisions

The decrees rest on executive authority rather than on parliamentary statute. Decrees 43-A and 43-B are signed and dated in the name of the executive; the Ministry's public note this month also references a revised electoral calendar. The Dominican Republic rebuilt its gambling regime through legislation passed by Congress; Haiti's new framework is currently codified by executive decree and could be revisited by an elected legislature in future.

The decrees deliver a written licensing framework with fees, tax rates, penalties and specific operational rules, but the authority responsible for issuing licences and supervising compliance has yet to make its leadership or practical procedures public. That gap leaves the fee schedule and the DGI collection requirement in force before the regulator has visibly begun to operate.

"l'ANJHA régule, la LEH exploite," the Loterie de l'État Haïtien states on its website, reflecting the formal split between regulator and operator.