National Lottery of Benin (LNB) reported a 36% drop in 2025 net profit, and management was unusually direct about the cause: unlicensed competitors are taking customers. LNB’s revenue fell 4% to 98.6 billion FCFA (about $176.2m), as illegal slot machines and unregistered betting sites expanded across the country.
These operators pay no taxes and are not constrained by the regulatory payout caps that limit what LNB is legally allowed to offer, enabling them to provide gamblers better odds than the state-run business. Management said it identified more than 10 illegal sites in a single quarter and reported them to regulators, but enforcement has been slow.
Despite the profit decline, the company’s core operations were not described as fundamentally broken. Value added rose 22%, the gross operating surplus increased 34%, and online gaming—now 68% of revenue—grew 18%. The main drag on earnings was a combination of the absence of a large exceptional item that had boosted 2024 results, along with a tax charge that more than doubled. The board still expects to distribute 80% of distributable profit as dividends.
Looking ahead, management said it expects conditions to improve in 2026. The company plans to launch a unified online platform covering casino, sports betting, and virtual games, and to integrate mobile money payments to expand access.
LNB’s wider advantage is its legal monopoly on gambling in Benin under a 2004 law, its network of around 3,000 points of sale, and its role in channeling part of its earnings to the public treasury. Its flagship product, Loto 5/90, a simple numbers game that can be played for as little as 100 FCFA, generates most of its revenue and is accessible to anyone, regardless of literacy.
The illegal gambling challenge is not unique to Benin. Across West Africa, smartphone adoption is helping offshore and unlicensed platforms reach bettors quickly—often faster than regulation can keep up. LNB’s strategy of leaning into digital offerings and mobile money makes sense, but it also places the state operator in more direct competition with nimble, lightly regulated rivals. Still, the company’s strength lies in trust and legitimacy, which can matter for many players.
Finally, LNB’s financial position appears solid: its financial autonomy ratio of 2.06 suggests equity covers liabilities more than twice over, meaning the balance sheet remains sound even if the income statement is under pressure.
