About this app
About Bonanza
A separate private member’s bill was tabled by MP Martha Mahrous in January 2025. It proposed prison terms of two to five years and multi-million-Egyptian-pound fines for promoters, agents and payment facilitators. It has also gone nowhere.
Parliament rose on 22 July having passed 162 laws, none concerning betting. Egyptian news outlet Al-Watan reported that electronic betting was still among the committee’s files awaiting discussion on 17 August, listed separately from the cybercrime amendments. The House reconvenes on 1 October.
Neither bill has created a route to license private online betting. Egypt is pursuing an increasingly punitive enforcement model instead.
What is Bonanza?
The bill would amend the Gambling Authority Act to align it more closely with the Financial Intelligence Act and Financial Action Task Force standards. Its memorandum says the changes are intended to strengthen anti-money laundering requirements and reduce financial crime risks.
The proposed amendments include provisions on beneficial ownership, financial and controlling interests, fit-and-proper-person assessments and know-your-customer requirements. They would also require Authority approval for the acquisition of a direct or indirect financial or controlling interest of 5% or more, unless a lower threshold is prescribed.
The bill would require most licence holders to link gambling machines and devices installed on their premises to the Gambling Authority’s statutory monitoring system. Casino and bingo licence holders would be required to install their own monitoring systems instead.
How to play Bonanza
Following closing, Merkur intends to file the mandatory tender offer with the AMF in the first half of 2027, with the offer launch contingent on the regulator’s clearance.
The transaction remains subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals.
SFC has projected its financial results for the 2025/26 fiscal year, with expected gross gaming revenue of approximately €22.5 million and net gaming revenue of €13.3 million
