betPawa Takes Control as DR Congo Betting Demand Triples

betPawa has overtaken NgeNge as DR Congo’s leading betting operator, according to iGaming AFRIKA’s Blask-based analysis for June 2025 to May 2026. betPawa’s Brand Accumulated Power rose from 25.52% to 57.73% over the period, while NgeNge fell from 41.1% to 22.42%. Winner Bet also lost ground, dropping from 24.88% to 12.3%.

By May 2026, betPawa, NgeNge and Winner Bet held a combined 93.11% of BAP. The market is now concentrating around a small group of brands.

The latest figures build on a longer growth pattern. Blask has tracked iGaming demand across more than 120 countries since 2023, using same period comparisons for January to April to separate structural growth from seasonal spikes.

On that measure, DR Congo is the largest compounding market in Blask’s sub Saharan Africa group. Its Blask Index rose from 28.43m in January to April 2023 to 81.53m in the same period in 2026, a 187% increase. Active brands grew from 25 to 33 over the same window.

Malawi and Rwanda show a similar pattern of compounding demand, but at smaller scale. DR Congo is not posting a single strong year. It is showing growth across several years, at a scale large enough to draw commercial attention.

Blask puts DR Congo’s population at 115.4 million, with a median age of 16.9 and about 21.1 million internet users. Internet penetration remains low at roughly 18%, which leaves room for betting demand to grow as mobile access improves.

The commercial picture already reflects that scale. Blask’s January to April 2026 data puts DR Congo at 2.55m average APS, ranging from 1.76m to 4.93m, and $37.1m average CEB, ranging from $25.2m to $73m.

Blask tracks 36 active brands in DR Congo. That is far fewer than the hundreds competing in larger African markets such as Nigeria or South Africa, giving early leaders room to build habits before the field fills up.

Mobile money is a core growth driver. Platforms such as M-Pesa, Airtel Money and Orange Money handle much of DR Congo’s betting transaction flow, giving operators reach beyond the traditional banking system. Many users enter betting through wallets rather than cards or bank accounts.

That same access creates a compliance gap. The payment rails that help operators scale also make state monitoring harder, since wallet transactions are less visible to regulators than bank transfers.

DR Congo’s regulatory framework remains active but uneven. The market operates under national lottery oversight. A dedicated gaming regulator is still being developed. Operators currently work through the Ministry of Finance and SONAL, the state lottery body.

The compliance push is accelerating. On 5 March 2026, the Finance Ministry ordered gambling operators to register with the Directorate of Financial Regulation by 31 March 2026. Fines, suspension and criminal prosecution are listed as possible consequences for non compliance.

Authorities are also rolling out a central monitoring system to track wagers and winnings in real time. A pending reform bill proposes mandatory player accounts and real time tax reporting. iGB has reported the sector at nearly $1.7bn in annual operator revenue, while the state reportedly receives only about $1m in taxes.

Operators face an estimated 20% GGR tax, a 10% withholding tax on player winnings and an annual operating licence tax capped at $100,000 under a 2019 ministerial order. Private operators must also work with SONAL before going live.

Demand follows the football calendar, with the weakest period from June to August and growth picking up around the Premier League restart and AFCON 2025.

The competitive shift happened early in 2026. Demand accelerated from February to April as betPawa captured share. April was the peak before May softened. By then the market order had changed.

The long tail outside the top ten brands now accounts for less than 0.5% of combined BAP. For new entrants, licensing is only one hurdle. The bigger problem is breaking into a market where one brand controls more than half of visible demand.

💡 TGJ Take

DR Congo has moved from promising growth market to a live consolidation story. betPawa took control of more than half the market’s visible demand in a single year, and the top three brands now hold 93.11% of it between them. Challengers still have a real opening, but it now requires payment infrastructure on the ground, regulatory patience through March’s registration deadline, and a clear reason for users to switch brands. Operators still weighing entry should treat 2026 as the last open window before betPawa’s lead becomes structural.