There’s an abundance of landlocked countries in West Africa. Burkina Faso is just one of them. Surrounded by Ghana, Benin, and Togo, this country has a population of just over 20 million with a decent area of over 274,400 square kilometres.
But it’s not the geography of the country that’s our concern, it’s online gambling in the country.
Online casinos, to be precise. Throughout this guide, we’ll try to learn how the laws of the country are designed as well as how we’ve tackled them.
| Rank | Casinos | Rating | Bonus | Safe Link |
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The history of gambling in the country is similar to other countries in the former French colony. Burkina Faso got its independence back in 1960. Before independence, gambling was regulated based on French legislation. So, technically, gambling has always been legal in the country.
In 1967, the government took the initiative to design its first lottery. It was the National Voltaic Lottery, also known as LONAVO for short. The regulation was based on Ordinance No. 67025 / PRES / MFC.
Many years later, the government decided to rebrand the LONAVO lottery, naming it the Burkinabè National Lottery. This time, it's Ordinance no. 8443/CNR/PRES.
Then in 2008, 2014, and 2018, the gambling legislation in the country was revamped quite a few times. Every time something new is added to modernize the law and make it adapt to the modern needs more seamlessly.
The National Lottery of Burkina Faso might be legal for more than 50 years, but online lottery games for real money are still unregulated. De facto illegal, to be precise. The current legislation doesn't mention online gambling in any way. But it mentions that unlicensed operators are illegal. Then again, there are no licensing authorities based within the country.
So, even though you can't find any Burkinabè online casinos based inside the state lines, online casino international is always a valid option. And that's what we've listed in our guide today.
The internet penetration rate is one of the main reasons why the government isn't regulating online gambling. As of January 2021, it's only 25.7%. It's quite a bit behind Botswana, which has just over 60% penetration rate. And to a global standard, 60% is not a very good number.
When gambling was legalized for the first time, it targeted sports betting shops. Then, the National Lottery was introduced. The first legislation regarding casino games came about in 2008.
Private companies were permitted to create casinos within the country. The legislation is known as the 2008 Gambling Act in the English-speaking world.
Before the act was slapped together, it was a monopoly for the state-owned National Lottery. Some prominent land-based casinos now are Faso Loisirs and Lucky Night Casino.
The future of online gambling doesn't look very bright to us. The main reason is the lack of awareness. If the internet penetration rate doesn't improve, there's no way to popularize online gambling to the users.
There are many betting agencies spread throughout the country. Believe it or not, the country has a healthy culture of horse racing. Burkinabè jockeys are known all over the world for their aggressive riding.
As for online sports betting, it's just as unregulated as the online casinos in Burkina Faso. Then again, you may play bets at pay by phone casino or pay by SMS casino in the country. As long as you're going for a reputed operator, you should get access to all the major sports tournaments.
By now, you know all there is to know about the legality of casino games and sports betting in this West African country. As all of the operators are offshore, you can expect very good features at your disposal. Let's go over what they might be.
"Provably Fair" is the newest concept around the block, and players still have a hard time wrapping their heads around it. If we take NFT casino games as an example, it means you can use NFTs as payments and receive them as rewards. Also, there's no way to duplicate an NFT once registered on the Blockchain.
For regular fiat money casinos, the provability of fairness comes upon the shoulders of the RNG (Random Number Generator) algorithm. It keeps generating random strings of numbers even when the games are not being played. These numbers are translated to game data.
You'd be over the moon if you come across an online casino no deposit bonus. Because a no deposit bonus is considered the most elusive yet enjoyable casino bonus of all time. As Burkina Faso relies on offshore operators for online gambling, it's safe to assume that you'll find many of these bonuses.
Online payments have always been a major concern for the gambling audience. It's not only in Burkina Faso but also true for the rest of the world. When it comes to Burkinabè online casinos, the players are most comfortable with the local methods. Names like OceanPayment, BitPay, PingPongPay Payment, and Payflex are common.
Apple Pay lets players make deposits and withdrawals using their bank account on their Apple device.
Apple Pay is supported by 121 casinos
Google Pay lets users fund their account, using their mobile linked to their bank account.
Google Pay is supported by 52 casinos
Skrill is a convenient eWallet to transfer funds online, with instant payments and high security.
Skrill is supported by 1038 casinos
MTN Mobile is a mobile platform that allows users to send and receive money from 50+ countries.
MTN is supported by 3 casinos
The faster you can get your hands on the money, the faster you can use it again for gaming, right? In our experience, international operators are very careful regarding the payout speed. They very rarely take more than 24 hours to process a payment. And if you’re using the best crypto casino, you can get the withdrawal instantly.
Privacy has been a huge concern for woke internet users. Despite the low internet penetration in Burkina Faso, we believe you should be aware of your privacy. That’s where the SSL 128-bit encryption, privacy policy, and cookie policy of the website come into play.
The list of operators you see on our list has been curated by professionals. The whole purpose of their job is to procure accurate information, evaluate them for our readers, and publish them accordingly.
To do all of these things with utmost efficiency, we follow a process. Here it is.
Believe it or not, the online casino reviews you read on our platform are created by Burkinabè reviewers. We take this approach because there’s no other way to validate your experience by 100%.
The reviewers who work on our platform are independent. It means we’re not on any operator or any other company’s payroll to create the reviews. We always share transparent information. If we like something, we’ll praise it. If we don’t, we’re going to criticize it.
Speaking of communication, it’s not always clear from the operator’s end. We believe the reason is a central authority that creates the T&C section based on one gambling jurisdiction. As all operators in the country in question are offshore, it’s normal if you don’t understand some terms.
That’s why we do the job of reading between the lines for you.
Mobile casinos are an integral part of the iGaming industry now. It doesn’t matter which country we’re talking about. Thankfully, all the operators on our list have amazing casino mobile support, including downloadable apps for iOS and Android.
Burkina Faso has 5G mobile network, which is the latest and the fastest in the industry. However, it’s only offered in a very small area. 4G, on the other hand, is very widespread all over the country and it’s a better choice for you.
We don’t see why not. The government isn’t regulating the online gambling industry which also means you won’t have to pay any taxes on the winnings. A lot of the internationally reputed operators accept Burkinabè players. So, yes, we recommended online gambling in Burkina Faso.
Burkina Faso is undoubtedly a fascinating gambling jurisdiction. So, it’s normal for you to have many questions. Let us answer them.
Are online casinos legal in Burkina Faso?
Technically, it’s not. Then again, it is. This is a classic example of “de facto illegal”, meaning it’s illegal but not enforced. The reason it’s this way is that there are no licensing authorities in Burkina Faso. Offshore operators are the only option for the players.
Which is the best online casino in Burkina Faso?
In our experience, Mansion casino offers the most balanced services to the players. It has a very good game library, a reliable license, some of the most popular payment methods in the country, and a very responsive customer support team.
Which Burkinabè online casinos have the best payouts?
Payouts can go 2 ways in an online casino. You either get high payout games or you get a high withdrawal limit. High payout games simply refer to games with a high RTP, over 96% in our opinion. Casino.com has some of the titles that boast even higher RTP. Also, the withdrawal limit is very generous.
Do all Burkinabè casino sites take debit cards?
For offline uses, you will barely find organizations that accept credit or debit cards. But on a larger scale, online businesses do accept cards. As the online casinos are all offshore, you will be able to use debit cards for payments.
Do all Burkinabè online casinos offer secure deposits and withdrawals?
Yes, all from our list do. But if you go on an independent adventure to find an online casino in the country, we can’t guarantee that the deposits and withdrawals are secure. In that case, you should always make sure the operator has a license and the payment methods are regulated by the government.
Are there any withdrawal fees for Burkinabè casino players?
For the most part, the answer is no. But some operators do charge a small fee for both deposits and withdrawals. Also, the payment provider you’re using is much more likely to charge an annual fee for a fixed fee for each transaction.
Can I play with West African CFA Franc at Burkinabè casinos?
Across the West African countries, the CFA Franc is like the Euro. It’s also the official currency of Burkina Faso. The operators who explicitly accept players from the country are very likely to offer this currency. At least, most of the brands from our list do.
What payment methods are available for players looking for online casinos in Burkina Faso?
Every major payment method you can think of, you should be able to find at online casinos Burkina Faso. You’ll also get the option to deposit with your phone or SMS which is a nice touch in our opinion.
What age should I be to play at an online casino from Burkina Faso?
Just like the rest of the world, you must be at least 18 years old to play online casino games in Burkina Faso.
