Best Online Casinos Ethiopia

History of Gambling in Ethiopia

The history of gambling in Ethiopia goes back to the 70s. In 1961, the National Lottery Administration was founded under proclamation number 183. Initially, the Lottery Administration was only in charge of the national lottery. It also served as the sole operator of lottery games in the country.

But slowly, over time, the Lottery Administration became responsible for more things than the lottery. After restructuring, it was only in 1981 that the Lottery Administration became the only entity responsible for regulating and controlling all gambling-related activities.

Ethiopia Gambling Law

We’ve already talked about the National Lottery Administration in Ethiopia. It has the authority to issue gambling permits. Any casino that wants to set up in Ethiopia must get a permit from the Lottery Administration to conduct all of its activities.

Unlike some African countries, gambling is legal in Ethiopia. At least in some forms, it is. Land-based casinos are legal. But there is only one licensed casino of its kind. As for online gambling and sports betting, they are unregulated.

So, something like an international online casino is legally accessed by players in Ethiopia.

Land-Based Casinos in Ethiopia

As for land-based casinos, there is only one licensed casino in Ethiopia. But the selection of games and services it offers are limited. The casino is in Addis Ababa and allows players to play slots and roulette. The casino doesn’t have anything else to offer besides these two.

The Future of Online Gambling in Ethiopia

Online gambling is unregulated in the country. So Ethiopian players can technically seek the services of online casinos. But for operators to base themselves out of Ethiopia doesn’t seem possible for the foreseeable future.

The internet penetration rate in Ethiopia is 25% as of 2022. That’s not too high compared to other African countries. And the number of mobile carriers is also not that high. This is why operators don’t feel encouraged to set up online casinos and sportsbooks.

For the above reasons, operators don’t feel it would be worth investing in an online casino. So, the future of online gambling in Ethiopia is in the grey, to be honest.

Sports Betting in Ethiopia

Sports betting is legal in Ethiopia. But only a handful of local operators offer punters the chance to bet on sports. Aside from that, punters are also allowed to bet on offshore sportsbooks.

But that’s not the main issue. Punters in Ethiopia prefer to bet far less than the average compared to others. But the frequency of betting makes up for it. Players usually log on to the local operators who offer support in the local language or English.

These local operators also offer the option of being pay by mobile casino. Gambling or betting with the phone is quite popular in African countries. So, it was expected that Ethiopian operators would use this and offer this service for sports betting too.

Top Features of Ethiopian Casinos

So now, let’s get into choosing the best casino for you. There are some features that you need to be aware of when you’re choosing one of these casinos. Good news for you, we’ve made a list of the features you need to look for.

Unbiased Games Equity

If you’re looking into something like NFT casino sites, you might encounter crypto games. These games have an algorithm to calculate your chances of winning. The term that operators use is “provably fair” games. It’s a calculation that states you always have a fair chance of winning after X number of plays.

Frequent Casino Promotions

Bonuses and Promotions are what drive new players to the casinos and sportsbooks. A good bonus can change how you play and improve your experience. The best casino bonuses are usually in the form of a welcome bonus. So preferably choose an operator with an active welcome bonus.

If you’re unsure which bonuses are good, here’s a recommendation for beginners. If you’re into slots, look for a promotion with the best free spins on slots.

Accepted Banking Options

When choosing an operator, please look at its offered payment methods. The best online casinos will offer you the most well-known payment methods. These methods include Visa, MasterCard, E-wallets, bank transfers, and others. If an operator offers these methods, then you’re good to go.

Customer Support

Good customer service can make or break your playing experience at a casino. Facing a problem when you’re playing along is not uncommon and an FAQ section can only do so much. In such a situation, having some round-the-clock customer support proves to be very useful.

Check if you’re chosen casino offers support via email, live chat, or telephone. If it offers none of these services, it’s better to avoid that operator.

Privacy for the Players

When you join a casino as a player you have to provide your information to it. But what guarantee do you have that the information is safe in its hands? Well, you can check how secure your information is by checking the encryption used by the operator.

You can check the encryption being used by your casino by clicking on the lock icon on the address bar of your browser. The best casinos usually use 128-bit SSL encryption in order to ensure the safety of your information.

Testing the Ethiopia Online Casinos

To give you an authentic list of recommended casinos, we made sure to test all of the casinos following some criteria. It was all done to give you an idea about a hands-on experience at these casinos.

Ethiopian Casino Reviewers

We believe that only an Ethiopian local would be able to give you the best perspective about their experience with the casino. That’s why we’ve sought the help of genuine Ethiopian casino reviewers. They’ve shared their online casino reviews, to paint a better picture for their fellow Ethiopians.

Deep Analysis of the Ethiopian Casino

A good review requires the reviewer to have deep knowledge and experience of the subject matter. Otherwise, anyone can give you their review by looking up some of the most popular online casinos. But that will never be a decent analysis. We’ve studied all the different aspects of the industry thoroughly before giving you a review of it.

An expert review can change the way you see the casino. Because it’s the years of experience and knowledge that the expert uses to weed out the bad casinos from the good ones.

Discover Every Casino Aspect

We understand that there is plenty of iGaming lingo that may seem difficult. Don’t worry, we’ve been there too. And because we’ve been there, we know that a simple explanation is what you actually want. That’s why we simplify all of the strange lingos to help you better understand what they mean.

Ethiopia Mobile Casinos

Although online gambling isn’t really flourishing that much in Ethiopia, there is still a future for it. Considering the internet penetration rate, it seems more likely that the country will go for mobile casinos first before desktop-based online casinos.

The state-owned Ethio Telecom provides mobile connectivity to its users. So, users could potentially play on mobile casinos using the mobile internet.

Internet Operators to Gamble

Ethio Telecom is the state-owned mobile operator in the country. It’s also the only operator that players can count on. Although it offers an internet connection, the quality is not that great. So, although there are pay-by-phone casinos, the service is not that great.

The provider only offers 3G services to its users. There are also reports of the service being unavailable and unreliable at times. But if the country is to have a future, they’ll have to rely on this operator or just wait out for a new one.

Do we Recommend the Ethiopia Online Casinos?

While there are definitely some things that require some improvement, we do however recommend online casinos in Ethiopia. The internet penetration rate is bad and so is the service of mobile connectivity. But still, gambling is legal in the country and that leaves the door open for operators to set up shop in the future.

Ethiopia Casinos FAQs

If you have any further questions regarding gambling or any other aspect of it, check out this FAQ section. It should have the answers to your questions.