Legal gambling in Africa: a country-by-country analysis
Focus Gaming News reviews which African states offer legal sports betting and online casino gambling in 2025.
Special report.- As of 2025, gambling has become a popular pastime for many Africans and a major source of revenue for governments.
According to Statista, revenue in the African gambling market is projected to reach $20.43bn in 2025 and $22.17bn in market volume by 2029.
Sports betting is the most popular form of gambling in Africa, with football betting leading this sector. Land-based casino gaming and lottery are also popular in some jurisdictions.
As it stands, about 45 countries in Africa offer some form of legal gambling, such as casinos, sports betting, lotteries and online gaming. However, the activity is strictly banned in five states: Somalia, Libya, Mauritania, South Sudan and Sudan. In other jurisdictions like Eritrea and Guinea Bissau, gambling is not forbidden by law but largely unregulated.
As stated earlier, the most popular forms of legal gambling in Africa include sports betting (45 countries), casinos (39) and lotteries (10 countries).
Grouped into regions, here are the countries where sports betting is legal and regulated in Africa.
West Africa: Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Benin and Togo.
East Africa: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Djibouti and the island nations of Comoros, Madagascar, Seychelles and Mauritius.
Southern Africa: South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi.
North Africa: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt
Central Africa: Cameroon, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, Angola, Central African Republic, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, São Tomé and Príncipe and Burundi.
While all these African countries have laws that regulate both online and retail sports betting, factors like state control, stringent regulations, technological challenges and limited operator interest have made the activity less lucrative and relatively unpopular in certain markets.
Grey Areas
In some other jurisdictions, there are no licensing frameworks for physical or online betting, creating a grey area for online operators and bettors. States under this category include:
Djibouti: While physical sports betting is legal at state-approved venues, the country lacks clear laws on online gambling, including online sports betting. Since there are no specific regulations banning sports betting in Djibouti, international or offshore operators are able to cater to the local market.
Sierra Leone: Gambling and sports betting are legal for individuals aged 18 and above. However, the country only authorises two companies to provide these services: the Sierra Leone State Lottery Company and Mercury International. Neither licensed company offers online betting services, leaving the space largely unregulated.
Mali: PMU Mali, established in 1994, is Mali’s sole authorised provider of sports betting services. It also enables betting on French horse races. The operator doesn’t have an online sports betting platform, opening the market to foreign online sportsbooks.
Eritrea: The National Gambling Proclamation sets the framework for sports betting in Eritrea. However, there are no licensed online sportsbook operators in the jurisdiction.
Guinea Bissau: While the country offers land-based sports betting games, online betting remains underdeveloped, with limited regulations and no active enforcement.
Where sports betting remains illegal
Sports betting is strictly illegal in Libya, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia and Mauritania. These countries have specific laws banning sports betting due to their predominant Islamic legal systems and cultural traditions—penalties for operating a sportsbook or even wagering on one range from fines to imprisonment.
Online casino gaming
Online casino gambling is legal and fully regulated in Angola, Benin, Burundi, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Comoros, DR Congo, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Nigeria, Reunion Island, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Tanzania, The Gambia, Togo and Uganda.
Limited or ambiguous regulations
While some jurisdictions haven’t explicitly prohibited online gambling, they have no clear regulations or framework governing internet gaming. However, with some of these countries having fully regulated sports betting and land-based casino markets, there is a strong potential for future oversight of online gambling. In the meantime, foreign gambling sites largely operate unchecked.
The countries in this group are Chad, Mozambique, Morocco, Cote d’Ivoire, Algeria, Botswana, Madagascar, Djibouti, Sierra Leone, Tunisia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mali, Central African Republic, Liberia, Gabon and Guinea-Bissau.
Online gambling remains illegal in Eritrea, South Sudan, Libya, Mauritania, Sudan, and Egypt.
