Most Popular Bookies in Ethiopia

These local companies are mainly located in the capital city of Addis Ababa but are in the process of expanding to a number of major towns in the country. The companies offer land-based as well as online sports betting via websites or mobile apps. There are at least 40 licensed local companies operating, with more in the pipeline.

The industry has invested large sums of money and created thousands of much-needed jobs for local people. In line with this demand, offshore companies also offer online sports betting for football, rugby, athletics, basketball, and other popular sports.

Ethiopia is an ancient country consisting of approximately two-thirds Christian and a sizable Muslim population of about one-third. It has historically been a very conservative country whose population at large has not viewed betting in a favorable light. However, despite that, there have always been informal betting practices taking place between people who knew each other.

The first formal attempt to regulate betting in Ethiopia came in 1961 with the founding of the National Lottery Administration (NLA) by virtue of proclamation No. 183. As the name suggests, it started as the sole provider of the state-owned lottery. It was reorganized in 1981 to be the regulatory body for all activities related to gambling, having the power to issue or withdraw licenses as well as collect licensing fees.

In fact, there was a land-based casino at the Ghion Hotel in Addis Ababa during the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie, but this was shut down by the Dergue regime in the 80s. Two proposals were presented to parliament in 1995 and 2006 to establish land-based casinos, but the proposals were denied.

Indeed, the popularity of online sports betting has caused some concern in the country, especially its effects on the young population. Everything seemed to be in place for the continued growth of the industry, with many investors becoming interested in financing new companies. However, earlier in 2022, there was a move from the Ministry of Youth Personal Development to ban all sports betting, citing numerous surveys that concluded the negative effects it can have on the youth.

These effects included a lack of desire to get a job, family breakups, and mental health issues such as depression and suicidal tendencies. Recently another ministry, the Ministry of Women and Social Affairs, has also backed this move.

The NLA has introduced stricter controls in 2022, including a mandatory 1.5 million birr bank guarantee, a cap of 1 million birrs for winners, and increasing the legal age for betting to 21. To complicate matters even further, all physical betting shops have been closed in Bahir Dar, the regional capital of the Amhara region.

This is in response to the civil war in the region, as these betting shops are seen as security threats and possible places for spreading false propaganda concerning the war. All these developments have caused potential investors to take a step back because of all the uncertainty. Although legally licensed companies successfully lobbied the government earlier this year, the future remains uncertain.

The NLA operates under Proclamation No. 183, issued in 1961, which founded the institution and regulates its activities. Proclamation No. 210 in 1981 aimed to regulate all lottery and lottery-related activities, including gambling and issuing or withdrawing licenses as necessary. Perhaps the greatest change came in 2007 with Proclamation No. 535, which now enabled the NLA to regulate private lottery companies.

The definition of lottery was deemed to include any gaming activity, so the sports betting market, including online, was established. This consisted mainly of physical shops due to poor internet problems.

The sports betting market was really accelerating by 2019, so much so that in 2020 the issuing of new licenses was temporarily suspended, and work began on issuing another directive. That directive was the Sports Betting Lottery Directive No. 172/2021. It now made it more expensive for new and existing companies to operate in the market, placed restrictions on where shops could be located, and raised the betting age to 21.

New licenses would now cost 500,000 birrs or 100,000 to renew an existing license in addition to the 1.5 million birr bank guarantee. Physical betting shops must be located at least 500m from any school or religious building.

Apart from the interest in the local teams, players in Ethiopia also love to bet on European football, with European Champions League, The Premier League, and Bundesliga being firm favorites. To get the best odds for these games, players must research different websites that compare the odds on offer from different companies.

As the odds are liable to change, players have to decide whether they think the odds will improve or not and act accordingly, whether it is pre-match or in-game betting. The most common odds for football are those to win, draw, or away team win. For serious football fans, games in the local leagues and The Premier League have over a hundred betting options to choose from.

For the sizable number of basketball fans in Ethiopia, the NBA is an attractive league to get involved in with its pre-match and in-game odds. Again, it is important for players to research not only online sportsbooks but also how individual teams and players perform.

This will help them to make the best betting decisions. Futures betting can often give the best odds, especially on the winning team in the NBA Finals. There are many options to choose from, including totals, moneylines, point spread, etc.

When Ethiopian players are learning how to bet in/from Ethiopia, they need to understand the wide array of payment options available to them. For Ethiopian sportsbooks, there are a lot of mobile money service providers who really have been an important driver in developing sports betting in Ethiopia.

Most of the most popular ones are linked to existing Ethiopian banks, but Telebirr is a mobile money service from Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation developed by Huawei in 2021. The most frequently used providers are CBE-Birr, HelloCash-Lion, Amole, and HelloCash-Wegagen. These providers enable Ethiopian players to easily and securely transfer or receive payments in the local currency.

International sportsbooks licensed in Ethiopia will accept a number of e-wallet options, such as HelloCash-Lion and Wegagen. For offshore, online betting sites, Ethiopian players will need to be in possession of either PayPal, Skrill, Visa, or MasterCard. PayPal and Skrill also allow payments to be made in cryptocurrencies for those who prefer this option.

These providers are safe and secure, but winnings may take 3-5 days before becoming available for withdrawal. There are some fees involved, and players should look at them carefully before deciding to use these platforms. As most of these cards are only available outside of Ethiopia, it limits the number of online sportsbooks available to many Ethiopian players.