Eswatini, formerly called Swaziland officially the Kingdom of Eswatini, is a sovereign state in Southern Africa. Mozambique neighbors it to its east and by South Africa to the north, west, and south, the country and its people take their names from Mswati 11.

The Swazi nation, as we know it today originally came from Mozambique; The Nguni was the first ancestor that moved to the present day Eswatini in the sixteenth century as part of the Bantu migration. In the 1800s, European settlers, traders, missionaries, and hunters moved into the area intending to make it their home. In 1877 the British annexed the kingdom.

Although, the Swaziland Convention of 1881, ensured the area independence which made the Kingdom a great deal smaller, which the other parts of the kingdom land as been taking over by the British. In 1894 Swaziland became a protectorate of the Transvaal Colony under British control following the Second Anglo Boer War. This arrangement continued until 1906 when the Kingdom became High Commission Territory under a British Commissioner’s rulership. For 66 years, Swaziland remained under British control, which resulted in several Swazi men left their homes to raise money as mineworkers to repurchase part of their land.

British rule in the Kingdom was peaceful, that allow the people to practice their religion, which the head was king Sobhuza 11 and by 1963 limited self-government was allowed, which the British still have partial control over the Kingdom. Then was the first legal piece of gambling Act of 1963 introduced in the country that allowed for two forms of gambling permitted. But again, during the then king Sobhuza 11, which was then the king in 1921 that preside on the kingdom National cultural events that involve the Ngwenyama traditions. It was recorded, that during the cultural events, you often find men gambling with beads and jewelry that include chiefs from different clans Umhlanga, Emaganu, and Incwala, which take place at Royal residences of the Ngwenyama and Ndlovukati. Local cultural events in communities or imiphakatsi occur at the home of the chief, also called emphakatsini.

However, on 6 September 1968, Swaziland was granted complete independence.

Still, Sobhuza 11 remained the head of state while in the 19 century, king Mswati 11, under whose rule Swazi territory was expanded and unified. However, as stated above, gambling became legal and regulated in Swaziland by the two pieces of legislation of the Casino Act and the Lottery Act of 1963. Perhaps, today several land-based casinos are operating in the country, and the Swazi government reported issuing online gambling licenses.

Gambling in Swaziland falls under the Ministry of Tourism, Environmental Affairs Communication. It regulated by the Casino Act of 1963, the Lotteries Act of 1963, and the Bookmakers and Taxation Act of 1970. As stated, the land-based casinos are legal and licensed since the early 1960s. However, it is interesting to know that gambling has been part of the Eswatini people’s culture way back even before the British take total control of the Kingdom.

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