Gambling status in Sierra Leone 2020

The Republic of Sierra Leone is located in West Africa and boarded by Liberia and Guinea, as well as the Atlantic Ocean. The country has been a British colony from 1808 until its gained independence in 1961 English remains the official language in the country today.

However, Krio, an English-based Creole language, is widely spoken. The country population is over 7 million people. Gambling is legal in all of its variety. The Sierra Leonean gambling legislation is composed of several laws that regulate the gambling activities in the country among them is Lotteries Ordinance from 1959, which makes various legal forms of land-based gambling in the country. However, much of the online gambling not regulated within the current Sierra Leonean gambling framework, and the only exception is the online sports betting sector.

In this regards, Sierra Leone has been home of several online betting operators which are licensed under the current laws of the country to provide betting services in the country. Units within the Ministry of Finance do the supervision of the land-based and online gambling activities in the country also functions as an official authorized body for granting licenses for organization and operation of games of chance in Sierra Leone.

Online casino in Sierra Leone

While the online casino not regulated in the country, brick and mortar casinos are legal, the exact regulations concerning casino establishment interested organization must obtain a gambling license, issued by the National Tourist Board of Sierra Leone. However, the board does not actively supervise casinos. The need for monitoring and regulatory body for casino gambling is being carried out sector under the Ministry of Finance. There is only one licensed land-based casino operator; the Legoonda casino complex operated by Dubai-based Games World International, and which feature state of the art slot machines, as well as traditional games. Yet, some online casino games can be played on the official betting provider of the country Mercury International. In contrast, poker games are a legal part of the offering of the land-based casinos. The foreign offshore casino site is easily accessible from Sierra Leone.

Online lottery in Sierra Leone

Like much of the online gambling sector in Sierra Leone in unregulated, there are also no separate Sierra Leonean online lottery laws. As there are no online lotteries either, However, there is a long tradition of land-based lotto games in the country. The Sierra Leone state lottery Company (SLSLC) was established under the Companies Act, (CAP 249 of the Laws of Sierra Leone, 1960) on the 10th of December 1962 to provide affordable and varied games of chance to the citizens of the country. Currently, they offer on the market several lotto games, the most popular which include Mini 5 double, as well as Pik 6/49.

Online Bingo Sierra Leone

There are no specific Sierra Leonean online bingo laws. Therefore, online bingo is said to be unregulated; there are no specialized sites for online bingo in Sierra Leone. Bingo licensed elsewhere, can easily be accessed from the country.

Online Sports betting in Sierra Leone

Mercury International, a sportsbook licensed by the ministry of finance, is the most popular online sportsbook site in Sierra Leone. Together with SLSLC are the only two providers offering online sports betting in Sierra Leone. The standard games in the country are local dog race and horse races as well as some football betting.

Article by Adeleye Awakan to know more about the African gambling industry, Consultant, please feel free to contact me on any of this channels: Email: [email protected] Linkedin: AdeleyeAwakan, Twitter: @AdeleyeAwakan, Instagram: adeleyeawakan

About Post Author