GAMING IN GABON

ABOUT GABON

Gabon, a country along the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, has significant areas of protected parkland. The forested coastal terrain of its famed Loango National Park shelters a diversity of wildlife, from gorillas and hippos to whales. Lopé National Park consists of mostly rainforest. Akanda National Park is known for its mangroves and tidal beaches.

Gabon’s economy has more links with European and American markets than with those in neighbouring states (with the exception of Cameroon) or elsewhere in Africa. The economy shares some characteristics with those of other sub-Saharan African states: strong links with the former colonial ruler, a large degree of foreign investment and control, dependence on foreign technicians, and the decline of agriculture. Gabon differs from these states in its reliance on thousands of wage earners from other African countries to supplement its own sparse supply of workers in retailing, artisanship, and domestic transport.

GAMING IN GABON

Gambling in Gabon is regulated by the 2005 gambling la, Réglementation générale des jeux de hasard. Companies providing any sort of gambling services must pay a gambling tax amounting to 4,5%.* The Gabonese gambling regulation allows several forms of gambling, including casinos, lotteries and horse race betting.

Online gambling does not seem to be specifically regulated by the gambling laws of Gabon. Though this lack of regulation is commonplace in the region, internet penetration in Gabon exceeds 40% of the population, which is quite remarkable.

The largest Gabonese gambling operators – Casino Croisette, Pari Mutuel Urbaine Gabonaise and Fortune’s Club – do not offer any online games, nor do they currently have a website at all. There have been no reports of internet censorship whatsoever, and there are no laws preventing locals from accessing international online gambling sites.

Casino gambling is legal in Gabon, and casino operators must acquire a licence to provide their services within the country. There are several gambling establishments in Gabon, but the largest and most well-known of these are Casino Port-Gentil and Casino Croisette.

Casino Croisette is situated in Libreville, the capital of Gabon. The establishment has been in operation since 1997. Games on offer in both Casino Croisette and Casino Port-Gentil include poker, blackjack, European and electronic roulette, as well as slot machines. The former is open from 11 am, but the opening hours of the latter are rather prohibitive, as it opens only at 10 pm. The third larger gambling establishment in Gabon is Fortune’s Club, located in Libreville. The main profile of Fortune’s Club are slot machines, though other forms of entertainment are also available.

Online casino gambling is not regulated in Gabon. There are no online casinos based or licensed within the country. Locals looking to participate in online casino games are free to play on international online casino sites; many of which are available in French, the official language of Gabon.

SPORTS BETTING IN GABON.

Sports betting is legal in Gabon, though there aren’t too many options to wager on sports events. Regular, authorised sports betting in Gabon is practically exclusive to horse race betting, supervised by Pari mutuel Urbain Gabonaise. Gabon has no racetracks of its own, but locals may place wagers on the outcome of French horse racing events.

The Pari Mutuel Urbaine Gabonaise has no website of its own, which means online sports betting is not available. However, locals looking to participate in online sports betting are free to wager on international online sports betting sites.

LOTTERY IN GABON

Lottery is legal in Gabon, and supervised by Pari Mutuel Urbaine Gabonaise. PMUG offers lottery games mainly in the form of raffles. The largest win to date happened on the super tombola, where Ntsame Meniéwon a mansion worth 70 million Central African Francs.*

Like with horse race betting, the lottery of PMUG has no online version either, which means there are no online lotteries based in Gabon. Locals are free to participate in any international online lottery draws available to them.