The status of gambling in Mali.

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The Islamic teaching ( sharia law ) and the dominance of the islamic religion in Mali has not allowed the people of the country to engage in any gambling activity.Gambling is considered illegal in Mali, so there are no land-based or online gambling providers currently in the country. Technically online gambling is illegal too, but players are not prosecuted, so they can play in many offshore online casinos without risk.

Mali which is in the present day called, The Republic of Mali is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali is the 8th largest country in Africa. The population is around 14 million. Mali’s capital city is Bamako with a population of almost 2 million. Mali consists of 8 regions and its borders to the north reach deep into the Sahara Desert.

Therefore, the majority of the population resides in the southern part of the country, specifically around the Niger and Senegal rivers. Around 55% of the population are non-denominational Muslims. Mali’s economy centers around agriculture and fishing but the country has prominent natural resources like gold and salt too.

Present-day Mali was part of a couple West African empires throughout its history like the Ghana Empire, the Songhai Empire, and the Mali Empire (for which Mali is named). At the height of its power, the Mali Empire covered an area about twice the size of modern-day France and stretched to the west coast of Africa. These empires controlled the trans-Saharan trade at their time. In the late 19th century, France seized control of the territory during the Scramble of Africa and made it part of French Sudan.

Mali is a developing country with almost half of the population living below the international poverty line of $1.25 a day. The Human Development Index listed Mali at 179th in 2013. The country’s official language is French (due to the French rule) but the native language is Bambara, though.

It should however be noted that due to the fact that there is there is no Gambling in the country/ any online based Casino, the people of Mali still have a chance to engage in the gambling business using the offshore online casinos.

Sports are very popular amongst Malian citizens, especially football and basketball. Football’s popularity took off after the 2002 African Cup of Nations, which was hosted by Mali. The women’s national basketball team is pretty successful as they competed in the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. However, betting on sports is considered illegal in the country by Islamic laws. Therefore, there aren’t any land-based or online bookmakers operating in Mali. Players from Mali aren’t prosecuted if the decide to play in an offshore online casino.

Bitcoin is a digital currency often referred to as a “cryptocurrency” invented back in 2008. It quickly became popular around the world as an alternative form of payment. Bitcoin gambling appeared shortly after the introduction of the currency and continues to grow in popularity as more and more online casinos started to specialize in it. Bitcoin is still a relatively new phenomenon so there is only just a handful of countries whose issued laws concerning it. Some countries consider Bitcoin as an asset rather than a currency (like Norway for example).