The gambling scene in Africa at has come a long way in recent years towards legalization and regulation of land based gambling and betting games.  In 1965, South Africa officially banned all forms of gambling, with the exception of betting on horse races. In 1996, and then again in 2004, new laws were passed that legalized specific forms of gambling and allowed for gambling licenses to be issued within Africa.

Africa mapGambling in Africa

Africa is made up of a total of 56 countries and dependent territories.  Of those countries, casino style gambling is available in the following:

Republic of Benin – West Africa

The country of Benin is bordered by Togo, Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Niger. The most heavily populated part of Benin is the on the countries Southern coastline on the Bight of Benin. The most commonly spoken language in Benin is French, however many indigenous languages like Fon and Yoruba are still used. The currency used in Benin is the West African CFAfranc (XOF).

There’s just one casino located in Benin, the Benin Marina Hotel and Casino in Cotonou.  The casino consists of about 20 slot machines, a roulette game and a couple poker tables.  The hotel itself is a gorgeous 5star hotel with several amenities.

Republic of Botswana – South Africa

This area of Africa is largely covered by desert land, in fact, Botswana is completely landlocked. 70 of the country is Kalahari Desert.  The country is home to just about 2 million people according to the last census. The official language in Botswana is English, however Setswana is also largely prevalent.   The currency used in Botswana is Pula (BWP). There are six casinos in total in Botswana.

Republic of Cameroon  – Central Africa

Located in the Western portion of Central Africa, Cameroon, which is officially known as the Republic of Cameroon is bordered by Nigeria, Chad, the Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo.  The official languages of Cameroon are English and French. The currency most commonly used in Cameroon is the CFA franc.

There are about 50 casinos located within Cameroon.

Union of the Comoros

Comoros, which was once referred to as the Islamic Federal Republic of the Comoros, and is now known as the Union of Comoros, is a very very small island in the Indian Ocean, is considered to be a sovereign archipelago island nation. The island is is situated just off the northern end of the Mozambique Channel. It’s also bordered by the eastern coast of Africa, Mozambique and northwestern Madagascar. The official languages of Comoros are, Comorian, Arabic, and French. The countries currency is  the Comorian franc.  There are two casinos located on the island of Comoros, the Itsandra Casino and the Le Galawa Beach Casino.

Gambling in Comoros is regulated by the Anjouan Gaming Board.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

The most commonly spoken language in Congo, which can also be spelled as Kongo or Kong? or Kinshasa, is simply referred to as Kongo language. Congo is bordered by the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Zambia. There are about 5 smaller casinos located in the Democratic of Conga.

Cote d’Ivoire

Also referred to as the Ivory Coast,    Cote d’Ivoire is located in West Africa. The country borders, Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana and the Gulf of Guinea. The official language of Cote d’Ivoire in Africa is French, however many other languages are spoken including; Baoulé, Dioula, Dan, Anyin and Cebaara Senufo, among others.

There is one casino located on the Ivory Coast.

Republic of Djibouti

Djibouti, which is officially known as the Republic of Djibouti is connected to Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia in the southeast, Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.  There’s one casino in Djibouti, the Grand Casino Djibouti.

Egypt

The official language in Egypt is Modern Standard Arabic. The countries currency is the Egyptian pound. There are about 2 dozen casinos located in Egypt. Most of the casinos in Egypt also feature poker rooms.

More African Countries with Legalized Gambling

  • Ghana
  • Kenya
  • Lesotho
  • Madagascar
  • Mauritius
  • Morocco
  • Mozambique
  • Namibia
  • Nigeria
  • Réunion
  • Senegal
  • Seychelles
  • Sierra Leone
  • South Africa
  • Swaziland
  • Tanzania
  • Tunisia
  • Uganda
  • Zambia
  • Zimbabwe

Largest Casino in Africa – Grand West Casino –  Cape Town

This casino is the largest casino in all of Africa. It’s open 24 hours a day, every day of the week. The casino features 2524 different coinless slots. The machines accept bets in denominations from 5c to R100.  Not sure which slot machine game to play? The casino will actually tell you which slots tend to pay big jackpots, infrequently, compared to those that pay small jackpots, more frequently, compared to moderate machines that pay mid-sized jackpots pretty often, their website even lists the most popular slot machine games on offer.

The casino also offers a selection of 78 table games and 10 Texas Holdem poker tables.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/
http://www.vegas365.com/comoros
http://www.worldcasinodirectory.com/africa-casinos.asp

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