Welcome to Bookmakers.Africa – your ultimate African gambling portal. We’ll show you how to enjoy betting online with leading Bookmakers and Casinos. Every day, we help thousands of people across Africa.
Sports betting in Africa has been a popular pastime for quite a while now. The 21st century is here, however, and internet gambling is starting to become even more widespread. The continent is currently the fastest growing market in terms of internet wagering, and more and more of the world’s top online bookmakers are opening their doors to African customers.
✅ Huge variety of payment options.
✅ Very low bookmaker margins.
✅ Over 100 different payment methods.
✅ Bet editor.
❎ Website design could be better
✅ Excellent welcome bonus.
✅ Robust live streaming platform.
✅ Plenty of promotions and bonuses.
✅ An incredible selection of different sports.
✅ Lots of payment options.
❎ Medium Asian Handicaps.
✅ Betting exchange
✅ Bet constructor feature.
✅ Innovative features such as multi-view streaming.
✅ Fast, free withdrawals with a lot of options.
❎ Website design could be better
✅ Good bonuses
✅ Big variety of sports and betting markets
✅ 15 years experience in the industry
✅ Customer service is available 24/7 .
❎ Website design could be better
✅ Excellent design and functionality.
✅ Bet Builder feature.
✅ 300+ markets on select events.
✅Covers almost every sport, league, and competition imaginable.
✅Excellent reputation.
✅Lots of extra features.
❎ Does not accept payments in local currency
We can safely say that it is a great time to be an African punter. We have more options when it comes to African bookmakers than ever before, and it’s up to you – the customer – to take advantage of these exciting times. Choosing the right online bookmaker is a crucial step in every online punter’s career, and it can determine your entire experience.
Making the right choice can seem daunting, however, especially if you are a beginner. Which is why we’re here: Bookmakers.Africa will be your go-to destination for all information regarding the best betting sites in Africa.
For starters, a short disclaimer: this website will focus on the biggest markets when it comes to online betting in Africa. Specifically, we’re referring to South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, and Uganda. However, our ratings are universal. As long as you can access the betting site in the first place, it will still be an excellent site no matter where you’re from.
Additionally, remember that opinions are subjective. This means that not everyone will have the same “perfect” sportsbook. Different things matter more or less to different people. For instance, you might prefer to live betting to regular sportsbooks, in case you would be interested in the best African live betting sites or bookies who focus on this type of wager. Some people care more about odds than bonuses, some have specific tastes for banking methods.
That’s why we never single out just one sportsbook and call it the absolute best. Instead, we always try to list as many options as possible. All the options we present on Bookmakers.Africa are legitimate, respected bookmakers and are at least decent offers. However, no bookie is perfect, and you must always weigh the positives vs the negatives when rating a new betting site.
We aim to bring you reliable, honest African betting site ratings. To that end, we have a certain method of how we rate and examine different sportsbooks. Simply put, there are things we pay attention to when trying out new bookmakers, aspects of a gambling service that need to satisfy our standards.
Let’s go through some of the most important ones, so you can have a clear picture of what we do to figure out our African bookmaker rankings.
This is arguably the most important point, and it is a box you must check before going any further with any new bookmaker. We always make sure that all of the bookies we recommend to our readers are fully licenced and operating legally. We cannot stress how important a proper license is. First of all, offering gambling services in African countries without a permit is illegal. Breaking these rules may result in legal issues, not only for the bookmaker but also for you, the customers. That is why you don’t get involved with shady websites.
Secondly, proper licensing ensures a level of safety to the users. Online gambling is a heavily regulated business, and bookmakers must be held responsible for the money their customers trust them with. Betting only with legit African bookmakers will mean that the company is legally accountable for their actions, ensuring they cannot scam or cheat you.
Contrary to popular belief, there is nothing unsafe about real money transactions on the internet. Statistically, they are even much safer than other forms of exchange. However, you still have to be smart about who to trust to manage these transactions.
With that in mind, bookmakers have to encrypt all the traffic that comes through their website. This means that information you trust to the betting company in Africa, such as payment information and personal details, is safe and secure. That is the case with proper, licensed bookmakers.
To ensure the safety of you and your hard-earned money, we always research betting sites’ SSL encryption protocols. We make sure that they are up to the highest standards in the latest technologies. Additionally, we look up websites’ histories and watch out for scandals and other issues. Even the best bookmakers in the world have had problems with privacy leaks in the past. These might mean lax security, which is not a quality you want in a sportsbook.
A license is important, but it does not guarantee a completely trustworthy site. For instance, some actions might not be strictly illegal but are dishonest and bad for customers anyway.
The gambling industry, sadly, is not free of such instances. For example, bookmakers suspending accounts of players who win too much is an unfortunately common sight. As long as they pay out the winnings, they’re not breaking any laws – it’s just not fair. The Terms and Conditions you have to agree to for almost any service often gives operators the freedom to do such things.
In any case, bad word travels fast. An online bookmaker who is bad to its customers quickly gets a bad reputation and usually doesn’t last long. Which is why we look at the years of experience in online sports betting in Africa and the world to determine whether we’re dealing with a trustworthy African bookmaker or not. Some have perfect records, some do not, and some are poorly regarded by veteran punters.
Either way, you can be sure that our ratings will be honest, impartial, and try to deliver reliable information. There are cases in which people value a bookie too much. On the other hand, sometimes bookmakers happen to be undervalued or unfairly treated due to various circumstances. Our time in this industry has taught us how to see more than just popular opinions, and our ratings are based on facts and research. So rest assured – we won’t lead you into a trap.
This factor usually goes together with reputation. After all, satisfied customers are the best form of marketing, and a good word travels far. In this day and age, where people do not easily trust information, user reviews and customer opinions are more important than ever.
With that in mind, quality customer service is even more important. The best bookmakers in Africa value their customers more than anything else. And if you want to maintain proper communication with your users, you need good customer relations. So, what determines how good a website’s customer service is?
First of all, you need enough ways to reach the company. These need to work properly, have decent working hours (ideally 24/7) and be easily accessible. Contact information has to be properly displayed on the website and available to everyone. And, as far as we’re concerned, the more ways of reaching customer service – the better. Here are some of the most common ways betting companies can be contacted:
Additionally, betting sites often put up their FAQs and help centres. These are not exactly customer service, but a comprehensive Frequently Asked Questions sections can go a long way in helping users.
Now, we always contact customer support during the process of making our African betting site lists. We make sure that the company’s representatives are polite, knowledgeable, and helpful. Our rating of their customer service is based on how quickly and effortlessly we can resolve issues and get answers to our questions.
Banking methods are very important for online sports betting. There are a few things we look for when ranking African betting sites concerning payments:
This is the part where we get into the actual sportsbook. First, we take a look at the number of available sports and betting categories. Of course, the more options you have – the better. However, we also make sure that the sports listed are given proper attention.
This also brings up the matter of focus again. Some bookies don’t have a lot of sports, but the ones they do are given great coverage. For example, there are a lot of football betting sites in Africa who try to give the best options for soccer. Some bookmakers try to provide as many possibilities and offer small, niche markets, such as esports.
Of course, top African betting sites have to provide a good selection of local leagues and events. We always keep in mind that this site is dedicated to African punters, so this is important.
Other than that, we also look at the number of markets for all available sporting events. There are a lot more things to bet on out there besides the results of a match. The best sportsbooks in Africa offer a variety of Asian handicaps and alternative markets, which can be great if you’re looking to profit from online betting.
Arguably, the biggest factor to how much you can win with a bookmaker is the quality of their odds. It’s simple, not every bookmaker gives the same returns for your stake. Sometimes this is because they have different judgement over how likely something is to happen. However, most of the time, it comes down to their bookmaker margins.
So, what is a bookmaker margin?
To help you understand, remember the first rule of gambling: the house always wins. With sports betting, this is quite literal: no matter if your bet wins or not, the odds are made in such a way that the bookmaker will statistically always retain a certain “cut.” This is commonly represented as a percentage of the stake. Different bookies use different models to determine the size of their margin.
For the punter, though, the important thing is this: the smaller the margin, the better. A small margin can be seen in longer odds for the same bet compared to another sportsbook. On average, margins tend to be around 5-6%. Of course, the best bookmakers can have margins much lower than that.
Live betting has become incredibly important for African betting sites in 2021. This form of betting allows online punters to place wagers as the match is happening. It is an innovative idea unique to online wagering and has become almost as popular as regular sportsbook offers.
Some bookies focus on in-play betting more than others. As such, the best betting site in Africa for in-play betting is not necessarily the same as the best overall sportsbook. For example, live betting offers are often not possible for all events a sportsbook provides, and they often have a smaller number of markets.
Some modern sportsbooks have become entire platforms for watching and enjoying live sports events. This feature is not a necessity for a good sportsbook, in our opinion. However, it can turn a good betting site into a great one.
Additionally, wagering on mobile devices is becoming more popular each year. Almost all websites have a perfectly usable mobile version. However, some bookies focus on this even more and offer dedicated mobile betting apps for African players. Sometimes, these come with special mobile betting promotions as well.
The best part about making your bets online is the regular bonuses and betting promotions for African players. For example, a bookmaker welcome bonus is offered on almost every sportsbook out there.
Of course, there are other types of bet bonuses: reload bonuses, risk-free bets, Accumulator insurance… We look at all of these special offers when determining how good a betting site is.
Professional punters believe that bonuses are not as important as odds when it comes to making big profits. However, they can be very helpful in boosting your returns. Besides, an attractive welcome bonus can be a big factor when choosing a new African betting site.
The answer to this question depends entirely on your country of residence. As such, we’ll go through some of the biggest markets for sports betting in Africa and talk about them all separately. Of course, additional information can be found on the separate page for the country in question.
The situation when it comes to online sports betting in Nigeria is a bit unclear at best. Technically, almost all forms of gambling are banned in the country, unless given specific permission. Additionally, the operators are not the only ones that can face consequences for breaking the law: those who use unlicensed gambling services can be forced to pay a small fee.
However, online punters across Nigeria are not concerned with this law. Theoretically, yes – you could get fined for betting with an offshore betting company, even a trusted world-class brand. On the other hand, Nigeria is the biggest sports betting market in Africa, and no-one ever actually got fined for this.
As such, as long as you’re using a respectable betting site, you’re good to go. If you’re still concerned, there are plenty of options among local, Nigeria-licenced sportsbooks such as Bet9ja and NairaBet.
Top Betting Sites in Nigeria
According to the Betting Lotteries and Gaming Act of 1966, all sportsbooks that possess a licence issued by the Betting Control and Licensing Board can operate legally in the country. This license extends to both regular betting shops and online betting in Kenya.
However, the issue is that these licenses are only issued to gambling companies based in Kenya. This means that a lot of the world’s biggest firms and sites are, technically, not legal to bet with. However, Kenya has a huge population of sports bettors, many of whom chose international companies. As far as we know, no-one ever got in trouble for betting with a company that was not licenced specifically in Kenya. Most sportsbook gladly accepts Kenyan customers as well, so there is no real reason to worry either way.
Top Betting Sites in Kenya
Gambling in Ghana is regulated by the 2006 Gaming Act. According to this legislation, all gambling service providers need to be licenced by the Ghana Gaming Commission, and all customers must be older than 18. By and large, sports betting is perfectly legal for residents of Ghana.
However, the law does not properly extend to online gambling companies. As a result, operators can operate freely within the country, even without a current licence and paying taxes. That is why we urge Ghanaian players to be even more careful about who they trust their money with. Make sure to check with us so you can be sure you’re using only trustworthy, respected Ghanian betting sites.
Top Betting Sites in Ghana
South Africa has the most defined regulations among all African countries when it comes to online gambling. Gambling is legal but heavily regulated. As such, there is a strict set of rules, and breaking them can result in legal repercussions.
As such, you must always use licenced bookmakers in South Africa. Luckily, there’s still plenty of options: some of the biggest names in the industry are fully licenced by the South African National Gambling Board.
Top Betting Sites in South Africa
According to legislation from 2013, online gambling is completely legal in Uganda. The only difference to most other places is that the age limit is set to 25. Again, betting sites in Uganda require a licence by the authorities to operate legally.
Similarly to other African countries, sportsbooks based abroad are usually not licenced but still operate without any problems. If that doesn’t sit well with you, you still have a choice of around 40 fully licenced and legal Ugandan bookmakers.
Top Betting Sites in Uganda
Tanzania’s law is also fairly clear and even has updated legislation for online gambling which was passed in 2012. Online gambling in all forms is legal for operators who obtain a licence from the Gaming Board.
However, very few online bookmakers in Tanzania possess such a licence. Many of the biggest sportsbooks technically operate illegally, because companies based abroad are almost impossible to be punished by the authorities. Luckily, this doesn’t affect players too much, as customers can’t be punished.
If you want to follow the law to the letter even if most Tanzanian punters don’t, there are still some excellent options, which you can find on our page for Tanzanian betting sites.
Top Betting Sites in Tanzania
Now that you’re familiar with how Bookmakers.Africa website operates, you can use our website to find the perfect betting site for your needs.
We are here to guide you through the process of finding the best African bookmakers and choosing the most reputable betting sites in Africa.
We will try to provide answers to all of your questions regarding sports betting in Africa to make your betting experience as pleasant and profitable as possible.
