Official language: Arabic
Population: 27,601,038
Currency: Riyal (SAR)

Current Exchange Rate
1 EUR = 5.5497 SAR
1 GBP = 6.1936 SAR
1 USD = 3.7485 SAR

Sports Betting in Saudi Arabia
While there are many sports that are popular in Saudi Arabia, there are no sportsbooks, bookmakers, or betting houses where players can wager on the outcome of sports matches and games. This is the result of a complete, nation-wide ban on all forms of gambling in Saudi Arabia. The ban comes from rules set forth under Islamic Law, since Islam is the official religion of the country. Under this law, all gambling is strictly forbidden. This ban covers both regulated sportsbook wagers and casual bets as well. Many Saudis support the gambling ban because of its origins in their religion, and do not want to see the ban overturned. While some underground sports betting does take place in Saudi Arabia, it is not advisable to place bets with illegal sportsbooks, since there is no guarantee that winners will be paid.

Online Sports Betting in Saudi Arabia
The only way for Saudis to place wagers on sporting events is to use online sportsbooks. There are no internet spotsbooks in Saudi Arabia because of the gambling ban, but there are dozens, maybe even hundreds of online sportsbooks in other countries around the world. The Saudi government does not want players to use these, so they try to filter the internet to prevent citizens from accessing foreign internet betting sites. The filters are not very effective, however, and many sites get through. Players can therefore use certain online sportsbooks in Saudi Arabia to place fixed-odds bets on sports matches all around the world. Because the Saudi government's jurisdiction does not reach beyond the country's borders, the sites do not have to abide by Saudi Arabian gambling laws, and can freely offer their services to players in the country.