Gambling Laws in Namibia

Various forms of land-based gambling in Namibia are legal under the current gambling legislation in the country. The Casinos and Gambling Houses Act also known as Act 32 of 1994 as well as the Moratorium Act (Act 28 of 1996) serve as the current main regulatory acts of the gaming industry in the country. This last act came into operation on the 1st January 1997 and introduced a temporary suspension of granting gambling licenses and lasts until present time. At the end of 2018, a new Gaming and Entertainment Control Bill has been drafted which was recently discussed in the Namibian parliament. As there are currently no specific online gambling laws in Namibia, it is generally considered that online gambling in Namibia is not regulated.  The body responsible for regulation of the legal gambling in the country is an office within the Ministry of Environment and Tourism. Currently, due to the proposal of the new bill, this ministry is planning the establishment of a Gambling Board that will regulate the gambling sector in the country from 2019. According to Namibian gambling laws, minors, under 18 years of age are prohibited to participate in any lotto activities.

Is Online Gambling Legal in Namibia? All forms of online gambling are not regulated in Namibia.

Online Casinos in Namibia

There are three casinos in Namibia, two of them located in Namibia's capital, Windhoek. However, the biggest casino in Namibia is the Mermaid Casino located inside the Swakopmund Hotel. The casino boasts 180 slot machines, video poker machines and 9 tables for other games including American Roulette, Blackjack, Stud Poker and Casino Hold'em. The hotel is managed by the Legacy Hotels & Resorts, which owns and manages 4 and 5-star hotels in Africa and South Africa. Although there are land-based casinos in the country, there are still no online casinos in Namibia. Online gambling in the country is in general not regulated, so no Namibian online casino licenses have been on the offer. Foreign internet casino sites are blocked from accessing the Namibian market.

Online Poker in Namibia

Online poker sites in Namibia are not legal, as of April 2019. As there are no specific Namibian online poker laws, no Namibian online poker licenses are on the offer. Foreign online poker sites, are also blocked from accessing the market in Namibia.

Online lottery in Namibia

The Namibian National Lottery is the official lotto provider in Namibia. The government of Namibia does not permit any privately-run lotteries. The national lottery was established in 2005 by the Lotteries Board of Namibia which was created few years earlier under the Lotteries Act of 2002  also known as Act 15 of 2002. Online lottery in Namibia, however, is still not an option. Foreign online lotto sites are also actively blocked from accessing the Namibian market.

Online bingo in Namibia

Similar as in cases with the other gambling sites, there are also no online bingo sites in Namibia. Since there are no specific Namibian online bingo laws, there were no any offers for licenses regarding online bingo by the respective authorities, as of April 2019. Foreign online bingo sites are blocked from accessing the Namibian market.

Online sports betting in Namibia

Most opportunities for betting in the country are land-based and as of April 2019. Recently, the first online sportsbook site in Namibia has been launched, owned by the Premier Sports Trading, based on their land-based betting licenses acquired before the moratorium was imposed. They currently provide various possibilities for betting on different sports including on various African leagues. Beside the domestic offer, there are, however, plenty of foreign internet sportsbook sites which target Namibian players most of them coming from South Africa.

Online daily fantasy sports in Namibia

Online DFS sites in Namibia do not have a legally regulated status. Considering non regulated status of online sports betting in the country, it is very probable that internet Daily Fantasy Sports would not receive soon a legal status in Namibia.