Gambling Laws in Sierra Leone

Gambling in Sierra Leone is legal in all of its variety. The Sierra Leonean gambling legislation is composed by several laws that regulate the gambling activities in the country. Among them a central place is taken by the Sierra Leonean Lotteries Ordinance from 1959 which makes legal various  forms of land-based gambling in the country. However, much of the online gambling sector is not regulated within the current Sierra Leonean gambling laws framework, the only exception being the online betting sector. In this regard, Sierra Leone has been home of several online betting operators which are licensed under the current laws of the country to provide betting services in the country.  The supervision of the land-based and the online gambling activities in the country is done by units within the Ministry of Finance. The Ministry of Finance also functions as an officially authorized body for granting licenses for organization and operation of games of chance in Sierra Leone. According to Sierra Leonean gambling laws minors, under 18 years of age are prohibited to participate in gambling activities.

Is Online Gambling Legal in Sierra Leone? All forms of online gambling, with exception of online betting are unregulated in Sierra Leone.

Online Casinos in Sierra Leone

There is only one licensed land-based casino operator in Sierra Leone, as of March 2019, operating in the Legoonda casino complex. This casino, however, has not launched yet an online casino in Sierra Leone. Yet, some online casino games can be played on the site of the official betting provider of the country the Mercury International. Foreign internet casino sites are also easily accessible from Sierra Leone.

Online Poker in Sierra Leone

Poker in Sierra Leone is legal and part of the regular offer or the one land-based casino operating the country. Regarding online poker, however, there are no specific Sierra Leonean online poker laws. There are also no specialized, licensed, online poker sites in Sierra Leone, as of March 2019. The site of Mercury International, company licensed to offer betting and gaming services in the country, does contain poker section, but it is rather underdeveloped.

Online lottery in Sierra Leone

As much of the online gambling sector in Sierra Leone is unregulated there are also no separate Sierra Leonean online lottery laws. As of March 2019, there are no online lotteries in Sierra Leone either.  However, there is a long tradition of land-based lotto games in the country. The Sierra Leone State Lottery Company (SLSLC) was established under the Companies Act, (CAP 249 of the Laws of Sierra Leone, 1960) on the 10th of December, 1962 to provide affordable and varied games of chance for the citizens of the country. Currently they offer on the market several lotto games, the most popular of which include Mini 5 double, as well as Pik 6/49.

Online bingo in Sierra Leone

There are no specific Sierra Leonean online bingo laws. Therefore, online bingo in Sierra Leone is also considered to be unregulated. As of November 2018, there are also no specialized sites for online bingo in Sierra Leone. Bingo rooms, licensed elsewhere, can easily be accessed from the country.

Online sports betting in Sierra Leone

Mercury International, a sportsbook licensed by the Ministry of Finance is the most popular online sportsbook site in Sierra Leone. Together with the SLSLC these are the only two  providers offering online sports betting in Sierra Leone. Foreign internet sportsbook are currently also accessible from the country.

Online daily fantasy sports in Sierra Leone

Online DFS sites in Sierra Leone do not have a legally regulated status. There is an ongoing debate on the status of this type of game, but considering the legality of online sports betting in the country it is very probable that internet Daily Fantasy Sports would soon receive a legal status in Sierra Leone.