Gambling Laws in Zambia
Land-based
gambling in Zambia is legal in much of its variety. The
Zambian gambling legislation is composed of several laws that regulate the gambling activities in the country. These include: the
Lotteries Act as amended in 1994, the
Casino Act as amended in 1994 as well as the Tourism and Hospitality (Casino) Regulations No. 93 of 2016. All these acts make legal various forms of land-based gambling in the country. However, much of the online gambling sector is not regulated within the current Zambian gambling laws framework, the only exception being the online betting sector. In this regard, Zambia 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 Tourism and Arts. The Ministry of Tourism and Arts also functions as an officially authorized body for granting licenses for organization and operation of games of chance in Zambia. Thus, according to the Tourism and Hospitality (Casino) Regulations No. 93 of 2016, all operators of casino are supposed to obtain a license from the Ministry to enable them operating in the country. According to
Zambian gambling laws minors, under 18 years of age are prohibited to participate in gambling activities.
Is Online Gambling Legal in Zambia?
All forms of online gambling, with exception of online betting are unregulated in Zambia. |
Online Casinos in Zambia
There are several licensed land-based casino operator in Zambia, as of March 2019, the most popular among them being the casinos operating within the Marriott Hotel and the Radisson Blu Hotel, both located in Lusaka.. These casinos, however, have not launched yet an
online casino in Zambia. Yet, some online casino games can be played on the site of the official betting provider of the country the PremierBet. Foreign
internet casino sites are also easily accessible from Zambia.
Online Poker in Zambia
Poker in Zambia is legal and part of the regular offer or the land-based casinos operating the country. Regarding online poker, however, there are no specific
Zambian online poker laws. There are also no specialized, licensed,
online poker sites in Zambia, as of March 2019. The site of PremierBet, company licensed to offer betting and gaming services in the country, does contain poker section, but it is rather underdeveloped.
Online lottery in Zambia
The Zambian National Lottery is authorized and licensed under the Lotteries Act of the Republic of Zambia to promote and conduct the national lottery in the country. Their Zamlottery website offer the chance to see the latest results of the lottery draw and find out the latest Zamlottery news but does not offer a possibility for playing
online lotto games. As much of the online gambling sector in Zambia is unregulated there are also no separate
Zambian online lottery laws. Consequently, as of March 2019, there are no licensed
online lotteries in Zambia either. Some of the most popular land-based lotto games that the Zamlottery currently offers include Zamlottery 3/3, Zamlottery 7/45 and Affrica Millions.
Online bingo in Zambia
There are no specific
Zambian online bingo laws. Therefore, online bingo in Zambia is also considered to be unregulated. As of November 2018, there are also no specialized sites for
online bingo in Zambia. Bingo rooms, licensed elsewhere, can easily be accessed from the country.
Online sports betting in Zambia
PremierBet,a sportsbook licensed by the Zambian gambling authorities is the most popular
online sportsbook site in Zambia. The sportsbook administers one of the most widely visited online sportsbook sites not only in Zambia but in Africa in general. However, as of March 2019, much of the
online sports betting in Zambia, is limited only to the PremierBet offer. In the lack of other online betting providers, foreign internet sportsbook are currently also accessible from the country.
Online daily fantasy sports in Zambia
Online DFS sites in Zambia 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 Zambia.