Betting with Botswana’s Bookmakers – An Overview
Sports betting has risen in popularity across the world, with the industry booming spectacularly as bookmakers went online, accessible from computers, smartphones, and tablets. Going online also opened up sports betting to a whole new demographic, who may never have set foot in a land-based bookmaker before.
Sports betting is sweeping across Africa, and Botswana is one country where it’s really taken off – Batswana are crazy about sport, and seemingly crazy about placing bets. But there are some legal grey areas, as online sports betting isn’t currently regulated. Let’s look at betting in Botswana.
Sports betting across Africa
Botswana certainly isn’t the only country in Africa where sportsbooks are popular. All over the continent bettors are getting involved – South Africa leads the way in terms of industry size, but Nigeria isn’t too far behind. The reason sports betting – and other forms of online gambling, such as online casinos – are surging in popularity is that these online gaming options are tailor-made for mobile devices. Across Africa relatively few people own computers, but smartphones and tablets are ubiquitous. This, coupled with the fact that mobile gaming is now seen as a legitimate platform, means that more people in Africa are engaging with games than ever before. This development has led to the need for legislation and regulation of online gambling by governments where the pastime is popular.
Legality of online sports betting in Botswana
As with many other countries in the world, online sports betting falls into a legal grey area. Sports gambling has been legal since 2012, but no law or regulation has ever mentioned online betting. This is good for bettors in that they are free to enjoy placing wagers on their favourite sports, but bad in that an unregulated marketplace means that disreputable online sportsbooks are vying for trade. That said, there are many great places to enjoy online sports betting, on sites with great bonuses, favourable odds, and a wide variety of sports and events to wager on. Batswana are also free to access off-shore online sportsbooks – mainly based in countries with regulatory legislation.
The future of sports betting in Botswana
There is great potential in the online sports betting market in Botswana – on average the country has more sportsbooks than most in Africa, and a population eager to wager on events and tournaments. However, without government regulation, punters are at risk of fraud by dodgy operators, and the authorities cannot reap the potentially vast amounts of revenue that we’ve seen generated in other countries and regions from the taxation of online sports betting. This level of revenue can be a great help in other regions of the economy, which is still flagging after the COVID19 pandemic. But, if the government chooses to outlaw online gambling, it’s highly likely that the clampdown will be on operators, and punters will still be able to access off-shore sportsbooks without fear of prosecution.
Live betting and streaming
One of the most popular trends when it comes to gambling on sports online is live betting. This means that, when betting on, for example, a football match, your bets don’t have to be in advance of the game itself. Of course, you can still wager months, weeks, days, or hours before kick-off, but you can also place bets as the action goes on. The odds will continuously shift during the game, and you can place bets at 10, 50, or 80 minutes into it. This means fans may bet on their team staging a comeback if they’re behind, or a neutral observer predicting the result based on the play. Live betting is exciting, and sometimes tougher for casual bettors than placing bets before a game. But if you win, it can be highly profitable. Look out for betting sites with live betting and streaming if you want to give it a go.
Popular sports in Botswana
As it is in the rest of the world, football is the most popular sport in Botswana, by some margin. Although the game is enjoyed at a domestic and grass-roots level, fans and bettors alike love tuning into matches from the EPL, Bundesliga, Serie A, and La Liga, as well as international competitions. Other popular sports in the country include cricket and rugby, both of which were imported by the British during colonial times. Athletics is also a popular pursuit, Botswanans love the Olympic Games, and viewing figures for big events are high. Botswana won its only silver Olympic medal in the 800 metres during the games in London, 2012, with Nijel Amos coming second. The men’s 4 x 400 relay team won a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
Botswana isn’t immune to the online sports betting craze that is sweeping the world. But it looks like they might need to tighten up their regulations, for the benefit of punters and the economy. However, for those that are currently engaging with the available providers, as long as they are properly vetted and backed by reputable establishments, the future can only get brighter.
