Betting in Ethiopia to be Curbed

Betting in Ethiopia has been legal for less than a decade. Thousands of betting facilities have sprung up across Ethiopia especially in Addis Ababa, the federal capital. But Addis Ababa government is making another effort to curb betting.

The country’s primary gambling law, the National Lottery Administration Re-Establishment Regulation 2009, permits a sports-betting lottery to accept bets on sports competitions. The more recent Sports-Betting Lottery Directive No. 172/2021, which came into effect in September 2021, introduced new sector-specific rules for sports betting.

However general public has been opposing sports betting, terming it a threat to youth’s future as majority of people involved in betting is youths.

Addis Ababa government has passed new instructions to curb betting. The government is going to stop landlords from leasing land/building for the purpose of betting. According to a circular seen by reliable sources, Addis Ababa government intends to take action on landlords who will rent out their houses for establishing betting facilities.

Last year, Addis Ababa government ordered the closure of hundreds of betting facilities on security grounds. But since the government could not announce complete ban on betting, the betting facilities continued operating.

Betting in Ethiopia is a source of earning for city governments. Those seeking to enter the sports betting business are required to pay 500,000 birr to obtain the license and provide 1.5 million birr as collateral. The renewal fee is set at 100,000 birr. The license obliges a 15 percent commission from ticket revenue and 15 percent of the winning prize amount to be paid to the Administration, and a dedication of 0.5 percent of total revenue for social contributions.

It would be interesting to see if the federal capital government will be able to close all the betting institutions in the city.

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