Africa is a mixed bag when it comes to betting. Since a lot of African countries are Islamic countries, betting is prohibited in those countries however, Tanzania is not one of them.
In fact, Tanzania is one of the most progressive countries in Africa.
Tanzania legalised betting in 1992 under the Investment Promotion and Protection Act and legalised online betting in 1999 with an amendment to the Gaming Control Act.
The nation set up a regulatory authority to oversee betting operations for land-based casinos, brick and mortar betting shops, online casions and online sports betting.
The Gaming Board of Tanzania (GBT) is the regulatory body for Tanzania that handles all the betting operations. It was established in 2003 and issues licenses to casinos and sports betting companies for operating online.
The board is also in charge of ensuring safety of bettors and set the guidelines for operations of licensed operators. The GBT does an exceptional job is running betting operations in Tanzania and this has helped foster the growth of the betting industry in the country.
It is safe and legal for Tanzanians to bet using a European-licensed sports betting website as well in the country and most European sites do accept Tanzanians for betting on their platforms.
Tanzania is the third biggest economy in East Africa and sports betting contributes majorly to the nation’s revenue as it brings in around 1.5 billion shillings to the state treasury.
There are almost 3,000 betting shops in Tanzania and Dar es Salaam has most of them. Online betting has become immensely popular because of the growth of the internet in the country that has 85% mobile penetration.
Popular Sports for Betting in Tanzania
Just like all other countries in Africa, football is the most popular sport in Tanzania, by far. Tanzania has its own professional football league – the Tanzania Mainland Premier League.
Football fans love to bet on their local games, especially the first division of football (Tanzania Premier League). Teams like Azam FC and Kagera Sugar are extremely popular and see a lot of bets placed on them.
All major European football competitions are also available for betting in Tanzania and the UEFA Champions League is the most popular competition for betting in the East African nation. The World Cup and AFCON are also extremely popular among bettors.
Online sports betting websites offer multiple markets for every sports event. You do not only find the 1X2 bets but also first goal scorer, corner bets, handicaps, and many more available, using football as an example.
Cricket is the second-most popular sport in Tanzania after football. Although Tanzania has not managed to achieve success in international cricket, it is still extremely popular and locals enjoy watching the sport and betting on it as well. Tanzania’s T20 team is currently ranked 44th in the world.
Basketball is big in Tanzania as well. College basketball is very common in the nation and so is boxing. Tanzanians love to bet on the major global basketball tournaments including the NBA and the FIBA tournaments. You will always find Tanzanians betting on all the major fights in boxing across the world too.
Tanzania is a proud nation when it comes to athletics. East Africa is known to produce the best runners so the Olympics and World Championships are a happy hunting ground for bettors in the nation that is home to Mt. Kilimanjaro.
Mobile Sports Betting in Tanzania
What online sports betting has done is given an opportunity to people to bet 24×7. You can bet on a live game happening in the US time zone or even the Japanese time zone, there is absolutely no restriction on that.
Opportunities for betting can come along at any point in time so it is important to try and maximise these opportunities that come your way. Mobile betting adds to this as you can bet on-the-go from any corner of the world as long as you have internet access.
Pick an online sportsbook that lets you bet on your mobile device, ideally. Whether it is through an app or website, it should be accessible on the phone so that you can place bets anytime or keep track of everything in real-time when on the move.
For live betting (also known as in-play betting), having access on the mobile phone or tablet just makes things much easier. You do not need to place bets before the game if you need to leave the house for any reason as you can now just bet live from your mobile device.
Since odds are dynamic and keep changing depending on how the match is progressing, live betting allows you to latch on to any moment you feel can define the game or when you feel that the odds are beneficial to you.
You do not want a slow process and then miss out on an opportunity to place the bet by having to log into your desktop to place a bet. Mobile phone betting eliminates this.
Deposits and Withdrawals
The most popular deposit methods in Tanzania are Vodacom M-Pesa, Tigo Pesa, Airtel Money, HaloPesa and Ezypesa. These are local mobile payment platforms that are operated by the country’s top telecom companies so they are safe and reliable.
Most international sportsbooks do not have this option for deposits, unfortunately but SportyBet is one of those platforms that has set up a base in the country itself and has 3 of the major mobile payment options available – Tigo, Vodacom and Airtel.
Sadly, majority of the international bookmakers that operate in Tanzania do not accept deposits in the local currency of Tanzanian Shillings (TZS), which has led to a lot of locals setting up global e-wallets like Skrill, Neteller, and EcoPayz.
Taxes in Tanzania for Betting
If you use sports betting sites that are regulated by the GBT, then winnings are subject to 20% tax, minus the amount bet. The amount is collected on behalf of the Board and paid by the Tanzanian sports betting companies. However, if you use an online sportsbook that is licensed in Europe they you will not be taxed on your winnings in this manner.