10 Top-Rated Live Casinos in Mozambique

History of gambling in Mozambique

Shortly after the arrival of explorer Vasco de Gama in 1498, Mozambique was colonized by Portugal. For almost 500 years the country was ruled by Portugal until it gained independence in 1975 to officially become the People's Republic of Mozambique. However, it wasn't until 1994 the country became politically stable following a protracted civil war.

As a result, it was also in 1994, after the country's first democratic multi-party election that gambling became officially legal.

However whilst it was now legal, there were a number of restrictions in place. For instance, all casinos were required to be at least 50km away from a city, could only be built as part of a luxury hotel with at least 250 rooms and there was a minimum company investment requirement of $15million.

Gambling nowadays in Mozambique

This all changed quite unexpectedly in 2009 when Armando Guebuza, the President of Mozambique, signed into law an amendment to the 1994 gambling act that changed the face of the gambling industry in the country. The amendments mean that nowadays:

• Casinos can be built anywhere in the country.
• Casinos no longer have to be part of a luxury hotel with 250 rooms. They can now "be built in association" with hotels that rate at least four stars (or a five star rating in Mozambique's capital and largest city, Maputo).
• The minimum company investment required has been almost halved to $8million.
• Slot machines can be placed outside of gambling establishments (for instance, shopping malls).
• Online gambling has been legalized.

Future of online casinos in Mozambique

With the prediction of good economic growth and the amendments made in 2009 to the 1994 gambling act, there are very promising signs that the online casino industry will continue to grow in Mozambique over the coming years.

It is also noteworthy that jurisdiction for control of online gambling matters in the country has moved from the Ministry of Finance to the Ministry of Tourism, indicating a more tolerant and encouraging attitude to the industry may follow.

Further encouragement is provided by the proportion of Mozambique's population that has access to the internet. In 2010, the country had 1million recorded internet users, just 2.7 percent of the population. By 2015 this had increased to 1.7million users and by 2020 it stood at 5.3million users.

It has increased by a further 1.7million between January 2020 and January 2021 to 6.72million, which now accounts for 21.2 percent of the population, serving as a much bigger market for live casinos.

Are casinos legal in Mozambique?

Yes in 1994 gambling was made legal in Mozambique and in 2009 online gambling was legalized. Where there is a slight grey area is in the licensing process in place for online gambling sites, in fact to be specific there is no licensing process at the present time!

The Government has remained quiet on this matter, but there is a feeling that concrete licensing measures will be put in place in the coming years as a strategy is developed to grow the live casino industry.

Mozambique players' favorite live games

One of the lesser noted parts of the amendments to gambling laws in the country in 2009 was the relaxation of rules on slot machines, allowing them to be placed outside of gambling establishments.

This seems to have led to an increase in their popularity online with live slots now hugely popular in Mozambique.

Also notably popular is the age-old favorite of live table games, in particular

• Live blackjack
• Live roulette

Both are easy games for beginners to learn and both offer enough variations on the main theme to keep Mozambique players engaged and coming back for me

Most preferred casino bonus in Mozambique

With live casinos legally available, but not licensed in Mozambique, most players tend to use trusted overseas live casinos when it comes to gambling. High-quality matched deposit offers are always popular and with online slots being a big draw in the country free spin no deposit offers are also well received.

As is the case across the globe, players tend to choose live casinos that offer loyalty rewards, cashback bonuses, and free bets.

Payment methods in Mozambique

The currency of Mozambique is the metical and with the relative weakness of the currency in the world market, many established live casinos still do not support deposits or withdrawals in the metical. This is why the most popular methods for online casino deposits in the country remain e-Wallets.

E-Wallets such as Skrill allow players in Mozambique to exchange their local currency for that of a currency that is more established.

Pre-paid debit cards can also be linked to e-Wallets which give players the benefit of being able to spend money without it actually being withdrawn to their bank account.