Thousands of people engage in online betting in South Sudan. Most of these are locals while some are tourists. In the same vein, several gambling operators serve the South Sudanese market. Some only offer their services online while others also do have a physical presence.
The mere presence of several gambling operators in the country would leave many people to conclude that gambling in South Sudan is legal. Why would both online and land-based gambling establishments flourish when gambling isn’t legal? Considering this, what types of betting services are offered by these establishments? If eager to learn all about this, all you need to do is to spare a few minutes of your time to check out this comprehensive online betting in South Sudan guide.
Is (Online) Gambling Legal in South Sudan
Gambling in general in most of its forms isn’t legal in South Sudan. The legislation that talks about gambling in the country that is, the South Sudan Penal Code in Section 237 reads, “Keeping Gaming House or Lottery Office. Whoever keeps any house or place whereto the public are admitted for the purpose of playing any game of chance or keeps any office or place for the purpose of drawing any lottery or assists in the conduct of any such house or place or office without license, or permission from the appropriate authority, commits an offence and shall on conviction, be punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or with fine or with both.”
Essentially this means gambling at any place that is not licensed is illegal. However, when players read this law together with the provisions from the Ministry of Finance which state that there exists only the International Lottery South Sudan S.S. – SH., a specially assigned office working under the directives of the Ministry of Finance and Planning responsible for regulating the lotto section, do they come to the conclusion that the only gambling activity which can be licensed in the country is lottery. There isn’t any other gambling operator.
The above information shows that in South Sudan, all forms of gambling apart from lottery offered at licensed establishments are illegal. What’s unclear in all of this however is the ‘online gambling’ aspect. The South Sudan Penal Code in Section 237 emphasizes gambling in ‘house/s, office and place/s’ only. It’s quiet about online gambling. This in essence leaves the legality of online gambling in South Sudan in a legal grey area. There aren’t any explicit laws that prohibit online gambling and at the same time, there aren’t any laws that explicitly permit it.
What to Do Since the Legality of Online Gambling Lies in a Gray Area
With the legality of online gambling lying in a grey area in South Sudan, the question which troubles many therefore is, should I engage in gambling? If yes, which platforms are the safest to settle on? Well, since there aren’t any laws that prohibit online gambling, local sports punters and casino players can engage in gambling. However, it’s advisable to settle only on offshore sites that hold valid operating licenses issued by international reputable regulators. Doing this guarantees that if any challenges are encountered, players have somewhere to seek recourse.
Despite the absence of online gambling laws and in turn, gambling authorities that regulate the industry, several ‘locally originating’ sportsbooks and online casinos operate in South Sudan. Some of these publicly state that they hold valid operating licenses from the Ministry of Finance to operate as bookmakers. The authenticity of this is something we can’t gauge at the moment. However, if players choose to settle at ‘local’ online casinos and sportsbooks, then it’s recommended to play at the sites which state that they are regulated. Perhaps, the South Sudanese authorities just haven’t updated their gambling laws but betting sites are now being licensed and regulated.
Notable Online Gambling Brands that Operate in South Sudan
Players who want to engage in their favourite pastime online have several options that they can go for in South Sudan. While most of these are offshore sites that don’t have a physical presence in the country, we have chosen to go with those that have both an online and offline presence. The reason is that if any challenges are encountered online, players can visit the retail branches to seek assistance.
The Betting Services Offered at Online Betting Sites in South Sudan
Because online betting sites that serve the South Sudan market operate in an unregulated market, they tend to offer all sorts of betting services. These include the following:
- Sports Betting: On the sports betting front, players can bet on most professional real-life sports both the popular ones and the niche sports. At most betting sites, the top leagues for all the sports are covered while others go a step further in covering even the lesser heralded leagues and tournaments. Bets can be placed both pre-match or in-play.
- Virtual Sports: Besides betting on professional real-life sports, players can also bet on virtual sports. Virtual sports refer to simulated sports events that mimic real life sports. The outcome of virtual sports events is determined by the random number generator (RNG), the same mechanic used for most casino games.
- eSports Betting: A growing number of online casinos and sportsbooks are also offering eSports betting. Thanks to this, players can back their favourite gamers who play all sorts of video games.
- Casino Games: On the casino games front, a whole lot of casino games are offered. These range from online slots, scratch cards, arcade games, instant play games, jackpot games, table and card games, fishing and hunting games to newly emerging crash games such as Aviator and Rocketman.
- Novelty Betting: Several betting sites accept special bets on things like global politics, global economic trends,and entertainment stuff like the next James Bond character, potential winners for the next Idols season, and the like.
- Sports Jackpot: Increasingly more and more betting sites are also now offering sports jackpots. These require the player to predict the match outcome results of preselected sports events for the chance to win a jackpot prize.
Most Popular Banking Methods Used at South Sudan Betting Sites
South Sudan is quite unique from other countries in that the betting sites that operate in the country all have a rather limited range of supported banking methods. Most if not all betting sites only allow payments to be made using the much popular mobile money wallet, mGurush. In some instances, an alternative is given to visit the retail branches of the gambling platforms to make deposits and withdrawals in person.
Most Used Customer Support Platforms
On the customer support platforms front, most South Sudan online betting sites tend to favour telephone, WhatsApp,and Facebook as platforms of choice for responding to customer queries. The use of email and live chat is not so much popular.
Commonly Offered Bonuses and Promotional Perks
Surprisingly, most South Sudan online betting sites don’t offer welcome bonuses. Rather, they prioritize offering regular promotions which come in different forms including match bonuses, free bets, and cashback offers as well as the VIP (Loyalty) Program.
Round Up
As we round up, we just want to remind all players that online gambling in South Sudan lies in a legal grey area. There aren’t any laws that explicitly prohibit online gambling while at the same time, there aren’t any specific laws thatpermit it. Players can therefore engage in online gambling at their discretion. Owing to this, it’s recommended to play at licensed offshore betting sites or to settle at local sites that have a physical presence.