10 Top-Rated Live Casinos in Mozambique

A Look Back at Gambling's Legalisation in Mozambique

Following Portuguese colonisation, which began after Vasco de Gama's arrival in 1498, Mozambique was under Portuguese rule for nearly 500 years. Independence was declared in 1975, establishing the People's Republic of Mozambique. However, true political stability wasn't achieved until 1994, after a prolonged civil war.

It was in that same year, 1994, following the nation's first democratic multi-party elections, that gambling was officially legalised.

Despite being legal, the initial regulations imposed significant restrictions. Casinos were mandated to be at least 50km from any city, required to be part of a luxury hotel with a minimum of 250 rooms, and necessitated a substantial company investment of $15 million.

Modern Gambling Landscape in Mozambique

A pivotal shift occurred in 2009 when then-President Armando Guebuza ratified an amendment to the 1994 gambling act, dramatically reshaping the industry. These amendments brought about significant changes, including:

• Casinos are now permitted to be established anywhere within the country.
• The requirement for casinos to be part of luxury hotels with 250 rooms has been relaxed. They can now be built in association with hotels that hold at least a four-star rating (or a five-star rating in Maputo, the nation's capital and largest city).
• The minimum company investment for establishing a casino has been substantially reduced, now standing at $8 million.
• 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.