Ethiopia’s iGaming market may face an uphill battle to recoup the losses incurred by the country-wide ban on iGaming products should the regulator, Ethiopia’s Lottery Service (ELS), decide to re-introduce a licensed framework.
The country’s gambling industry in Ethiopia was dealt a blow last December after ELS introduced a blanket ban on iGaming.
However, should the regulator look to relaunch a regulated market, licensed operators may struggle to compete with offshore brands, who in the last few months have benefited from an influx of players.
So, has the regulator handed complete control of the market to offshore operators?
A nation-wide ban
The ELS effectively brought the betting industry to a grinding halt after it revoked the licences of all licensed operators and ordered every bank, payment gateway and financial intermediary to cease facilitating gambling transactions in any form.
Only a few weeks earlier, 22 sportsbooks were sent cease and desist directives after it was found that they had concealed revenues of up to Br100bn (€1.5bn) between them – something that the ELS said was a gross failing in regulatory oversight, enough to justify the shut down of betting activities in the country.
However, six months on, industry commentators in Addis Ababa believe that the ELS ban on gambling is more show than substance, noting that the reality on the ground is much more nuanced.
Whistleblowers have said that while the ELS has blocked and revoked licences for iGaming operations, it still runs its own lottery and gambling games on its website.
Is gambling now just a monopoly?
Banning iGaming was always going to be a drastic move. It has resulted in a new loophole: the proliferation of black market activity.
As demand for gambling remained unchanged following the ban, players began to look elsewhere to place a bet – namely, offshore.
Abenezer Zewedu, CEO of RVT Technologies PLC, told iGaming Expert: “The government’s concerns went beyond gambling itself. Authorities cited alleged tax evasion, illicit financial flows, money laundering concerns, and broader risks to financial integrity and national security. Those concerns should not be dismissed.
“The reality that is often overlooked is that the shutdown did not eliminate demand for sports betting. Many Ethiopians who previously used licensed platforms did not suddenly stop betting. Instead, a portion of that activity appears to have shifted toward unlicensed and offshore operators that continue to serve Ethiopian users.”
The second most populated country in Africa with an estimated 139 people, Ethiopia was known to have one of the fastest-growing gambling markets on the continent before the ban.
Zewedu believes that the indefinite ban on licensed gambling will only continue to a growing unlicensed market, which offers no protection to players, nor tax revenues for the local government.
He continued: “In practice, many illegal operators offer a very similar user experience. Customers can still register, place bets, deposit funds, and withdraw winnings. The main difference is that transactions often happen outside formal payment gateway systems and regulatory oversight, making enforcement, taxation, and consumer protection significantly more difficult.
“The key policy question is whether eliminating licensed operators while unlicensed alternatives remain accessible ultimately reduces gambling activity or simply pushes it into less transparent channels.
“And the fact that a regulator that shuts everything down yet still operates its own gambling games and lottery on its website. The question then isn’t really about gambling being harmful, the question is who is allowed to profit from it?”
