Online Casinos Uganda

About Online Casinos Uganda

Surveys show that in Uganda, about 25% of all adults are regular gamblers. If you compare using age demographics, we find that nearly 46% of the gambling population is aged under 30 years. Given that this is still a developing nation, it makes sense that it’s mostly the younger adults who are confident and liberal enough to try gambling. 

Another interesting statistic to consider here is internet usage. Elsewhere, people don’t really think about how widespread internet coverage is. In the case of Uganda, only a little over 50% of the population has access to mobile phones and the internet. Over the next few years, it’s possible the gambling population could practically double!

There’s unprecedented space for growth here! It’s a great time to get into the local gambling scene by signing up for the top online casinos Uganda has!

History of gambling in Uganda

The history of gambling in Uganda is a lot like many other countries. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the country was colonized and settled by the British, who imported their flavour of gambling and betting. Betting wasn’t completely new to the locals at the time, however – a lot of the native tribes had their own gambling games.

Uganda established its first gambling laws very quickly after gaining independence. The National Lotteries Act in 1967 set up a lottery that anyone in the country could participate in. The lottery was organized by the government, so any profits went back as revenue that could be used to develop infrastructure, education, healthcare, etc. For a relatively poor country, this was a huge boon.

Right now, there are five major establishments in Uganda that are comparable to international ones. The majority of them are in the capital, Kampala: The Taj Mahal Hotel and Casino, the Simba, Pyramids, Mayfair, and finally Casino Kampala.

Despite the average populace being relatively poor, betting spread widely in the last two decades. Problem gambling became a widespread social issue, as well as the fact that international online operators were weakening the local economy. Every time someone played at an offshore site, money was removed from the local economy and sent across the world.

Eventually in 2013, the National Lotteries and Gambling Regulatory Board was established to oversee all local betting activities. They set up licenses for local land-based operators and began to tax them properly. Since internet access is somewhat limited in the country, the land-based operators actually found a lot of customers. The revenue from taxes on local betting reached 13 million USD in 2018 and is still climbing slowly.

However, problem gambling remains a problem. To tackle this, the Ugandan government is considering drastic measures, such as simply cutting off all local operators and not issuing or renewing licenses anymore. Considering how much money the industry puts into the local economy, only time will tell if these measures will actually be enacted.

How to choose the best casino to play in Uganda

Now that you have some background, you can probably tell that the best place for gambling is online casinos Uganda. Therefore, we’re here to help you pick out the best casino to play at. 

Casino gambling is generally something we do for fun and profit! A night out with your friends at a local physical establishment can be really fun. However, there are plenty of drawbacks to physical locales that online ones don’t have. That’s why they are rising in popularity, just in time for you to get in on the action.

Below are some advantages!

Cuts down transportation costs!

One of the big concerns about a physical place is travelling. Visiting once a week or a few times a month can be fine, but problems arise if you’re travelling to and from there every day. 

If you’re using public transport, then the fees will quickly rack up. Even if you have your own car or bike, there’s the cost of fuel. Not to mention, it also contributes a lot to environmental issues. Online casinos sidestep all those problems by letting you play from anywhere. You can log in and start playing your favourite games from the safety and comfort of your own home.

Your Home, Your Rules!

Another plus point in the favour of online Casinos is that there are no dress codes or restrictions. At a brick-and-mortar establishment, you have to stick to the dress code, or else you won’t be allowed in. 

On top of this, you can’t eat at the tables at a physical establishment. Both these rules are in place so that people don’t make messes or come in looking like a slob, but it also means you can’t be totally comfortable.

By contrast, at home you can put on your favourite old t-shirt and shorts, and hop online. Grab a beer and a slice of pizza before you start playing! Nobody will tell you off or ban you for eating and drinking at the table.

Wide Range of Options!

Online casinos also simply have way more variety than brick and mortar sites do. Think about how many slot machines or tables your local establishment could fit on the floor. At maximum, it’s probably a couple of hundred slots and a dozen or more tables. 

Meanwhile, online ones don’t care about space at all! They can host hundreds or even thousands of slot machines at the same site, plus more than 20 or 30 different table games. There is just so much more variety that you will never feel bored or tired of playing the same thing over and over. 

If you want a change of pace, you can switch to a different game with a few clicks!

Technological Advancement Battling Drawbacks

The one place where brick-and-mortars are still superior to online is immersion. Unfortunately, our technology isn’t quite developed enough yet. Websites only exist on a flat screen in front of us. 

A physical establishment will be all around, with real noise, action, and people cheering. If you are someone who’s at a casino to experience the thrill and fun rather than simply playing a few games and leaving, then you absolutely have to choose a physical locale instead.

That being said, online sites and their software developers have been hard at work making web-based gambling more immersive and engrossing. One huge step in this direction was live games. 

These live game titles are played out in real-time at a studio. Multiple players all join in from their homes, using microphones to talk to the dealer. The dealer is live-streamed back to all the players at the table. It’s basically the video conferencing equivalent of a table game. 

Additionally, newer technologies are slowly being used, involving virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) to bring a more realistic gaming experience to homes. Who knows, in a few more years, online betting could be just as immersive as physical ones!

Is online gambling in Uganda legal and safe?

The topic of safety is a bit more complex. Nowadays, we live in a world where the most important thing we own is our data. Online casinos own a lot of sensitive data, such as our personal details, phone number, address and financial details. Therefore, we only recommend reliable and trustworthy sites that can safeguard this data from cybercriminals. 

How can we check this? 

Well, ensuring the safety of personal data is one of the key requirements to being licensed. So, we can simply look for the license. Licensing bodies such as the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority, the Malta Gaming Authority, the Alderney Gambling Control Commission, or the UK Gambling Commission are well known for their strict adherence to regulations. If we see an operator has a license from one of them, we can rest assured that it is a safe and secure site.

Sometimes, scammers or fraudsters will try to carry out phishing through gambling sites. They will set up a website that looks almost exactly like the original. However, when you sign in or enter your credit card information, it will be sent to the scammers rather than the legit operators. So, this is also something you should stay alert for. 

Avoiding phishing is actually really simple – just check if the web URL is correct and starts with ‘https’. If it does, then it’s most likely a genuine site.

Legality and safety are both thorny issues. However, betting sites have been around for a long time and most of those problems have been resolved in various ways. Don’t worry – here at CasinosAnalyzer, we only recommend legal, safe, and secure sites.

How we rated online casinos in Uganda

There are a ton of different factors to consider when reviewing and rating an operator. Considering there are hundreds of betting sites out there, it’s pretty much impossible for one person to visit them all and figure out what’s the best online casino in Uganda. However, it’s not impossible for a dedicated team, especially one working as a part of an online casinos review site.

Our team of expert reviewers visited dozens of sites and cross-referenced information from others. They used some specific criteria to rate and gauge the quality of an operator. The results of their hard work are now given here as a list.

So, what exactly are the criteria they used to figure out the best online casinos Uganda?

Bonuses and Promotions 

When you visit the site, the first thing you’ll see is a giant poster advertising the welcome bonus. So, it’s only fitting that we should talk about the bonuses and promotions first. Every online betting site offers these. If you are a beginner, you must be wondering how bonuses work.

Here is how a typical bonus proceeding looks like in the world of online casinos.

Step 1

Let’s consider a Welcome Bonus for example: “100% Deposit Match up to $200.” In this bonus, you have to sign up and make a deposit. They will match your deposit 100% and give you extra cash, up to $200 maximum. So, if you deposit $200, you’ll actually get $400 in your account. It’s a pretty good bargain, isn’t it?

Step 2

But, before you can fully claim the bonuses, there are some terms and conditions that need to be fulfilled. The most important one is the Wagering Requirement. To claim the bonus money and be able to withdraw it, you must spend money wagering up to the requirement. It is usually given as a multiplier of the bonus amount. 

So, a requirement of 50x means you have to bet $10,000 before you can withdraw the bonus cash. This may seem like a lot, but if you play regularly, you will fulfil the requirement soon.

Step 3

Another condition to watch out for is game contributions. Different games contribute different amounts to the requirement. For example, 90-100% of the wager made on a slots title will go towards fulfilling the requirements, but for table and live dealer games, it’s 0-20%.

So, the best online casino in Uganda will have bonuses that are lucrative, but with low requirements that you can feasibly earn.

Games 

The key reason you are here is to play and bet on various games. The quality and quantity of the games’ library is a crucial factor. Generally, there’s no way to test out thousands of titles and see if all of them are good. What we do instead is focus on the providers.

At betting sites, the games are not actually made by the operators. They are made by a separate software provider, who then loan out their games to various operators. The software provider creates the games, while the operators host the titles and give them a platform to attract players. 

There are some top-tier developers out there, such as Microgaming, NetEnt, Yggdrasil Gaming, etc. They have been a part of the industry for decades, so they know everything about how to make great games. If we see that they are a part of the games’ library here, then we can rest assured about both the quality and quantity.

Banking Options and Customer Support 

Before you can get to betting, you need to make a deposit. The exact methods for making a deposit vary from one operator to another. The most common methods are usually bank transferring, credit cards or e-wallets.

Not everyone has access to all of those methods. So, each operator must make sure they support a wide range of payment options. In addition to credit and debit cards, they should support bank wire transfers, several e-wallets and electronic payment options, prepaid cards, and even cryptocurrencies if possible.

Closely linked to this is customer support. If any problem arises, usually during account creation or deposits/withdrawals, then players will reach out to customer support. That’s why customer support needs to be available at all times, 24/7, and be ready to handle every type of issue calmly and efficiently.

VIP and Loyalty Rewards 

Often, you will find players who have stuck with one site for many years. Their dedication and loyalty are usually rewarded through a Loyalty Program. They receive extra bonuses and some benefits, which shows them that they are valued and encourages them to stick around. 

The VIP program works similarly – it rewards high rollers and extremely dedicated players with tons and tons of benefits, such as personalized bonuses, gifts, exclusive invitations, a personal account manager, and more.

For our reviews, we thoroughly check if the benefits of the VIP program are good enough and if it’s worth it.