Simon’s Guide to Gambling in Guinea-Bissau
Guide to Gambling in Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau, officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a country located in West Africa. The country’s population is around 1,7 million (according to a 2014 estimate). Guinea-Bissau’s capital and largest city is Bissau with approximately 400,000 residents. The official language of the country is Portuguese while the recognized national language is Upper Guinea Creole. The nation’s predominant religion is Sunni Islam as around 50% of the population practices it. Guinea-Bissau is one of the poorest countries in the world as the GDP per capita is less than $600. The country constantly ranks amongst the lowest in the Human Development Index (HDI) too. Guinea-Bissau’s economy is highly dependent on agriculture, specifically the export of coconuts, Brazil nuts, and cashew nuts.
Guinea-Bissau was part of kingdoms and empires throughout its history such as the kingdom of Gabu and the Mali Empire. The territory was colonized by Portuguese Guinea in the 19th century. The Portuguese rule is the reason of the official language being Portuguese although only 14% of the population speaks it today. The country remained under the rule of the Portuguese until it declared independence in 1973. The country added its capital’s name to the country’s name to prevent confusion with Guinea (formerly French Guinea). Since independence, the country suffers from political instability as no elected president has successfully served a full 5-year term as of now.
There is not much reliable information about the legal status of gambling in Guinea-Bissau. There is no legal background for it either. One can assume that the absence of gambling is mainly because of the dominant religion of Islam. The Sharia law forbids all kinds of gambling as it sees it evil, addicting, and a cause for people to forget their social responsibilities. It is unknown if online gambling is regulated or not because there is little to no information about it online. We can assume that it’s not regulated therefore players from Guinea-Bissau can engage in such activities at offshore online casinos. There are some which accept them.
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Summary:
- Casino gambling in Guinea-Bissau
- Bingo in Guinea-Bissau
- Poker in Guinea-Bissau
- Sports betting in Guinea-Bissau
- Lottery in Guinea-Bissau
- Bitcoin gambling in Guinea-Bissau
Casino gambling in Guinea-Bissau
Online casino gambling in Guinea-Bissau: unknown
There is little to no information about the legality of gambling in Guinea-Bissau. There are no land-based casinos in the country offering the popular casino games like blackjack, poker, or roulette to name a few. Maybe the Islamic teachings are the reason why there is no legal gambling in the country (50% of the population is Muslim). The Sharia law forbids all kinds of gambling. Online gambling doesn’t seem to be regulated either so players from Guinea-Bissau can try out their luck at an offshore online casino.
Bingo in Guinea-Bissau
Online bingo in Guinea-Bissau: unknown
Bingo is quite popular amongst player around the world, especially in the United States. Despite its popularity worldwide, there are no land-based bingo halls operating in Guinea-Bissau. It is not known whether gambling (or online gambling for that matter) is legal or not because the lack of information online. We can assume that Bissau-Guinean players can play online at offshore online casinos, though.
Poker in Guinea-Bissau
Online poker in Guinea-Bissau: unknown
Poker is quite possibly the most popular casino game ever created. The main reasons behind its ever growing popularity could be the constant television broadcasts, the regularly held world championships, or the game’s competitive nature. Many would argue that poker involves more skill than luck but in nature, it still counts as a form of gambling as it is mostly played in casinos worldwide to this day. There are no brick-and-mortar casinos in Guinea-Bissau and there is no information of the legal status of gambling either. It can be assumed that it’s not regulated. The situation with online gambling appears to be the same.
Sports betting in Guinea-Bissau
Online sports betting in Guinea-Bissau: unknown
Sports betting is one of the most popular pastime activities in the world (especially where gambling is legal, of course). However, it is not known whether sports betting is legal or not in Guinea-Bissau. This is the case with online sports betting too. We can only assume that they are not regulated. Players from Guinea-Bissau can bet on sports at offshore online bookmakers (if there aren’t any specific laws forbidding it).
Lottery in Guinea-Bissau
Online lottery in Guinea-Bissau: unknown
Arguably, the lottery is the most common form of gambling out there. It is safe to say that where gambling is legal there is a national lottery. However, that’s not the case in Guinea-Bissau. Gambling appears to be not regulated at all in the country. There are not land based gambling establishments either. Unfortunately, there is no national lottery in the country due to these reasons. Those who want to play lotteries can do that by visiting an offshore online casino.
Bitcoin gambling in Guinea-Bissau
Bitcoin gambling in Guinea-Bissau: unknown
Bitcoin is a digital currency also known as a “cryptocurrency” invented by a mysterious person under the moniker of Satoshi Nakamoto. The currency gained a huge popularity around the world since its introduction as an alternative mean of payment. Bitcoin gambling appeared shortly after the introduction of the currency and continues to gain popularity as more and more online casinos started to specialize in it. However, Bitcoin is still a relatively new phenomenon so only just a handful of countries issued laws concerning it. Some countries see Bitcoin as an asset rather than a currency (like Lithuania or Norway for example). Bitcoin trades occur mostly via the internet (due to the currency’s digital nature) so Bitcoin gambling is technically a form of online gambling. As of now, there aren’t any specific laws in Guinea-Bissau concerning Bitcoin gambling or Bitcoin in general.
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This page is part of Simon’s List – Legal Status of Online Gambling – a definitive guide to the legal status of all forms of online gambling activities in every country around the world.
Last updated: 2016.02.18.
