Cameroon – Online Casinos & Gambling Regulations
The laws on gambling in Cameroon are quite relaxed. Gambling is legal in casinos and while the land-based gambling market is regulated, online gambling is not regulated but is not illegal either. As such, a range of international online casinos is available to residents of the country. Locals in Cameroon are able to enjoy a range of different gambling options. Players can also visit state-licensed sports betting shops as well as some big casinos that can be found in the capital city and other locations.
Find the Best Cameroon Casino Online
Cameroon may not be a big target audience for online casinos but there is a range of international casinos that operate there. There are no laws for or against online gambling in the country and as such, there is a good selection of both licensed and unlicensed casinos that are available. If you want to know which casinos are worth playing at in Cameroon, or which ones are safe, then there are several questions that you can ask.
- Does the casino have a license from a trustworthy gaming authority?
- Is the casino available to players in Cameroon?
- Are Cameroonian players able to partake in welcome bonuses and other promotions?
- What security features does the site offer?
- What currencies are available to use?
- Which languages is the casino offered in?
- Are there user reviews of the casino available online?
Due to the selection of international casinos that are going to be available to players in Cameroon, finding the best casino to play there can be tricky. Knowing how to identify a good casino is a skill that can take years to perfect. Here at GoodLuckMate, our team of writers has spent hours going through hundreds of different online casinos. Our detailed reviews are available elsewhere on our site and they let players know which casinos are the best for them.
Gambling Regulation – Government of Cameroon
The Government of Cameroon is in charge of all gambling laws in the country, and all licenses are issued directly by them. Laws on gambling in Cameroon were fairly loose until the government realized the potential of it and began to hand out licenses and regulate the industry.
While Cameroonian law stipulates that physical casinos can operate with a license, there is no specific mention of online gambling in any legislation. As such, many international casinos operate in the area, both with and without gambling licenses. This does mean that there are many safe gambling options available for players in Cameroon, as long as they are sure to do their research. The only problems that players are likely to run into here are sites that do not allow players from the country to sign-up, which can be fairly common.
The government also allows sports betting in the country. The Pari Mutuel Urbain Camerounais was a company established alongside the government in the mid-1990s and they hold a monopoly over this market. There is a selection of sports betting shops available that are owned by these. There is not a lottery available in the country anymore after one went bankrupt in the mid 2000s.
Localized Online Casinos
With no online gambling licensing available, there are no Cameroonian based online sites that are targeting their population. The lack of restrictions, however, means that many different online casinos are going to be available to players based there. Many of these are also going to allow players to sign-up for welcome bonuses, loyalty programs, and other types of promotions. Cameroon is also a country that speaks two of the world’s most spoken languages - French and English. Locals will have no problem finding casinos that offer games and support in these languages.
Gambling with the Central African Franc
The local currency used in Cameroon is the Central African Franc. This is a currency that is shared with five other nations - Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon. The currency is not particularly strong due to a lot of these countries operating with weak economies. As such, finding online casinos that accept this form of currency is unlikely. Most casinos that operate in the country are going to accept more powerful currencies like the US dollar or the euro.
One option that does exist is cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Litecoin are still largely unknown in the country. That being said, there is zero legislation preventing them from being used and many international casinos encourage players to make deposits using them. There will be many of these casinos that are available to players based in the country.
Casinos in Cameroon
Gambling in Cameroon has been quite lucrative for the government. There are around five large casinos that operate in the country, most of which are based in the nation’s capital, Yaounde. As well as this, there are also some sports betting shops which are operated by The Pari Mutuel Urbain Camerounais. There are also some illegal casinos and sports betting shops that operate without a license from the government that locals should be aware of.
With no restrictions being in place for online gambling, there is a good selection of online casinos that players can choose from. Many of these may operate without licenses though, so players should be sure to do their research beforehand. Players in the country have a wide selection of different gambling options when playing online including online slot games, card, and table games, and a lot of poker options. Players there should be sure to check what geographical restrictions are in place before they attempt to sign up to a casino.
With the gambling market in Cameroon being such an open playing field, it can be difficult to know which casinos are legitimate and which are out to get your cash. As well as doing your own research, we here at GoodLuckMate have spent hours reviewing casinos and you can check out our top casinos list elsewhere on the site.
Dispute resolution – can I get help from a third party?
A gambling license is intended to protect players, and one of its main functions is to provide a mechanism for resolving disputes when they come up. If you have a dispute with a casino, and the casino is being unreasonable, the gambling authority will help you. For many licenses, this means you can contact the gambling authority to get help processing your withdrawals, claiming money the casino has debited from your account, or resolving other disputes that might arise. The likelihood that the gambling authority will help you in ways that are effective, however, depends on the procedures they have in place for this. This is yet another reason why choosing to play at a casino that has a safe license is important.
Getting help directly from the gambling authority is not always necessary, or even an option. A lot of regulators have now enforced third-party dispute resolution. This means casinos must have an agreement with an arbitrator who will look into disputes on the behalf of players from a particular casino. This ensures your dispute will be reviewed by an objective third party. All trusted online casinos have information about arbitration on their websites if they use this option, or they’ll have the contact information for the gambling authority you should consult. However, you should always try to resolve your issues with the casino first, and a lot of casinos have separate email addresses specifically for handling complaints.
Secure payments – can I trust a casino with my money?
If you’re worried about the security of the transactions you’re making at a casino, you should look for a logo with the acronym PCI DSS. This stands for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, and this is something the payment industry has created. If you see this logo, it means the casino can be trusted for safe money transactions since they follow all of the rules set by the payment industry. Information about this can also be found in an FAQ section on the casino’s website.
Another thing to look out for in terms of payments is where your money is kept while you play. Some gambling authorities, all of the best ones actually, regulate what the casino can do with your money while they are holding it. Your money shouldn’t go into a general bank account held by the casino; it should go into an account that is strictly for holding player funds. This means that as long as you have the money in your player account, it can’t be spent by the casino. Your deposit will be kept separate from the operating funds of the casino until your player account is empty, which will happen if you make a funds withdrawal or if you lose the money while playing.Fair gaming – do the games give me a fair chance to win?
The best known system tool for ensuring that a casino offers fair games is eCogra; however, there are other providers that also offer these kinds of systems. You want to make sure that the casino is using a certified third-party control system to ensure that the games of chance you’re playing are actually based on chance and not on other types of metrics. Rigged games are ones that have been set up to pay out less than they claim to or ones that give some players a greater chance of winning than others.
The eCogra logo can often be found in the footer of the casino’s website, but not all casinos choose to display it. If you can’t see this logo, go to the FAQs and see if you can find information about random number generators. If there are no FAQs on the site, check out their terms and conditions or contact the casino’s support and ask how they ensure their games are safe.
Encrypted website – how is my information kept safe?
An SSL-encrypted website should be mandatory for any casino, and very few casinos operate without this or similar safe encryption features. Always keep in mind that you are giving the casino quite a bit of sensitive information, including your payment details. When you’re uploading and sending documents to verify your identity, you want to make sure that no unauthorized third-party has access to them. Site security, therefore, doesn’t only include the website itself but also what the casino does on the backend. You should always look into a casino’s data security. You’ll normally find information about this in their terms and conditions and their privacy policy. If in doubt, contact their support and ask for more detailed information.
Most trustworthy casinos have information about site security in the website footer, so simply scroll down and look for the logo of a well-known security system.
Gambling license – can I play at a casino from my country?
The gambling license a casino operates under will have a big impact on your security. Not all licenses are equally safe for players for the simple reason that they are issued by different gambling authorities that work in different ways and have different rules. The rules and regulations may be quite similar, but the way they are enforced is a different story entirely. For example, if a casino doesn’t comply with the regulations, some gambling authorities may just issue a fine while others may revoke the casino’s license outright. How often gambling authorities show up for an unscheduled inspection or control will also vary.
The biggest differences between a safe, high quality gambling license and one that isn’t as good will usually show up in the areas of fair gaming, dispute resolution and the rules and systems for identifying and handling problem gamblers (responsible gambling). If your country of residence has its own gambling authority, playing at casinos that are licensed by them will be the safest option for you. Other international licenses that can be trusted are issued by the Malta Gambling Authority and the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority. Curacao eGaming is getting better at protecting players whereas licenses from Panama and Costa Rica, for instance, are considered less safe. The worst option is obviously a casino with no license whatsoever.
Our casino experts have tried and tested all aspects of each and every casino, so you can feel confident when signing up.
