United StatesEnglish (GB)Malawi is a small, landlocked South-Eastern African country. The former British colony has had a tough economic time for decades, but it is now getting revived and optimistic under Lazarus Chakwera, who assumed the presidency in 2020.
Gambling is legal in the country and, by extension, online gambling. Online gaming companies are entering the country intending to tap a relatively new market.
However, the low internet connectivity among Malawians and Malawi residents is still a major hindrance. In 2019, only 15% of the population had access to the internet. With a population of 19.7 million in 2021, only 3.45 million were using the internet as of January 2021.
Gambling has been present in Malawi since the colonial days. As would be expected, it was a pleasure reserved mainly for the colonial administrators.
The capital, Lilongwe, was the main hub of gambling activities. Post-colonialism, organized gambling was taken over by Malawian elites and expatriates in the country. No records indicate whether there were any forms of gambling in ancient Malawi.
There are five major casinos in Malawi. They form both parts of history and modern-day gambling in Malawi. Most of them are located in the capital and operated by foreign countries. They usually form part of large hotels. These casinos are:
Casino Marina at Golden Peacock Hotel in Lilongwe. It is operated by Rank Entertainment Holdings (Pvt.) Ltd.
Colony Club Casino - Blantyre. One of the few casinos outside the capital. It is operated by Highlands Leisure and offers poker, slot games, and live casino.
Pirates Casino in Lilongwe offers poker, slot machines, and table games. It is located in Lilongwe and operated by American Palace Ltd.
Vision Gaming Lilongwe is another casino in the capital, operated by DBR International WAP Ltd. The gaming house is popular for slot machines with progressive jackpots.
Blue Elephant Blantyre. A casino and full-service bar in Malawi's financial hub. It is operated by DBR International WAP Ltd and mainly offers slot machines.
The major casinos from way back are still operational. However, they have experienced some major changes over the last few years. One, as Malawi pulls itself out of an economic rut, the spending power among citizens has increased.
This has led to more visitors visiting the casinos both for gambling and other offers on board. The number of local gamblers has increased too.
Two, the focus on finance has seen Blantyre gain some muscle against Lilongwe. As more financial operations take place, casinos in the more scenic Blantyre have gradually siphoned patrons from their counterparts in the capital city.
In the more recent past, the Coronavirus outbreak took a huge hit on gambling. Containment measures and banning of travel meant that business came to a standstill. As casinos gradually re-open, there is more focus on local clientele.
Additionally, Coronavirus led people to turn to online gambling. Many people learned that they could enjoy the games at home. Some of them stuck to this model even after the physical casinos were re-opened.
The future of online casinos in Malawi largely depends on how internet access changes. The population is largely untapped, meaning there is a huge potential. But many people do not even know about online casinos.
If internet connectivity is rolled out fast, there will undoubtedly be rapid growth in the uptake of online casinos and vice versa.
A continued upward trajectory of the economy is also a positive sign for online casinos. A better economy will mean people have more to spend.
The vigor seen elsewhere in online casino advertising means as soon as they have an internet connection, many Malawians will learn about online casinos in no time.
Malawi does not have an explicit law that regulates online gambling. The online gaming concept is still new in the country and has not been widely discussed by policymakers. However, gambling remains legal in the country.
To date, the 1996 Gaming Act regulates all gambling operations in the country. The Malawi Gaming Board is legally mandated to enforce gaming laws. However, the existence of gray areas remains to be a key area of interest in legislative circles.
As such, online betting remains 'unregulated' in Malawi, albeit not illegal. All forms of online gambling fall under the current laws that apply to traditional gambling. Players may also take the loophole of this absence of laws to play in any online gambling website.
Casinos in Malawi mainly offer slot games. These games are popular because of their thrill and ease of play. Even in their online versions, the physical casinos tend to dominate slots in their offerings. Incoming casinos follow this trend and mostly offer slots too.
Slots are easy to understand and cheap to play, making them ideal for players who are just being introduced to online gaming. There are also numerous slot game developers/providers, making the choices for players vast.
Poker is also popular among casino players in Malawi. Of the five online casinos, at least three have poker games. It has not caught on in online casinos, but it is showing a growing trend.
Other table games like Roulette and Baccarat also enjoy relative popularity among gamblers in Malawi.
Online casinos in Malawi have previously offered international payment methods like PayPal. However, to attract more players, there have been continuous efforts to create local solutions. Partnerships with local banks were introduced. They, however, served a limited portion of the clientele too.
Enter SMS deposit. This method is proving to be a huge hit in the country. People love it because it is easily accessible. It is fast and convenient. It does not require players to provide a lot of personal information.
More and more casinos are embracing this method as it helped them draw more customers. There have been suggestions from some quarters that SMS deposits are prone to breaches. This, however, does not appear to deter players who are excited by the thrill of enjoying games in online casinos.