This article is a complete Mauritius gambling guide. The government of Mauritius has legalized and regulated several forms of gambling, including casino gambling, horse race betting, some forms of sports betting and lottery games. Casino gambling takes place at a number of licensed land-based casinos in Mauritius, although horse racing betting and the lottery generate the most interest.
Types of Gambling in Mauritius
- Lotteries: Mauritius has its own national lottery. There is a weekly lotto draw and instant games.
- Land-Based Casinos: Mauritius has a number of casino resorts. The most popular games played at land-based casinos are Poker, Roulette, Blackjack and Slot Machines.
- Horse Race Betting: Horse racing is popular in Mauritius. A racebook is available at Champ de Mars, the sole horse race organising provider in Mauritius. Although off track betting is possible.
- Online Gambling: Online gaming operators based in Mauritius have been granted licenses since 1996, however, at present there are no licensed online gambling sites in the country. The main form of online gambling that takes place is online lotto games.
- Mauritian residents can play online casino and poker games at a myriad of offshore sites.
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Gambling Legislation and Regulation in Mauritius
The Gambling Regulatory Authority Act, was enacted in 2007, as a way to establish a proper regulatory framework for the gaming and betting industry in Mauritius. The Gambling Act also focuses on responsible gambling and preventing under age gambling. The legal gambling age in Mauritius has been set at 18.
Although it does refer to online gambling (interactive gambling) in their laws, with licensing issued to potential online gambling operators based in Mauritius, due to the small population size and low number of internet users, it's not viewed as an attractive option for online operators to base themselves in this island nation just off the southeast coast of the African Continent.
Click here to visit the official Mauritius Gambling Regulatory Authority website.
Lotteries in Mauritius
Lottotech is the exclusive operator of the Mauritius National Lottery, administering lottery games on behalf of the Government of Mauritius. The aim of the lottery in Mauritius is to raise funds for good causes. The Mauritius National Lottery contributes significantly to community development, education, health, sports, cultural programmes, and funding is also used to pay government debt.
To play the Mauritius lottery, you need to pick 6 numbers between 1 and 40. You can pick your own numbers or use Quick Pick to automatically pick the numbers for you. The weekly lotto game routinely pays out jackpots in the millions.
Sports Gambling in Mauritius
Mauritians like to bet on the horses and football matches in Europe, Africa and Asia. The Champ de Mars in Port Louis always attracts big crowds during the winter months. It is one of the oldest race tracks in the world with quality thoroughbreds imported from South Africa, Australia, France and the United Kingdom. Betting on horse racing is possible over the phone or in person at the racetrack or in a sportsbook.
Stevenhills betting shops are scattered throughout the island of Mauritius. It's the leading Mauritius sportsbook, offering pre-event and live in-play betting on football matches and other sports and leagues around the world.
Supertote is another fully licensed sportsbook offer betting for Mauritius horse racing. Phone, SMS and in person betting at one of their 24 outlets are all available. They also have a fixed-odds football betting service called Superscore.
Land Based Casinos in Mauritius
Mauritius has both independent casinos and casino resorts. There are around ten licensed land-based casino gaming establishments, with Mauritius's capital of Port Louis home to four casinos.
The largest casino in terms of the number of games offered is the popular Caudan Waterfront Casino in Port Louis. The casino boasts more than 200 slot machines, 13 roulette and blackjack tables, and 3 poker tables. The other casinos in Port Louis are Grand Casino du Domaine, L'Amicale de Port Louis Casino and the Senator Club.
Casino de Maurice in Curepipe is located in the center of the island and is home to 175 gaming machines, as well as 17 table and poker tables. Some of the other casinos in Mauritius are Berjaya Le Morne Beach Resort & Casino, La Pirogue Hotel & Casino, Le Saint Geran Hotel and Casino, Meridien Paradis Hotel & Casino and Trou Aux Biches Casino.
While American Roulette and Blackjack are popular table games which can be played, another popular casino gaming offering in Mauritius casinos is Oasis Poker, which is a variation of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a lot of fun to play.
Online Casinos in Mauritius
As per the Gambling Regulatory Authority Act, offshore online gambling operators are not allowed to offer their services to players who are physically present in Mauritius. At the request of the Government of Mauritius, ISPs may block play at offshore online gaming sites. Financial institutions may also block online gambling transactions from these offshore gaming operators.
In 1996, Bowman's Sportsbook was the first online gambling operator to be granted an online gaming license to operate in Mauritius, but it has since closed. While offshore online casino operators aren't allowed to offer their services to people in Mauritius, there is nothing in the Mauritius gambling legislation to suggest that you aren't allowed to play at offshore casino sites. The gambling legislation and regulatory framework that was established targets the operators who host the sites and not the players.
Even though it's illegal for offshore online casino sites to provide online access to players from Mauritius, many online gambling sites licensed in other jurisdictions disregard Mauritius gambling laws and continue to offer their games to Mauritians.
If you're unsure of where you can play casino games online, in the Mauritius online casino section we recommend the best online casinos. As you'll see, there are several online casinos accepting players from Mauritius that cater to both French and English languages. These online casinos are mobile-friendly, so you can play lots of games on your smartphone. As long as you meet the online casino's minimum age requirements, you'll be able to play at the casino.
About Mauritius
Mauritius is an island nation in the Indian Ocean off the southeast coast of Africa. The total population in Mauritius is 1.3 million people. Both French and English are generally accepted as the official languages of Mauritius.
