Have you popped out on a football game day and seen guys glued to screens around every corner paying keen attention to the proceedings, noticed how they ever so often check their phones or tiny slips of paper? Noticed the smile or the frown? Yes, most of these guys are checking out their bets.
With the popularity of sports, growing almost every day, particularly soccer, it is fair to conclude that sports betting is here to stay, with lovers of all manner of sports getting a piece of the pie.
Here are 5 things you may not know about sports betting in Ghana.
It is a regulated sector of the Ghanaian Economy – Gaming Commission of Ghana is responsible for issuing licenses to all gaming operators and permits to companies and individuals that wish run promotions with elements of the game of chance. The commission generates revenue through taxes and levies from casinos, route operators, sports betting and promotions involving games of chance.
Age Restrictions – In Ghana, the legal age to place a sports bet is 18 years, this means that you can enjoy all manner of sports activities but you cannot make a cedi on your predictions of the outcomes no matter how skilled you are in guessing them till you are 18 years old and above.
Which games are available on sports betting platforms – Believe it or not, football isn’t the only sports Ghanaians bet on! With boxing, basketball, tennis, Golf and Ice hockey, yes ice hockey all offered in the sports betting world, Ghanaians are able to test their knowledge on all manner of sports across hundreds of leagues in the world.
Jackpots, Jackpots, and more Jackpots – One sports betting option very popular in Ghana is the Jackpot field, where there are multiple games put together on one slip sold at a fixed amount and with very high rewards. Almost every betting company in Ghana offers a jackpot in one form or the other with Betway Ghana’s Colossus sitting pretty atop the pile with an offer of GHC 10,000,000. So far, the company has also paid out Ghana’s biggest jackpot winnings of GHC 990,000 to a movie producer in Ghana and GHC 636,000 to a 22-year-old University of Education student.
Payment can be done via cash and mobile money – Patrons with valid identification can walk into any of the many sports betting shops from Soccabet, Safaribet and Winnabets amongst others dotted around the country and place a bet, simple as that, however leading brands like Betway Ghana and other new entrants like Mybet have rolled out mobile money friendly services that take convenience in sports betting to a whole new level!
Source: B&FT