Can online betting companies in Ghana be trusted?

There has been a sharp rise in the rate of online sports betting in Ghana in recent years, with more than half of the adult population actively involved in betting activities.

Several factors can be attributed to this surge in sports betting, one of which is the proliferation of online betting sites in the country.

There are now over 20 betting companies operating online in Ghana’s, with most of them boasting tens of thousands of customers.

But are these online betting sites safe? Can they be trusted?

While sports betting in Ghana is regulated to a certain extent, there are still loopholes in the system, especially in the online space.

Unfortunately, innocent players have fallen into the hands of shady bookmakers. There have been cases of non-payment of winnings while some players claim their betting accounts have not been credited despite making deposits.

Some sites have poorly secured systems, putting their users’ personal and transaction information at risk. Such details could be leaked to impersonators and internet fraudsters.

Some operators are very poor at enforcing responsible gambling regulations, allowing malpractices like underage gambling.

This is not to say that all online betting sites are bad. There are still some really good ones like betway.

The best way to know if a betting site in Ghana can be trusted or not is by checking the license information.

If a site is licensed by the Gaming Commission of Ghana, then that site can be considered safe and secure to a very good degree. The Gaming Commission is the highest regulatory body of online betting in Ghana.

It is their responsibility to conduct all the necessary checks before handing out licenses to potential operators. Before an operator can be given a license to work in Ghana, they must have been proven to be safe, secure and trustworthy.

Most betting sites usually have their license information towards the bottom of their home page.

If the license information of the company is not available on their site, then it is better to avoid the site and seek an alternative.

While it is advisable for bettors in Ghana to stick to betting operators with Ghanaian licenses, it is also possible to bet safely on international betting sites that are not licensed by the Gaming Commission. 

However, these sites must be licensed by reputable global regulatory bodies like the UK Gambling Commission and the Malta Gaming Authority; and must have the license information displayed boldly on their home pages.

Such international betting sites can be trusted.

The major downside of betting on sites without Ghanaian licenses is that they do not accept Ghanaian cedis. Hence, bettors will have to pay in foreign currencies like dollars and pounds. Such payments often end up costing more because of currency conversion fees and fluctuations in exchange rates.

So, instead of depositing GHS 1000, a punter may end up spending up to GHS 20 – GHS 50 more to cover for the extra charges.

This isn’t very good business, especially since there are no guarantees that the bets will be successful!

These sites also do not have Ghanaian payment methods like MTN and Vodafone. Bettors often have to pay with e-wallets like Neteller and Skrill; and global payment solutions like AstroPay.

In the end, the safest and most convenient betting sites for Ghanaian players are sites licensed by the Gaming Commission of Ghana.