Best Online Casinos in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia government is an Islamic monarchy formed back in 1932. Back then, four regions were united into one country under an absolute unitary monarchy. This one of the really few absolute monarchies that still function in the modern world. All laws are based on the Koran, and even everyday life of Saudis is guided by the Islam.

Now, gambling has been under prohibition since the very dawn of Islam as religion. Prophet Muhammad announced that all betting and games that could involve betting were “maisir”, which is translated as “the work of Satan”. The only exception was made for horse racing, as a traditional sport. However, even on horse racing, bets cannot be made. This event exists only as a traditional competition and entertainment for the viewers.

As a result, no kind of land based gambling facilities is allowed. There are only two official horse tracks - one near Riyadh, the other one is near Makkah. There are some illegal gambling locations, but these are highly NOT recommended neither to locals, nor to the tourists. Police are very active at raiding such locations, and there were cases when people participating were to face lifetime imprisonment.

Online casinos have never existed for Saudi Arabia, and it is unlikely we see some in the nearest future - at least talking about legitimate ones. There were news about illegal web casino operators providing services to the residents, running their platform in the country, but the owners faced severe punishment and huge fines.

To cut the long story short, you can see that the situation in Saudi Arabia is not particularly gambling-friendly. If you want to know what they are up to now, check out the current situation below.

Current Situation on Gambling in Saudi Arabia

Generally, the situation makes gambling in Saudi Arabia so dangerous that no gambler should actually take this risk - neither offline, nor online.

The state does not sponsor and does not support any venues or events - no National lottery, scratch cards, or Bingo are allowed. To make you aware how concerned are the governmental authorities about gambling, check out the chess case. Back in 2016, one of the religious leaders in Saudi Arabia claimed chess to be an illegal pastime for Muslims. Regardless of the fact that the game originated from the Persian Empire, has been around for ages, and was very popular across the whole Muslim world, the religious leader stated that some people may still be enticed to make bets on playing chess, as a game of skill. Eventually, the ban was partially issued, and it is still not clear how to interpret whether chess is legal or not.

Another important nuance is that members of the royal family and some wealthy residents are actually rumored to play at casinos around the world when they travel, and even reach out to safe sites online when they are at home. Some princes even tend to waste tons of money at gambling houses (so perhaps the ban on gambling actually makes sense). On the other hand, there are cases when wealthy residents and respected members of society were caught gambling, and for them, the punishment was way less severe than for “ordinary people”.

Racing Horses

As we have already mentioned, there are two official horse racing tracks in the country. Horses are much admired by Muslims, in general, and horse sports are very popular across the Middle East. Arab horses have been known as some of the best horses since the Middle Ages.

However, today horse racing is organized only as an entertainment and a competition. In most cases, even human jockeys are not engaged anymore - instead, the horses race with robotic jockeys. Next, no bets can officially be made on racing. This does not mean that some people don't make bets on horses privately, but this is still prohibited. Some popular foreign sportsbooks want to offer bets on Saudi Arabian races, but they are not allowed to do so unless they get a special permission from the government. Therefore, even people from abroad where gambling is legal, cannot make bets through a legal bookmaker, on races taking place in Saudi Arabia.

Cruise Ships

In the majority of cases, in the countries where gambling is strictly prohibited, the players can go on cruise ships - if the country has an outlet to the sea. Governments that prohibit gambling on land usually ban gambling on cruise ships while these ships are docked, but as soon as the ship leaves the seashore and heads into the international waters, all adult passengers have access to gambling facilities aboard.

However, with Saudi Arabia, the situation is not clear. On one hand, its citizens can freely play games of chance or games of skill when in a different country - at least the wealthiest Saudis do so. On the other hand, if the local resident decides to board the ship in order to gamble, and then comes back home, there is a high chance they will be reported by witnesses. Yes, Saudi Arabia stimulates people to report such things.

So, while cruise ships may in theory be a safe place for gambling, in practice - not so much.

Online Casinos

Another supposedly safe outlet for passionate punters - web casinos - is not an option in Saudi Arabia, as well.

First of all, no locally based Saudi Arabia casino is possible. Any operators are to face lifetime imprisonment, also potentially caning or other physical punishment, alongside huge fines.

There are many offshore sites that really accept Saudis as real money customers, because these are enthusiastic and rich players. However, no foreign casino in Saudi Arabia is ever allowed to provide its services legally - even if the company would want to acquire a license. Moreover, the casinos are blocked by the Internet providers, that are also obliged to report both sites and players. Sites are blacklisted, while the players are persecuted.

You will often be advised to use VPNs, but to be honest, this is of little help. First and foremost, many casinos who accept Saudi players will not allow you to make an account as if you were in a different country, because big online casinos also use software that prevents them from being fooled with VPNs. Even if you manage to open an account at a casino as if you are from a different country, the site will find out at the stage or registering your banking option, and will most likely block you.

Plus, there are rumours that VPNs are widely prohibited for usage in Saudi Arabia, as well as in many other Middle East countries. One of the reasons is because internet users apply VPNs to access porn sites, which is strictly forbidden. Some Internet providers are demanded to watch user’s activity online, and report if they suggest VPN usage. Also, sites, where you can download or buy VPN software, are blocked.

Further even, local banks are prohibited from processing transactions to and from what can potentially be an online casino Saudi Arabia, and - surprise surprise! - they can also report people who try to order such a transaction.

Since the total absence of any legislation on gambling makes Saudi Arabia a grey market for gambling, many big and rich companies can afford to offer services even for punters from such risky locations. So, you should not be surprised that the number of Saudi Arabia online casinos providing entertainment to Saudis is so huge. On the other hand, you as a player have to be extremely cautious. We strongly recommend you to avoid any type of gambling in Saudi Arabia.

In case you would still want to make some bets online, please follow the next recommendations:

• Use VPN if you can
• Choose the most reliable and secure site out there. Check reviews of online casinos before registering
• Use an e-wallet (not your bank card)
• Do not ever tell anybody you gamble
• Close your windows (even if this sounds crazy to you)
• Shield your computer screen from anybody’s view
• Never gamble in a public place, even if you do so on your phone

As illegal as gambling in Saudi Arabia is, you’re still going to do it, ain't ya? Let’s at least keep that rebellious spirit in safe hands and agree to only play on safe casino sites, shall we? Since we knew we cannot contain you, we have prepared a list of the top 10 online casinos in Saudi Arabia. We cannot guarantee that you won’t get caught, but we can certainly tell you that the providers themselves are secure, and you have nothing to worry about in terms of the site’s safety. Not just that, we also made sure to incorporate online casinos that have awesome games and vast banking options. Now, select the option that stands out the most, and go be a smooth criminal.

Those punters who would still want to try their luck at classic casino games of chance or games of skill, have two options - play offline in the country where such entertainment is allowed, or play online taking all the precautions.

If you play abroad, you can actually use almost any payment method available to you, most often a plastic card by:

• Visa
• Mastercard
• Maestro
• American Express

However, you should keep in mind that your local bank in Saudi Arabia can still try to block the transaction if it manages to connect in to the gambling facility. So, wherever you make bets, it is always 100% safer to prefer online payment processing companies. Most often, Saudis can use the following options:

• Neteller
• Skrill
• PayPal
• Webmoney
• Apple Pay
• Google Pay

There are numerous online casinos that take Skrill, as well as PayPal gambling sites, so you will have no problems finding the most suitable banking option for you.

If you are interested in cryptocurrency- it is banned in Saudi Arabia,. However, it is a perfect way to mask your bets online from whatever country. So, you may want to consider one of the following digital coins:

• Bitcoin
• Bitcoin Cash
• Ethereum
• Ripple
• Litecoin
• Dogecoin
• Dash
• Monero
• Verge
• Stellar
• Tether

To opt for the best gambling platform, check out some Bitcoin casino reviews.