Best Bookmakers In Qatar 2024

Top 3 Betting Sites in Qatar

In recent times, there have been regulatory bodies for bookmakers that guide them and ensure that you, the player, are in safe hands. Here are the top 3 betting sites for Qatari betting fans.

Sports betting is a common hobby for a lot of people because it presents you with the opportunity to make money while studying events from your favorite sports. There is one issue with sports betting, however. A lot of countries do not allow their citizens to bet on sports.

Qatar is one of those countries that forbid sports betting, alongside most other countries in the Middle East. The ban on sports betting in many Arabic-speaking countries also extends to all forms of gambling.

Does Qatari Legislation Allow Online Sports Betting?

In a lot of countries in the Middle East, the vast majority of the citizens are Muslims, and Islam is the official religion. As a result, many Arabic-speaking countries base their penal code on Islamic Sharia law, and Qatar is one of these countries.

According to the religion of Islam, Muslims are supposed to gain money through legitimate work. Relying on luck to make money is wrong, and as a result, gambling is an unlawful act for Muslims.

The Penal Code of Qatar regards gambling as an illegal act, and it appears alongside other crimes like begging, drinking alcohol, and selling alcohol. Since all forms of gambling are illegal in Qatar, even the act of online sports betting can land you in trouble.

The law explaining the punishment for gambling in Qatar is written in Article 275, Number 11 of the 2004 Penal Code. According to Qatari law, gambling can fetch you a fine of up to 3,000 Qatari Riyals (QR 3,000) and/or a prison sentence of up to three months.

For more serious cases of gambling, like in instances where gambling was conducted in a public place, the possible fine amount and imprisonment period rise up to a maximum of QR 6,000 and six months respectively.

However, there is one form of gambling that is legal in Qatar, and that is the raffle draw organized by Qatar Duty Free.

What Features Determine The Best Sportsbooks In Qatar?

The online betting industry is filled with thousands of operators seeking to offer the best services to their customers. However, only a small percentage of these bookmakers actually provide great services that grant their customers the best experience.

We want to help you fully understand why some bookmakers are better than others in terms of their operation. So, below is an explanation of the qualities that set the best sports betting sites apart from others.

A Bookmaker’s License

The first and most important feature that affects the quality of a bookmaker is its license. A betting license is important because it serves as a guarantee that the sportsbook’s activities are legitimate and in the best interests of the site’s customers.

There are a lot of unlicensed online bookmakers out there and you should avoid them completely. An unlicensed operator is not accountable to any authority, making it likely for them to scam players or offer unfair betting services.

To get a license, a bookmaker needs to apply to a regulatory body that will then examine the sportsbook’s services before granting a license. Some license authorities to look out for include Curacao eGaming, the UK Gambling Commission, and the Malta Gaming Authority.

Safety Of A Bookmaker’s Site

After you have confirmed that a bookmaker has a valid license from a notable regulatory body, you need to ensure that the sportsbook’s website is safe enough for you to place bets. If a bookmaker is licensed but has a poorly-secured site, you could be at risk of losing money.

Hackers and fraudsters have a habit of targeting online gambling operators to try and steal financial or personal data belonging to customers. This makes it crucial for online betting sites to equip their websites with solid security measures that keep their customers safe.

SSL encryption is the bare minimum when it comes to site security, as it hides customer data from third parties. Sportsbooks often employ added security measures like anti-fraud tools and two-factor authentication.

Quality Of Betting Odds

For bettors in Qatar and the rest of the world, you can use the value of betting odds at online sportsbooks to rank which site is best for you. Betting odds are important because they directly determine how much money you can make from a sporting event.

Betting sites often have different odds for the same sports event. This means that if you stake the same amount of money for the same game selection at different sites, the amount you will win will be greater at some bookmakers than others.

To make the most out of your betting experience, you should go for sites that provide the highest odds value. Also, some bookmakers can boost your betting odds if you make a minimum number of event selections within a single accumulator bet.

Deposit And Withdrawal Methods

The process of depositing money and withdrawing winnings is a fundamental aspect of betting with an online betting site. As a result, the quality of the payment methods that an online sportsbook offers its customers is a crucial factor that every Qatari bettor needs to consider.

If a bookmaker adopts low-quality payment methods, players might experience issues like delayed transactions, failed transactions, and security breaches. That is why we encourage players to only bet with sites that have well-known, reliable payment options.

Payments are also important for players from Qatar and other Arab countries because of possible sanctions from the authorities. A lot of sites accept bank cards and bank transfers, but we do not recommend either option for Arab players because they are easy to trace.

Rather, we suggest that Arab players use cryptocurrencies and prepaid cards since they are anonymous and impossible to trace. eWallets are partially anonymous, making them a better choice than bank-related methods.

Customer Service

No matter how perfect an online betting site is, players will likely encounter difficulties from time to time when using the site. Online sportsbooks need to employ customer agents who attend to players when they have questions or want to resolve an issue.

The customer service agents of an online bookmaker are expected to be polite, professional, and quick to respond. We also recommend sites with customer support agents that provide useful help for immediate solutions.

Apart from customer service agents, online betting platforms employ other forms of customer support such as an FAQ section. A proper FAQ section contains the most important questions that sports bettors have and direct answers to these questions.

Sports Betting Bonuses

Another factor that separates the best online betting sites in Qatar from the competition is the attractive betting bonuses that the sites provide to customers. The purpose of bonus offers is to either thank new players for joining a betting site or reward existing players for placing bets.

Some of the betting bonuses that the best bookmakers give players are:

• Welcome Bonus:
  The welcome bonus is the most common bonus type, and it usually comes in the form of a cash bonus for a player’s first deposit or first few deposits.

• Reload Bonus:
  Existing players can also get a deposit bonus even after claiming the initial bonus for new players, and this is called a reload bonus.

• Cashback Offer:
  A cashback offer is another bonus type that online sports betting platforms give their customers, and it involves refunding a percentage of lost bets over a fixed period.

• Free Bet:
  A free bet allows sports bettors to bet on sporting events without needing to spend their money. Bookmakers usually give out free bets as a fixed cash amount that you can use to bet on a specific sporting event or tournament free of charge.

• Odds Boost:
  An online betting platform can reward its players by increasing the value of the betting odds for an event. An odds boost enables you to increase your potential winnings from an event without needing to increase the size of your stake.

Recommended Betting Site

Our most favoured Qatari bookmaker for September is Sportsbet.io. Sportsbet.io is the top choice with its extensive selection of sports, user-friendly interface, offering various first-time deposit promotions and rewards its customers with profitable bonuses.  

The Best Payment Methods For Sports Betting In Qatar

Earlier in this article, we spoke about the importance of an online betting site having reliable methods for processing deposits and withdrawals. Below, we will discuss the various payment options that players in Qatar can use and which methods are more suitable than others.

Cryptocurrency

Crypto coins have become a viable payment option for gambling sites like online casinos and sportsbooks because of the opportunities they offer. While some bookmakers prefer to stick to fiat currencies, there is a lot of cryptocurrency casinos.

The main advantage that cryptocurrency has over regular currencies is decentralization, meaning that there is no authority or third party that regulates crypto transactions. Crypto transactions are anonymous, and this can help Qatari players stay under the radar.

Also, when you deposit or withdraw with cryptocurrencies, the transactions are usually very fast and free of transfer charges. On the downside, the value of a crypto coin is unstable, meaning you can lose money by simply owning a crypto coin.

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), Litecoin, (LTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Dogecoin (DOGE) are some of the most common coins that bookmakers accept.

Prepaid Cards

After cryptocurrencies, prepaid cards are the next best payment option for online sports bettors in Qatar. To use a virtual prepaid card, you need to fund the card with money, after which you can use the card to make a deposit with an online bookmaker.

We rate prepaid cards highly for Qatari players because they are also anonymous, as there is no connection between the card and your personal information. The disadvantage of anonymous prepaid cards is that, usually, they can only be used once.

eWallets

An eWallet is the digital version of a regular wallet, meaning you can store money online, send money out, and receive money with an eWallet. eWallets are partially anonymous because while they are not as official as physical banks, they are still connected to your personal information.

The partially anonymous feature of eWallets makes them a better choice than direct banking methods, but less suitable than cryptocurrency and prepaid cards. On the plus side, eWallets usually have fast transaction speeds and little or no transaction fees.

Banking Methods

There are two main payment categories that we categorize under “Banking Methods”, and they are Bank Cards and Bank Transfers. Both of these methods are secure since they are regulated by proper banks, which have top-notch measures to prevent cases of theft and fraud.

The problem with banking-related methods is that they are official and directly tied to your personal information, which can be bad for Qatari players. Betting is illegal in Qatar, making it dangerous to transact with a betting site using a method that authorities can trace easily.

How To Remain Secure When Betting Online In Qatar

Our previous subheadings are focused on the qualities of the best online betting websites and the top payment procedures for Qatari players. Next, we want to show you some tips that will help you stay safe when using a foreign sportsbook while in Qatar.

Only Use Safe Sites

Players in Qatar and other Middle Eastern countries should make it a priority to only create accounts with betting sites that are proven to be safe and secure. We determine a site’s safety using its licensing and security level, as explained earlier.

You should ensure that whatever online bookmaker you choose to bet with has a verifiable license from an online gambling body with high standards. You should also confirm that a sportsbook’s website is safeguarded by adequate internet security.

You can check that a site has SSL encryption by looking out for the padlock icon at the top left corner of your web browser, beside the site’s URL. Another way to know an encrypted site is that the URL starts with “HTTPS” rather than the regular “HTTP”.

Use A VPN

Even when online bookmakers equip their websites with security measures to protect the bookmaker and the customers, it can be helpful to add your own security measure. A VPN is one of the best web security tools that online gamblers can use for internet protection.

VPN is the short form of “Virtual Private Network” and it is a tool that performs two main functions - beefing up security and providing anonymity.

• Security:
  When a player visits a betting website while using a VPN, the VPN encrypts and reroutes the transmission of data between the player’s device and the website’s server. So, even if a hacker tries, they will be unable to gain access to your personal data.

• Anonymity:
  The function of a VPN also involves hiding a player’s true identity on the internet by giving you a new IP address. Both the website that you’re visiting and anyone who is trying to track your internet activities will not be able to see your real IP address.
  This can be helpful in avoiding Qatari authorities since your new IP address will be from a different country. Also, with the aid of a VPN’s unique IP address, you can visit gambling sites that might be blocked by Internet Service Providers in your country.

Options For Anonymous Payments

It is important for Qatari players to stay anonymous as the authorities might be on the lookout for citizens that violate gambling laws. Payments play a big part in the entire betting process, so you need payment options that are anonymous.

From the usual deposit and withdrawal options that online sports bettors have, cryptocurrencies and prepaid cards rank highest in terms of anonymity. eWallets are a decent choice as they offer a limited amount of anonymity. Banks cards and transfers are not ideal since they are traceable.

What Sports Can You Bet On In Qatar?

After you settle on a sports betting site that you want to play at, you might be wondering about which sports you can place bets on to win money. Qatar has a diverse sporting scene, and some of the country’s favorite sports are:

• Football (Soccer)

• Basketball

• Voleyball

• Horse racing

• Swimming

• Camel Racing