Gihon Betting Ethiopia Review 2026: Sports Betting, Bonus, Payments and Legal Status

A Telegram channel using the name Gihon Sport Betting links directly to gihonbetting.com and advertises sports betting in Ethiopia with multiple sports categories and more than 1,000 betting options.

Historic reviews consistently describe Gihon Betting as a small local sportsbook rather than a large international gambling platform.

Gihon Betting is a sportsbook that historically targeted Ethiopian bettors. Compared with some larger bookmakers, the platform appears to have concentrated on a relatively limited selection of core sports rather than offering dozens of niche markets.

One detailed review identifies five main sports:

The same source notes that the platform also included a product called Lucky Balls, described as a lucky-number style game.

The strongest historical evidence points to gihonbetting.com. The Telegram channel @gihon_betting directly links to that domain and describes itself as "Gihon Sport Betting". Older independent reviews also identify gihonbetting.com as the operator website.

There is also a newer domain: gihon-betting.com. This newer site presents itself as Gihon Betting and publishes contact information, casino claims and a statement that the operator is licensed by the Ethiopian National Lottery Administration.

However, we could not independently establish that gihon-betting.com is the same legal operator as the historic gihonbetting.com brand. That distinction matters.

Gihon Betting should not currently be described as a licensed Ethiopian sportsbook.

Historically, some reviews explicitly noted that the Gihon Betting site did not display licence information. A newer Gihon Betting-branded website now claims that it is "Licensed by Ethiopian National Lottery Administration." But that claim conflicts with Ethiopia's current regulatory position.

In July 2026, the Ethiopian Lottery Service warned the public that no sports-betting operator is currently licensed to operate in Ethiopia. The regulator advised citizens not to deposit money or place bets through websites, applications, agents or social-media pages claiming otherwise.

Ethiopia revoked all sports-betting operating licences in December 2025. The Ethiopian Lottery Service later reaffirmed in 2026 that no sports-betting company had received legal authorisation to resume operations.

That means even a company that previously held a licence cannot use an old authorisation as proof of current legality.

The sportsbook appears to have been relatively simple. Historical information identifies five main sports categories: Football, Basketball, Volleyball, Handball and Boxing.

This is a smaller catalogue than that of larger international bookmakers, but it covers several of the sports most commonly followed by Ethiopian bettors.

Football Betting

Football was one of Gihon Betting's main products. Older reviews describe a traditional pre-match sportsbook alongside some in-play functionality. The exact current league list could not be independently verified.

Therefore, we would not publish specific claims such as the number of football leagues or markets currently available unless they can be confirmed directly on an authenticated live betting interface.

Live Betting

Gihon Betting was historically reviewed as having an in-game or live-betting section, although its live product received weaker ratings than the pre-match sportsbook. That suggests live betting existed but was not one of the platform's strongest features. Current live-betting availability cannot be reliably verified under the present Ethiopian regulatory environment.

Betting Markets

Historical reviews do not provide a complete market-by-market list, but the sportsbook appears to have covered standard betting formats for the sports offered.

One review also mentions a Cash Out feature in the platform characteristics, although the same page contains contradictory wording elsewhere regarding cash out. Because of that inconsistency, we would not describe Cash Out as a confirmed current Gihon Betting feature.

One of the more distinctive Gihon Betting products was Lucky Balls. An independent review describes it as a lucky-number type game separate from the main sportsbook.

This gives Gihon Betting a small lottery-style element in addition to conventional sports betting. We could not independently verify whether Lucky Balls remains available today.

Historical information about Gihon Betting's casino is weak. One 2022 review says the casino page did not load during testing and suggested there may have been backend or server problems. That means Gihon Betting historically appeared much stronger as a sportsbook than as an online casino.

A newer Gihon Betting-branded site now claims to offer:

However, because we could not establish that this newer domain is the authenticated continuation of the original operator, these should be treated as current promotional claims rather than independently verified product facts.

Does Gihon Betting Have Aviator?

We could not find reliable evidence confirming that Aviator by Spribe was part of the historic Gihon Betting platform. The newer Gihon Betting-branded site advertises casino games generally but does not provide enough authoritative evidence for us to confirm a specific official Aviator product.

Virtual Sports

The newer gihon-betting.com site claims that virtual sports are part of the platform. Historical reviews focused primarily on regular sports and Lucky Balls rather than virtual betting.

The strongest historical bonus information concerns a 100% welcome bonus up to 500 ETB. A 2022 independent review states that newly registered players had one day to claim a 100% matching bonus of up to 500 Ethiopian Birr.

This is useful historical information, but it should not be advertised as a current 2026 offer. The same review ecosystem still references the offer in 2026, but also acknowledges that current licence information is unavailable and that the site's bonus information is limited.

Current Welcome Bonus

Current review pages state that Gihon Betting does not have an active ACCA bonus and does not appear to offer a loyalty scheme.

Another historical Ethiopian review describes a weekly Top Offer promotion based around predicting results across selected Premier League, Bundesliga and La Liga fixtures. This sounds more like a jackpot-style prediction promotion than a conventional sportsbook accumulator bonus.

Gihon Betting Registration

Older Gihon Betting reviews describe a straightforward registration process. Users were reportedly asked to provide information including:

This is typical of an online betting account. Current account-registration requirements could not be independently confirmed.

Gihon Betting KYC

We did not find a detailed historic Gihon Betting KYC policy specifying accepted ID documents, verification thresholds, proof of address or source-of-funds checks. Older reviews mention verification of personal information such as phone number and date of birth, but do not provide a complete withdrawal-KYC process.

This point is relatively clear historically. Gihon Betting accepted Ethiopian Birr (ETB) as its account currency. For Ethiopian players, that avoids foreign-currency conversion when viewing balances and stakes.

Historical sources provide inconsistent payment information. One detailed review lists:

The same review says Visa and Mastercard deposits could take up to 24 hours and withdrawals up to three days, while no clear minimum or maximum transaction values were provided.

A separate Ethiopia-focused review describes a recharge voucher system, where customers first purchased a voucher and then used it to fund their betting account.

Does Gihon Betting Accept Telebirr?

We could not verify Telebirr as a current or historic official Gihon Betting payment method from reliable sources. This is important because it would be easy to assume that every Ethiopian betting platform supported Telebirr.

Does Gihon Betting Accept CBE Birr?

We also could not verify CBE Birr as an official Gihon Betting payment option.

Visa and Mastercard

Visa and Mastercard are specifically listed in historical Gihon Betting reviews as deposit and withdrawal methods. However, these references date from the pre-shutdown betting market and should not be interpreted as evidence that card transactions are currently available.

EthioDash

One historical review lists EthioDash alongside Visa and Mastercard. The review provides little detail on limits or processing times. We therefore consider EthioDash a historically reported option rather than a currently verified payment method.

Minimum Deposit

We could not independently verify a universal historic or current minimum Gihon Betting deposit. The welcome bonus amount does not establish the standard cashier minimum.

Historical review information says withdrawals could use the same Visa and Mastercard methods and might take up to three days. However, no clear minimum or maximum withdrawal values were published.

Older reviews describe a web-based platform rather than a strong native-app offering. One independent review specifically lists "No mobile apps" among its disadvantages. That suggests mobile browser access was historically the main option.

We could not verify a current official Gihon Betting application in Google Play or Apple's App Store.

Does Gihon Betting Have an App?

No official current app could be independently verified. Historical reviews explicitly state that Gihon Betting did not offer mobile apps at the time.

Historical reviewers generally liked the visual design. The site was described as using dark blue, green and black colours with white navigation elements, creating a reasonably clear interface. However, the product depth was weaker than the visual presentation.

One review criticised:

• !limited sports selection;
• !limited game selection;
• !unclear licensing information;
• !a casino page that failed to load.

Older independent information lists:

Responsible-gambling information was not a major strength of the older Gihon Betting reviews. A current betting review should therefore provide its own basic risk context. Useful personal limits include:

• ✓set a fixed betting budget;
• ✓do not borrow money to gamble;
• ✓avoid chasing losses;
• ✓do not use rent, food or business funds;
• ✓take regular breaks;
• ✓avoid rapid repeated deposits.

Gihon Betting has a documented historical presence in Ethiopia.

It also offered a few distinctive extras, including Lucky Balls and a historically advertised 100% welcome bonus up to 500 ETB. The operator's strongest historical domain evidence points to gihonbetting.com, supported by the Gihon Sport Betting Telegram channel.

The biggest issue in 2026 is the current identity and licence situation. A newer website at gihon-betting.com claims that Gihon Betting is licensed by the Ethiopian National Lottery Administration and offers sports betting, esports, virtual sports, casino games and live dealer products. But Ethiopia's regulator says exactly the opposite at market level: no sports-betting operator currently has a legal Ethiopian licence.

We also could not independently prove that gihon-betting.com is the authorised successor to the historical gihonbetting.com operator.

Historical details such as the 500 ETB bonus, Visa/Mastercard support, Lucky Balls and sportsbook coverage should likewise be treated as historical rather than guaranteed current features.

Gambling involves financial risk. Do not deposit money or submit personal documents until you have verified the exact operator and its current legal status.

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