Telebirr betting sites dominated the Ethiopian market before the 2025 shutdown: Ethio telecom's wallet was listed by almost every local bookmaker, with CBE Birr close behind. This guide explains how the main payment methods worked for betting in birr, which brands listed which wallets, and what has changed since banks and payment providers were told to block betting transactions in December 2025.
We describe methods as the brands presented them; many of the sites in our tables are no longer operating. Wallet limits, fees and rules belong to the payment provider and the National Bank of Ethiopia, so always check the current terms in your wallet app.
Payment methods at Ethiopian betting sites
| Method | Provider | Deposit | Withdrawal | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| telebirr | Ethio telecom (mobile money, launched May 2021) | Yes – app or USSD *127# | Yes, to the wallet | The most widely used wallet in Ethiopia |
| CBE Birr | Commercial Bank of Ethiopia | Yes – app or USSD *847# | Yes, to the wallet | Linked to a CBE bank account |
| M-Pesa | Safaricom Ethiopia (launched August 2023) | Yes – app or USSD *733# | Yes, to the wallet | Accepted by fewer local sites |
| Amole | Dashen Bank | Yes – app | Depends on the site | Older wallet, less common today |
| HelloCash | Lion International Bank and partner banks | Yes | Depends on the site | Popular with earlier betting sites |
| Awash Birr | Awash Bank | Yes – app | Depends on the site | Mainly for Awash Bank customers |
| Chapa / SantimPay / ArifPay | Payment gateways | Yes – via wallet or bank inside the gateway | Rarely | Gateways that pass your payment to the site |
| Kacha | First private mobile-money operator (licence PIL002/2022) | Yes | Depends on the site | Supported by only a few brands |
Withdrawals normally went back to the wallet you deposited from. How quickly they arrived depended on the operator, and we found few reliable figures on payout times.
Telebirr betting sites
Telebirr is the mobile money wallet of Ethio telecom, launched in May 2021. It works through the telebirr app and the USSD code *127#, and Ethio telecom reported 60.6 million telebirr users in the 2025/26 financial year. Even the state's own Admas digital lottery is sold through telebirr.
On betting sites the flow was usually the same: choose telebirr in the cashier, enter the amount, then confirm the payment in the app or USSD menu with your PIN. Before the shutdown, telebirr and bank accounts were the main ways Ethiopians funded betting accounts. Of the brands we review, sixteen are listed with telebirr, including Best Bet, Konjo Bet, WinWinBet, Ahadu Birr, Betika, TotoSport and Winner. Best Bet, which returned in June 2026, names telebirr as its only method.
Two habits protect you with any telebirr betting site: pay only from the phone number registered on your betting account – some operators, BetX for example, require this in their terms – and keep the transaction ID from every payment until the money is credited.
CBE Birr betting
CBE Birr is the mobile money service of the state-owned Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, piloted in 2017. It runs on a wide agent network and the USSD code *847#, and it is linked to a CBE bank account, which made it the natural choice for players who kept their savings at CBE.
For CBE Birr betting, some local sites used a pay-bill flow: you selected the betting company's short code in the CBE Birr menu and entered your account reference. Abol Bet, for example, published a CBE Birr pay-bill code. Thirteen of our reviewed brands are listed with CBE Birr, among them Konjo Bet, WinWinBet, Habesha Bet, TotoSport, Abol Bet and Betika.
M-Pesa betting in Ethiopia
M-Pesa came to Ethiopia later than the local wallets. Safaricom's M-PESA Mobile Financial Service received its National Bank of Ethiopia licence on 11 May 2023 – the first payment instrument licence granted to a foreign investor – and launched on 16 August 2023. It uses the USSD code *733#.
M-Pesa betting in Ethiopia was therefore less common. QwickBirr confirmed M-Pesa in an official post in July 2025, and it is the only method that brand itself announced. TotoSport's archived cashier code included it, and Konjo Bet, Ahadu Birr, Afro Bet, Betika and Flash Sport are also listed with it.
Other wallets and payment gateways
Amole, HelloCash and Awash Birr
Amole is a wallet from Dashen Bank, reportedly launched in 2018. HelloCash was one of the earliest wallets used for betting – Qwick Bet announced both HelloCash and Amole when it launched in November 2021. Awash Birr is Awash Bank's wallet and agent-banking service. All three appeared mostly at older local brands such as Winner, TopBet7 and Vamos Bet, and are rarely listed today.
Kacha
Kacha Digital Financial Services became the first private non-bank mobile money provider in Ethiopia, licensed in July 2022 and fully launched in November 2023. Only a few betting brands added it, including Afro Bet and WinBirr.
Chapa, SantimPay and ArifPay
These are payment gateways rather than wallets: a site connects to the gateway, and the gateway lets you pay with the wallet or bank you already use. Chapa received its National Bank licence in May 2022 and went live in August 2022. SantimPay was licensed in July 2022 and connects CBE Birr, telebirr and Bank of Abyssinia cards. ArifPay was reportedly among the first licensed gateways. Brands such as Abol Bet, Ahadu Birr, Flash Sport and TopBet7 listed these gateways next to the wallets.
Which brands listed which methods
The table is based on brand websites, official channels and archived cashier code; for some brands it also reflects third-party reviews that we could not confirm with the operator. BetX and Nana Bet are not included because no payment methods could be verified for them.
| Brand | telebirr | CBE Birr | M-Pesa | Other methods | Website (Oct 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best Bet | Yes | – | – | – | Online |
| Konjo Bet | Yes | Yes | Yes | Chapa, crypto | Online – status unclear |
| WinWinBet | Yes | Yes | – | cards, crypto | Online |
| QwickBirr | – | – | Yes | – | Online – status unclear |
| Ahadu Birr | Yes | – | Yes | SantimPay, ArifPay, Awash Birr | Online |
| Habesha Bet | Yes | Yes | – | HelloCash, agents and shops | Online – status unclear |
| TotoSport | Yes | Yes | Yes | vouchers | Not reachable / suspended |
| Qwick Bet | Yes | – | – | HelloCash, Amole | Not reachable / suspended |
| Winner | Yes | Yes | – | Amole, HelloCash, Awash Birr, bank transfer, agents and shops | Not reachable / suspended |
| Vamos Bet | Yes | – | – | HelloCash | Not reachable / suspended |
| Abol Bet | – | Yes | – | ArifPay, SantimPay, Chapa | Not reachable / suspended |
| Afro Bet | Yes | Yes | Yes | SantimPay, Kacha | Not reachable / suspended |
| Betika | Yes | Yes | Yes | – | Not reachable / suspended |
| Flash Sport | Yes | Yes | Yes | HelloCash, SantimPay, ArifPay | Not reachable / suspended |
| TopBet7 | Yes | Yes | – | HelloCash, SantimPay, Amole | Not reachable / suspended |
| Zemen Bet | Yes | Yes | – | M-Birr, Amole | Not reachable / suspended |
| Habtam Bet | Yes | Yes | – | – | Not reachable / suspended |
| WinBirr | Yes | Yes | – | bank transfer, Kacha, Awash Birr | Not reachable / suspended |
| Gihon Betting | – | – | – | cards, vouchers | Not reachable / suspended |
For the current status of each brand and our full scores, see the top 10 betting sites in Ethiopia.
Limits, tax and the December 2025 payment block
- Wallet limits. Daily transaction and balance limits for mobile money are set by the National Bank of Ethiopia and depend on your account level. They were revised in 2023 and again in 2025, and published figures differ between sources, so check the current limits in your wallet app before relying on a number.
- Tax on winnings. Winnings from games of chance are taxed at 20% under Proclamation No. 1395/2025. The operator withholds the tax from the prize, so the amount that reaches your wallet is already net of tax.
- The payment block. On 15 December 2025 the Ethiopian Lottery Service revoked all sports-betting licences and ordered banks, payment instrument issuers and payment system operators to block betting transactions. A payment to a betting site may therefore be declined or reversed. We do not recommend trying to get around this; the background is explained in our guide to betting in Ethiopia.
- Never pay an individual. Requests to send money to a private number or a Telegram "agent" instead of through the cashier are a common scam pattern.
Betting payments FAQ
Which telebirr betting sites are there in Ethiopia?
Most local brands listed telebirr before December 2025. Among the brands online at our October 2026 check, Best Bet promotes telebirr, and WinWinBet, Konjo Bet and Ahadu Birr are reported to accept it. None of them holds an Ethiopian licence.
Can I bet with CBE Birr?
Many Ethiopian betting sites accepted CBE Birr, sometimes through a pay-bill short code in the *847# menu. Since 15 December 2025 payment providers have been ordered to block betting transactions.
Is M-Pesa betting available in Ethiopia?
M-Pesa launched in Ethiopia in August 2023 and was accepted by fewer sites than telebirr. QwickBirr confirmed it in July 2025; Konjo Bet and Ahadu Birr are also listed with it.
Why was my deposit to a betting site declined?
Since December 2025 banks and payment providers have been instructed to block betting payments. A deposit can also fail because of your wallet's daily limit or a wrong account reference.
Is tax deducted from betting withdrawals in Ethiopia?
Yes. The operator withholds 20% tax on winnings from games of chance before paying out.