Culture and history

Historically, Libya has not developed its own gambling culture.

During the colonial and early post-colonial periods, separate clubs and indoor halls existed predominantly as leisure activities for foreigners and local elites in Tripoli and Benghazi.

With the consolidation of religious norms and the state policy of prohibition, any legal gaming scene has disappeared: casinos and sweepstakes are closed, the public practice of betting is socially unacceptable.

In everyday city life, only non-ordinary forms of leisure have survived - backgammon (tawla), dominoes, cards and chess in cafes, without cash bets.

After 2011, the cultural vector has not changed: public morality, religious norms and legal prohibition form a steady absence of the gambling industry as part of the cultural landscape.