Botswana invites investor interest for new bingo and casino licences
Prospective investors must outline their funding plans, development concepts, experience and proposed contribution to citizen participation.
Botswana.- Botswana Gambling Authority has opened an Expression of Interest (EOI) process to gauge investor appetite for the development and operation of new bingo and casino establishments in the country.
The regulator said the exercise forms part of its strategic licensing roll-out under the Gambling Act, 2012. It is intended to collect preliminary information from potential investors before the Authority determines the structure and requirements of future licensing processes.
The EOI will identify prospective investors with the financial and technical capacity, relevant experience and resources to develop and operate bingo and casino establishments in Botswana.
Interested investors have been invited to indicate their preferred licence categories and locations, which are based on the Authority’s approved Licensing and Location Plan.
Information required from investors
Applicants must provide a company profile covering their ownership structure, shareholder information where applicable, areas of specialisation and relevant experience.
The Authority is also seeking details of experience in gambling and related sectors, including hospitality, tourism, leisure and property development.
Investors must outline their proposed development concept, including the licence category and preferred location or locations. They are also expected to provide details of the proposed investment, including indicative capital expenditure, available information on the funding approach and the anticipated timeframe for implementation.
The submissions must demonstrate the investor’s financial and technical capability to undertake the proposed project.
The Authority is further seeking information on the expected economic impact of each proposed development, including employment and citizen participation.
Investors must indicate the level of Botswana citizen involvement they anticipate in their businesses. This includes citizen shareholding, representation at board and management level and employment opportunities for Botswana citizens.
The Authority has asked participants to keep their submissions concise and warned them not to include protected intellectual property, trade secrets, proprietary material, commercially sensitive information or other confidential information.
EOI will inform future licensing
The information gathered will be used to assess market interest in the proposed bingo and casino licence categories and support the Authority’s future licensing and regulatory planning.
It will also help the regulator develop licence specifications and application requirements, as well as inform potential future Requests for Applications.
However, the regulator clarified that the EOI does not amount to a licence application or a Request for Applications. Participation will not guarantee an investor access to any future licensing process or create an entitlement or expectation that a licence will be granted.
Interested parties are required to submit their EOI and supporting documents electronically to [email protected] by 3:00 p.m. on October 16, 2026.
