Botswana targets 500 sites with historic responsible gambling campaign
The campaign’s scale reflects growing industry activity. The BGA licenses more than 200 operators and regulates around 1,200 limited payout machines across 250 venues.
Botswana.- The Botswana Gambling Authority (BGA) has launched one of the country’s most ambitious responsible gambling campaigns to date, aiming to reach 500 sites across every district by mid-2026.
Dubbed Motshameko o Phepa, meaning “play clean” in Setswana, the initiative is the first of its kind in Botswana, taking responsible gambling awareness directly to communities through face-to-face events at shops, kgotlas, bus ranks and public venues.
Some of the sites that have been visited include Francistown (September 22, 2025), Gaborone Bus Rank and Kole (October 15), Tlokweng’s Sotoma area and Charleshill (October 16), Mogoditshane’s Tsolamosese and New Xade (October 17), Molepolole, Ghanzi and Poloka (October 18), and Maun and Gumare (October 19). Last week, the campaign train was in Chadibe, Gabane, Xakao, Kopong and Ngarange, and now heads to Mogome, Ikoga, Bokaa, Sepopa and several other sites.
The remaining activations are scheduled throughout 2025 and 2026, with the BGA identifying locations in all 27 administrative districts, including remote areas such as Kweneng West, Ngamiland East and Chobe.
The regulator plans to achieve its goal through a mobile outreach model: two teams travel daily, each covering one urban and one rural site, equipped with branded vehicles, printed guides and live demonstrations of self-help tools. Each stop lasts two to three hours and includes briefings on setting time and money limits, understanding odds and accessing support services.
At the Tlokweng event on October 16, residents gathered at local shops where BGA staff handed out wallet-sized tip cards and explained the self-exclusion portal. One attendee, a 38-year-old taxi driver, said: “I gamble on football every weekend. Now I know how to pause if it’s too much.”
The same message, treat gambling as entertainment, not income, has been repeated at every stop.
The campaign’s scale reflects growing industry activity. The BGA licenses more than 200 operators and regulates around 1,200 limited payout machines across 250 venues, generating around P30m (€1.7m) in annual government revenue. Officials say unchecked play can lead to debt, family stress and lost productivity, issues they aim to reduce through early education.
In 2024, the BGA supported over 300 people via counselling referrals and self-exclusion requests. With the new campaign, they expect to double that figure within two years. At every site, the authority promotes its toll-free helpline and online self-assessment tool, alongside partnerships with local clinics for follow-up care. The regulator tracks participation through sign-in sheets and follow-up surveys, aiming for 50,000 direct contacts. Early data from the first 15 sites show 68 per cent of attendees learnt a new responsible gambling practice.
The potential impact of the campaign is expected to extend beyond individual players to societies. A 2023 BGA study in Selebi-Phikwe found that communities with higher awareness levels tend to have fewer loan defaults tied to gambling losses. With the 500-site goal, Botswana sets a regional standard for grassroots regulation in a growing betting market.
