Eswatini announces new plan to keep children out of online betting
According Jane Mkhonta-Simelane, Minister of Tourism and Environmental Affairs, protecting children from harmful activities, including online betting, requires a collective effort.
Eswatini.- The Eswatini government has announced plans to block secondary mobile wallet numbers belonging to individuals under 18 to prevent minors from accessing online gambling sites.
The proposal was brought before the House of Assembly by Jane Mkhonta-Simelane, Minister of Tourism and Environmental Affairs. She stated that the government is already working with gaming companies and the country’s two telecom providers to identify and disable accounts, often opened by parents or guardians in a child’s name.
According to the minister, protecting children from harmful activities, including online betting, requires a collective effort from the government, operators and parents. She told MPs that nationwide public education campaigns to address problem gambling and raise awareness about the risks associated with online betting will commence soon.
Mkhonta-Simelane added that draft regulations are currently being finalised to establish clear licence categories and fees. She said: “We are currently utilising the bookmaker provision for issuing licences. To address concerns raised by the House, we are engaging stakeholders on the various licence categories under the Act and informing them of the measures being taken to legitimise gaming services in the industry.”
The minister further announced that licensed platforms will soon be required to implement deposit limits and self-exclusion tools. Additionally, the Gaming Addiction Rehabilitation Fund will be operationalised, and a comprehensive review of the local gaming industry will be conducted to determine the best long-term licensing model and whether to impose limits on new licences.
The ministry expects the blocking system to be active early in 2026, once telecom companies complete age verification for every secondary wallet.
