Uganda Parliament removes proposed casino winnings tax exemption after President Museveni’s objections
Parliament backed President Museveni’s recommendations to remove the proposed withholding tax exemption for winnings from licensed land-based casinos.
Uganda.- Uganda’s Parliament adopted President Yoweri Museveni’s recommendations on the Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2026, during a sitting on August 4, removing a proposed withholding tax exemption for winnings from licensed land-based casinos.
In an official statement following the parliamentary sitting, Uganda’s Parliament said the amended Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2026 would subject winnings from licensed land-based casinos to withholding tax alongside other betting and gaming activities.
The original Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2026 proposed introducing a withholding tax on betting and gaming winnings, while exempting winnings from licensed land-based casinos from that withholding tax. President Museveni returned the Bill to Parliament for reconsideration, arguing that the exemption would create an uneven playing field between substantially similar gaming activities, encourage tax avoidance and result in revenue leakage.
The casino tax amendment was one of two tax Bills considered during the same parliamentary sitting, with Parliament also adopting President Museveni’s recommendations on the Excise Duty (Amendment) Bill, 2026.
Presenting the report of the Committee on Finance, Planning and Economic Development, committee chairperson Hon. Maximus Ochai said lawmakers agreed with the President’s position.
Ochai said: “The committee examined the Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2026 and the President’s request and agrees with the President that the exemption granted to land-based casinos will create unnecessary opportunities for tax avoidance and revenue leakage since it establishes different tax treatment for substantially similar gaming activities solely on the platform through which they are conducted.”
According to the committee, removing the proposed withholding tax exemption for licensed land-based casino winnings would ensure equal tax treatment across substantially similar betting and gaming activities, regardless of the platform through which they are conducted.
Ochai added that removing the exemption would protect the projected Shs65bn (US$17.6m) in government revenue by ensuring equal tax treatment for all betting and gaming operators.
Key amendment outcomes
Under the amended Bill, winnings from licensed land-based casinos would be subject to withholding tax alongside other betting and gaming activities, while winnings paid under Uganda’s national lottery would remain exempt.
Finance Minister Henry Musasizi also expressed support for the President’s recommendations during Parliament’s debate on the returned tax Bills. “In a nutshell, I am of the considered opinion that the President’s proposal is in the right direction. The process of arriving at this decision evolves; we can have a position today as a government but when new information comes another position can be formed,” Musasizi said.
Parliament subsequently adopted the committee’s majority report and the President’s recommendations, approving the amended Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2026. The Bill now awaits presidential assent before it can become law.
