{"id":18479,"date":"2026-02-19T18:15:24","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T21:15:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/?p=18479"},"modified":"2026-04-19T08:48:03","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T11:48:03","slug":"zimbabwe-government-targets-illegal-gambling-to-safeguard-licensed-sector","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/zimbabwe-government-targets-illegal-gambling-to-safeguard-licensed-sector","title":{"rendered":"Zimbabwe government targets illegal gambling to safeguard licensed sector"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Government and regulators, including the Lotteries and Gaming Board, the Office of the President and Cabinet and the Ministry of Home Affairs step up enforcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p>Zimbabwe.- The <strong>Zimbabwean Government<\/strong> said illegal gambling is distorting fair competition, undermining public confidence and weakening <strong>regulatory oversight<\/strong> in a sector regarded as a key contributor to <strong>national revenue<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Authorities in Zimbabwe are intensifying efforts to curb the proliferation of <strong>illegal casino<\/strong> and betting operators amid growing concern over the<strong> integrity<\/strong>, regulation and sustainability of the country\u2019s <strong>gaming industry<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Zimbabwe&#8217;s Lotteries and Gaming Board (LGB)<\/strong> recently brought together stakeholders in Harare to tackle illegal gambling activities. The coordinated approach reflects growing concern among regulators and government officials about the <strong>long-term<\/strong> health of the licensed gaming sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Eugenia\u202fChidhakwa<\/strong>, LGB Chairperson, said the regulator is working closely with <strong>law enforcement<\/strong> and stakeholders. \u201cWe have realised that many entities are operating illegally, so we are now working together with the Zimbabwe Republic Police to curb such activities. We are also conducting stakeholder <strong>engagements<\/strong> where we educate each other,\u201d she said, according to Bulawayo24.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Governance and responsible gambling<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Permanent Secretary <strong>Allan\u202fChoruma<\/strong>, of the Corporate Governance Unit in the Office of the <strong>President <\/strong>and Cabinet, emphasised responsible gambling and balancing <strong>public interest<\/strong> with business performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He said: \u201cWe are advocating for responsible gambling. We also focus on the <strong>financial performance <\/strong>of entities and service delivery. Public interest demands that we balance business interests with the needs of people. We are also concerned about preventing <strong>money laundering<\/strong> and addressing addiction.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Minister <strong>Kazembe\u202fKazembe<\/strong>, of the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage, urged the regulator to uphold its mandate and <strong>governance standards<\/strong>. \u201cAs a Board, you are entrusted with a critical mandate to regulate and control the gaming industry, safeguard public interest and ensure revenues are channelled towards <strong>national development<\/strong>. You are expected to uphold the highest standards of integrity, discipline and patriotism,\u201d said Kazembe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Officials said proper regulation is essential to protect <strong>consumers<\/strong>, curb financial crimes, promote responsible gambling and keep the gaming sector on the straight and narrow while contributing to Zimbabwe\u2019s <strong>economy<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"see-also-container\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"see-also-label\">See also:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"related-article\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"related-article__thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/11\/bg-image-handshake2-900x600-1-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"related-article__text\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"see-also-label-strong\">See also:<\/span> <a href='https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/nlgrb-strengthens-gambling-regulation-agenda-at-ice-barcelona-2026'>NLGRB strengthens gambling regulation agenda at ICE Barcelona 2026<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Government and regulators, including the Lotteries and Gaming Board, the Office of the President and Cabinet and the Ministry of Home Affairs step up enforcement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2809,"featured_media":18484,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"Zimbabwean authorities, led by the Lotteries and Gaming Board, are intensifying enforcement against illegal gambling operations, citing concerns over market distortion, revenue leakage, and compromised regulatory integrity. This coordinated effort, involving multiple government bodies, aims to safeguard public interest, prevent financial crimes like money laundering, and ensure the licensed gaming sector contributes sustainably to national development.","focusai_entities":"Lotteries and Gaming Board (LGB), Office of the President and Cabinet, Ministry of Home Affairs, Eugenia Chidhakwa, Allan Choruma, Minister Kazembe Kazembe, Zimbabwe Republic Police, Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage","focusai_location":"Zimbabwe, Harare","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.9), regulator (1.0), compliance_legal (0.9), operator_casino (0.9), payments_fraud_aml (0.9), investor_analyst (0.8), supplier_vendor (0.8), journalist_researcher (0.9)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"Enforcement Impact on GGR","query":"What specific metrics or targets has the Lotteries and Gaming Board established to measure the impact of intensified enforcement on the regulated sector's Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) and Net Gaming Revenue (NGR) contribution to national development?"},{"label":"AML Framework Evolution","query":"How will the enhanced focus on preventing money laundering and financial crimes translate into specific updates or new requirements within Zimbabwe's existing AML\/CTF (Anti-Money Laundering\/Counter-Terrorist Financing) framework for licensed gaming operators?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[60019],"tags":[60850,73,1593],"class_list":["post-18479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-regulation-news","tag-gaming-industry","tag-illegal-gambling","tag-responsible-gambling"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18479","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2809"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18479"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18479\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18521,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18479\/revisions\/18521"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}