{"id":22887,"date":"2026-04-16T07:18:58","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T10:18:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/?p=22887"},"modified":"2026-04-19T06:30:44","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T09:30:44","slug":"social-advocates-welcome-ugandas-gambling-tax-increase","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/social-advocates-welcome-ugandas-gambling-tax-increase","title":{"rendered":"Social advocates welcome Uganda\u2019s gambling tax increase"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Civil society backs Lotteries and Gaming (Amendment) Bill 2026, which proposes a uniform 30 per cent tax on gross gaming revenue across betting and casino activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Uganda.- Social groups in Uganda have expressed support for the government\u2019s plan to raise gambling taxes, describing the move as both a fiscal and public health intervention aimed at addressing the sector\u2019s growing social impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under proposed reforms contained in the Lotteries and Gaming (Amendment) Bill, 2026<\/strong>, authorities plan to increase the tax on gambling from 20 per cent to 30 per cent <\/strong>of gross gaming revenue. The changes are part of wider tax measures expected to take effect from July 2026, pending parliamentary approval.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advocates argue that the increase is necessary as betting activity continues to expand, driven by mobile access and online platforms. Government data shows the sector has recorded significant growth in recent years, with gaming-related revenues rising sharply and total stakes reaching trillions of shillings annually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kennedy Oluma<\/strong>, coordinator of the Uganda Parliamentary Network on Illicit Financial Flows and Tax Justice, said the policy reflects growing concern over the social consequences of gambling. He noted that betting is increasingly affecting households, education outcomes and mental health, particularly among young people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other policy analysts share similar concerns. According to tax experts in Uganda, higher levies on betting are aimed at addressing issues such as addiction, rising debt levels and reduced productivity, which have been linked to increased gambling participation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the proposed tax changes have drawn criticism from industry stakeholders, who warn that higher tax rates could reduce operator margins and discourage investment in the sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are also concerns that excessive taxation may push some players towards unregulated or informal betting channels, potentially undermining enforcement efforts and expected revenue gains.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n\t\t\tSee also:<\/span><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tSee also:<\/span> Uganda proposes uniform 30% gaming tax and levy on player winnings<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Civil society backs Lotteries and Gaming (Amendment) Bill 2026, which proposes a uniform 30 per cent tax on gross gaming revenue across betting and casino activities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2395,"featured_media":135,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"Uganda's proposed Lotteries and Gaming (Amendment) Bill 2026 seeks to increase the Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) tax from 20% to a uniform 30% across all betting and casino activities, effective July 2026. While civil society groups support this as a fiscal and public health measure to address social impacts, industry stakeholders warn of reduced operator margins, discouraged investment, and a potential shift towards unregulated markets.","focusai_entities":"Uganda Parliamentary Network on Illicit Financial Flows and Tax Justice, Kennedy Oluma","focusai_location":"Uganda","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.9), regulator (1.0), compliance_legal (0.9), operator_casino (1.0), investor_analyst (0.9), supplier_vendor (0.7), journalist_researcher (0.9)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"Impact on GGR Projections?","query":"What is the projected impact of a 30% GGR tax on the financial performance and investment strategies of licensed iGaming operators in Uganda?"},{"label":"Risk of Black Market?","query":"How will the Ugandan government mitigate the risk of increased player migration to unregulated betting channels following the proposed tax hike?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[60013,60020],"tags":[71,60136,60241],"class_list":["post-22887","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-east-africa","category-legislation-news","tag-gambling","tag-social-impact","tag-taxation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22887","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\/2395"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22887"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22887\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22988,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22887\/revisions\/22988"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}