{"id":32140,"date":"2026-08-27T07:22:40","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T10:22:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/?p=32140"},"modified":"2026-08-28T10:32:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T13:32:14","slug":"uganda-to-relaunch-national-lottery-after-poor-first-year-performance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/uganda-to-relaunch-national-lottery-after-poor-first-year-performance","title":{"rendered":"Uganda to relaunch National Lottery after poor first-year performance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The NLGRB is conducting an exit audit of the former operator while preparing to appoint a new company to run Uganda\u2019s National Lottery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Uganda.- Uganda is preparing to relaunch its National Lottery after the previous operator failed to meet its first-year performance projections and ceased operations on June 30, 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <strong>National Lotteries and Gaming Regulatory Board (NLGRB) <\/strong>disclosed the development while responding to questions from Parliament\u2019s <strong>Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE)<\/strong> over a significant shortfall in non-tax revenue reported for the 2024\/25 financial year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The regulator attributed the shortfall primarily to the National Lottery, saying its first-year performance was substantially below projections because the operator failed to gain sufficient market traction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The operator subsequently ended its operations on June 30, with NLGRB now conducting an exit audit to determine its outstanding obligations and oversee the closure process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The regulator said the next step will be to relaunch the National Lottery with a new operator rather than leave the national lottery operation inactive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The move gives the Board an opportunity to reassess the lottery\u2019s operating model and select an operator capable of building sufficient market demand to meet future projections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The revenue issue was among several matters examined when NLGRB appeared before COSASE on August 26. The committee was reviewing issues raised in the Auditor General\u2019s report for the 2024\/25 financial year, while also examining the regulator\u2019s broader performance and oversight responsibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The National Lottery\u2019s performance is significant to the regulator\u2019s revenue position because its failure to reach projected levels contributed to the wider <strong>deficit in non-tax revenue collections during the financial year.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the same time, the NLGRB is seeking to increase revenue from the wider regulated gaming sector through stronger compliance and digital monitoring. Uganda\u2019s gaming regulator has been working on technical standards, product classification and approval as part of efforts to strengthen oversight of the market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The National Lottery relaunch will form part of the NLGRB\u2019s efforts to restore the lottery\u2019s contribution to government revenue after the previous operator\u2019s underperformance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">NLGRB said the exit audit will establish the former operator\u2019s outstanding obligations before the closure is finalised. The regulator did not disclose a timeline for appointing a new operator or provide details of the relaunch process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The incoming operator will be expected to expand participation and improve the lottery\u2019s financial performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/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\/2026\/08\/nlgrb_uganda_umc-300x200.jpeg\" 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\/uganda-gaming-regulator-explores-joint-public-awareness-efforts-with-media-centre-on-gaming-regulation\">Uganda gaming regulator explores joint public awareness efforts with media centre on gaming regulation<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The NLGRB is conducting an exit audit of the former operator while preparing to appoint a new company to run Uganda\u2019s National Lottery.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2395,"featured_media":32009,"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 National Lotteries and Gaming Regulatory Board (NLGRB) is relaunching the National Lottery following the previous operator's underperformance and cessation of operations, which led to a significant non-tax revenue shortfall. The NLGRB is conducting an exit audit and plans to appoint a new operator to enhance market traction and restore the lottery's contribution to government revenue.","focusai_entities":"National Lotteries and Gaming Regulatory Board (NLGRB), Parliament\u2019s Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE), Auditor General","focusai_location":"Uganda","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.9), regulator (1.0), compliance_legal (0.9), operator_casino (0.9), investor_analyst (0.9), supplier_vendor (0.7), journalist_researcher (1.0)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"New Operator Selection Criteria","query":"What specific performance metrics, governance frameworks, and market development strategies will the NLGRB prioritize in the selection process for the new National Lottery operator to ensure sustainable GGR growth?"},{"label":"Revenue Impact Assessment","query":"How will the NLGRB's enhanced compliance and digital monitoring initiatives for the wider regulated gaming sector mitigate future non-tax revenue shortfalls, and what is the projected timeline for the National Lottery's restored contribution?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[60013,60019],"tags":[74],"class_list":["post-32140","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-east-africa","category-regulation-news","tag-lottery"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32140","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=32140"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32140\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32169,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32140\/revisions\/32169"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32140"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32140"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32140"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}