Zimbabwe regulator uses trade fair to spotlight gambling sector’s growing contribution to national development
Gaming levies are helping fund healthcare, education, sports infrastructure and technology projects across Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe.- Zimbabwe’s gambling regulator, the Lotteries and Gaming Board (LGB), used the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair 2026 to highlight how gaming levies and revenues generated through regulated gambling activities are helping fund healthcare, education, infrastructure and technology projects across the country.
Speaking during the 66th edition of ZITF 2026 in Bulawayo, the LGB highlighted a range of socio-economic projects across Zimbabwe. The regulator said proceeds from regulated gambling activities are increasingly being channelled into socio-economic initiatives nationwide.
Godfrey Mutobaya, CEO of the LGB, said the regulator has expanded its community development initiatives across several sectors, including healthcare, education, sports development, arts and culture, and environmenttal preservation.
“As the Lotteries and Gaming Board, we have done quite a number of projects targeting hard-to-reach areas across Zimbabwe. The thematic areas of corporate social responsibility that as a board we are mandated to look at by the Lotteries and Gaming Act are about eight, as prescribed by s(53)(2) of the Act,” said Mutobaya, according to The Chronicle.
Held from April 20 to 25 under the theme “Connected Economies, Competitive Industries”, the annual trade expo brought together businesses, investors, regulators, and government stakeholders from sectors including technology, manufacturing, mining, and financial services.
Among the projects highlighted was the completion of Ratanyana Clinic in Matobo District, Matabeleland South, which had remained unfinished for 10 years before the LGB stepped in to complete the development.
Mutobaya said: “The board completed a project that was started 10 years ago and the community was hard-pressed and could not finish it. Like an angel we came to the scene and completed the clinic which was fully furnished with modern equipment.” The clinic was equipped with hospital equipment, solar infrastructure, Starlink connectivity, and an 80-metre solar-powered borehole designed to improve healthcare access in the area.
Community projects and modernisation
The regulator also highlighted additional projects supported through gaming levies, including Pupu Clinic in Lupane, waiting mothers’ shelters in Masvingo, classroom developments in Mashonaland Central and Manicaland, and multi-purpose sports facilities in Matabeleland North.
Beyond infrastructure development, the LGB is also preparing for a major technological shift aimed at modernising Zimbabwe’s gambling sector. The regulator revealed plans to introduce Gaming Management Systems designed to improve transparency, tax administration, industry oversight, and responsible gambling controls as online gaming activity continues to grow.
Mutobaya added: “In the coming few months, we are going to automate the gaming environmentt so that the issues that are not in order as of now are put to bed. So this system actually is a game-changer, it is going to transform the industry and it will become also easier for us, the regulators, to account and quantify the value of this industry.”
The LGB said the technology rollout would help create a more transparent and sustainable gaming ecosystem for operators, regulators, and players, while strengthening the sector’s contribution to Zimbabwe’s broader economy.
