Yoweri Museveni bans sports betting, Uganda could make annual loss of Shs50b

The National Gaming Board earlier released figures that showed the government of Uganda earned Shs37b from sports betting companies in 2016-17 financial year.

President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni has issued an order to put a ban on issuing and renewing licenses to betting firms. The Finance Minister Matia Kasaija has said that the foreign sports betting companies are hurting Uganda's economy.

According to Matia Kasaija, the directive of Uganda's Head of State, Yoweri Museveni is specifically aimed at foreign sports betting companies that are said to be repatriating profits to their mother countries.

"We're not banning gaming. We're saying this activity should be limited to only Ugandans. We have said that licensees that are running will not be renewed and new ones will not be issued to foreigners because we've discovered so much of our money is being exported through that gaming thing which as far as I am concerned has little value to the economy. It ends up by taking our very scarce foreign exchange which we earn through very difficult circumstances like growing coffee and other crops," Kasaija said, as reported by Daily Monitor.

He further clarified that no new betting companies would get the license and those who are already registered would not be able to renew when they expire. One operator at a leading sports betting companies in Kampala said that the directive is not only a surprise, but it is also a danger to their investment. The country has witnessed betting shops emerging widely in various cities, towns and villages in just a few years.

According to All Africa, the country is likely to make a loss of about Shs50b in revenue every year if the government continues to ban sports betting from now onwards. The National Gaming Board earlier released figures that showed the government earned Shs37b from sports betting companies in 2016-17 financial year.