The government of Uganda has announced it will assume control of the sports betting industry “under a new policy mechanism to manage its interests in the industry,” according to an account in the Daily Monitor.
As part of the new plan, the government will stop issuing new licenses or renewing licenses to foreign gaming and sports betting companies in the country.
On May 14, Finance Minister Matia Kasaija wrote to the Lotteries and Gaming Regulatory Board reaffirming a previous decision that halted the distribution of licenses. “Based on the cabinet resolution, I hereby direct you to stop licensing of gaming and betting with immediate effect,” the letter reads in part.
The proposed ban applies only to foreign firms that, according to Kasaija, were taking profits out of the country.
As the January Cabinet meeting minutes stated, “After the current licenses issued on sports betting expire, the state would have the monopoly on sports betting activities countrywide.”
The publication cited “highly placed sources” in the Ministry of Finance who said the government intends to create a statutory body to be known as National Gaming and Lotteries Company which will uphold the government’s commercial interests in all future betting licenses.
