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More than P850 million has been wagered through illegal online gambling platforms in Botswana in just six months, exposing the scale of a market operating beyond the reach of the country’s gambling regulator.
The figure, reported by the Gambling Authority, puts a sizeable portion of local betting activity outside Botswana’s licensed gambling system. The financial impact is not limited to lost tax revenue. Offshore operators also avoid the local regulatory obligations faced by licensed businesses, while authorities have far less control over how those platforms verify customers and protect players.
The Gambling Authority’s chief executive, Moruntshi Kemorwale, has warned that offshore gambling sites are increasingly reaching young people in Botswana.
That is particularly significant because the legal gambling age is currently 21. Licensed operators are expected to operate within that framework, but offshore websites can be harder to monitor and may have weaker age checks. The result is a digital market where access can be easier for users who would face restrictions in the regulated sector.
A Market Outside the Tax System
The P850 million in wagers represents money moving through platforms that do not operate under Botswana’s domestic gambling regime.
Licensed gambling companies face tax obligations and regulatory requirements. They also provide employment locally. Offshore operators can avoid many of those costs while still accepting bets from people in Botswana.
That creates a direct disadvantage for companies operating legally.
It also makes enforcement harder. Local authorities have limited practical control over gambling businesses based outside the country, particularly when those platforms can continue accepting customers through digital channels.
The problem is therefore not simply the presence of unlicensed betting websites. It is the difficulty of applying a regulatory system designed for identifiable operators to businesses that can serve customers across borders.
Gambling Age Debate Adds Pressure
The revelation comes as Botswana’s Parliament considers the Gambling (Amendment) Bill, 2026.
One of the proposed changes would reduce the legal gambling age from 21 to 18, bringing it closer to the country’s age of majority. Supporters see the change as a way to align the gambling framework with existing legal adulthood.
But the timing makes the issue more complicated.
Authorities are already dealing with a large illegal online market, and younger users are among those potentially able to access offshore betting services. Critics of the proposed reduction fear that allowing gambling from 18 could widen exposure among young people at a time when digital betting is already difficult to control.
The debate is consequently taking place on two fronts: how Botswana should define legal access to gambling, and how it can prevent betting activity from moving outside the regulated system altogether.
The six-month P850 million figure gives some indication of the size of the challenge. It also shows why traditional licensing rules alone may not be enough as betting shifts further onto the internet.
For the Gambling Authority, stronger age verification, digital monitoring and cooperation with financial and technology companies will be important tools. Without effective ways to disrupt offshore platforms or restrict their access to local customers, more gambling revenue could continue to bypass Botswana’s regulated market.
Parliament’s decision on the proposed age change will address one part of the system. The much larger problem may be the market already operating beyond it.
Source: findmoreafrica.com
